Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Alexandria, Virginia, December 1951

This document collection details a sighting incident that occurred on December 28, 1951, in Alexandria, Virginia. Two pilots, Captain Robert A. Hersberger and Major Donald Stetson Davis, both assigned to Headquarters USAF at Bolling Air Force Base, reported observing an unconventional aircraft while flying a C-45 aircraft. The witnesses described the object as a generally round, three-foot diameter spheroid with a hazy, inverted truncated cone on top. The object emitted a blue-white soft light, had no visible trail or exhaust, and made no sound. During the 15-minute observation, the object was initially reported as stationary at 7,000 feet before moving SSW and reducing altitude to 1,000 feet. It subsequently moved NNW and then in an arc from SE to E to N to NW, at which point the witnesses lost sight of it while they were switching fuel tanks. The pilots were described as rational and unexcitable. Following the report, the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) initiated an investigation. Correspondence between various military units, including the 121st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the 4th District OSI, was conducted to determine the nature of the object. The investigation eventually concluded that the object was an experimental helicopter from the Patuxent Naval Air Station, which was testing a new lighting system in the area at the time of the sighting. Lieutenant E.J. Ruppelt, acting on behalf of ATIC, determined that the description of the object's maneuvers and appearance closely resembled a helicopter, and therefore, further investigation into the flight paths of the aircraft involved was deemed unnecessary. The report includes various internal communications, record cards, and status reports confirming this final assessment.