Air Intelligence Information Report: Report of Unidentified Flying Object, 16 April 1952

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-1-52) dated 17 April 1952, detailing an Unidentified Flying Object sighting that occurred on 16 April 1952 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The primary witness was a Captain in the 301st Bomb Squadron, a senior pilot with extensive flight experience, who observed the object while standing on the lawn of his residence. The witness reported a single, brilliant white, circular object, estimated to be ten times the size of the brightest star. The object was observed for approximately 70 seconds. It initially traveled in a straight and level course at a phenomenal speed before executing a 180-degree turn in six seconds and continuing on a reciprocal heading until lost to sight. During the turn, the object's appearance changed from a flat circular shape to a thinning lens shape, and its color shifted from white to pink and finally to red. The object emitted no sound, trail, or exhaust, though a slight reddish trail was noted for an instant after the turn. A neighbor, a former paratrooper, was also present but was not interviewed. The report notes that a weather balloon was launched from Barksdale Air Force Base at 2200 hours that evening; however, the balloon carried radio equipment but no lights. Personnel at Barksdale and the C.A.A. were contacted and denied knowledge of any phenomena that could account for the sighting. The report concludes that it is doubtful the object was the weather balloon. The document is marked as unclassified and was downgraded after 12 years per DOD Directive 5200.10.