Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Correspondence — 22 December 1951 Sighting

On 22 December 1951, at approximately 1030 EST, Captain Walter J. Koby, a jet fighter pilot with the 166th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, was flying an F-84C aircraft at 15,000 feet near Columbus, Ohio. During his flight, he observed an unidentified object approximately five miles east of Columbus. The object was described as silver, lacking a tail section, and appearing to be rolling or tumbling on its longitudinal axis at a high rate of roll. Captain Koby estimated the object was at an altitude of at least 20,000 feet and traveling at a speed in excess of 300 MPH. He attempted to intercept the object, but it was lost in the sun. The pilot reported no sound, no exhaust, and no trail. Following the incident, the 166th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron submitted a formal report to the Air Materiel Command. Project personnel interrogated the pilot, but no new facts were established. An investigation into local weather data revealed that a weather balloon had been launched from Port Columbus Airport at approximately 1000 EST. Wind conditions at the time were analyzed, and it was determined that the balloon would have been in the general vicinity of the sighting. The official conclusion reached by the project was that the pilot possibly sighted this weather balloon. The report acknowledges that the reported shape and maneuvers of the object were not typical of a balloon, but suggests that balloons can appear highly deceptive when viewed from high-speed aircraft. The documentation includes the official record card, the pilot's signed statement, wind data for the day, and a request for further information from the Weather Bureau.