Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Harmon AFB, Newfoundland

This document collection details the investigation into a reported UFO sighting at Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland, which occurred on 19 December 1951. The primary witness, Colonel Clayton E. Hughes, reported observing a peculiar cloud formation that appeared as a thin, white contrail near the moon. According to his account, the object descended, changed color from grey to black, and eventually disappeared beyond the western horizon. The sighting was corroborated by other personnel, including the crew of a C-82 aircraft who reported seeing a flash of white light in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The investigation involved multiple communications between the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and the Northeast Air Command (NEAC). There was considerable confusion regarding the date of the event, with some records suggesting 1950 and others 1951, leading to a series of inquiries to verify the timeline. Radar units at the base also reported unidentified returns in Saint Georges Bay on 18 December 1950, which prompted a search by a crash boat that yielded no results. Official evaluations of the 1951 sighting suggested that the phenomenon was likely a weather-related event, possibly a meteor or a weather balloon (rawinsonde) with an attached light. Captains Kuehnast and Smith of the weather detachment provided detailed descriptions of the cloud, noting its unusual shape and movement, but ultimately concluded that it was not an aircraft or an explosion. The documents include hand-written notes, record cards, and official message forms, reflecting the administrative process of the Air Force's Project Blue Book in attempting to categorize and explain these aerial phenomena.