Project 10073 Record Card - Darmstadt, Germany - 25 April 1952

On April 25, 1952, at 2115 hours, two experienced pilots flying a C-47 aircraft on a local instrument training flight near Rhein Main Air Base, Germany, encountered an unidentified aerial object. The object was described as a brilliant white light, approximately two feet in diameter, which appeared on a collision course with the C-47. The pilot, identified as Captain Wisnieski, took evasive action to avoid the object. The crew contacted the Rhein Main tower, which in turn queried Frankfurt Airways; however, no other aircraft were reported in the vicinity. The object remained in view for approximately two minutes, during which time it maintained a straight and level flight path before climbing at a high rate of speed in a northwest direction. The weather conditions at the time included five to ten miles of visibility with scattered clouds. The witnesses, both rated officers with significant flight experience, noted that the object did not resemble any known aircraft, though one pilot remarked that the light reminded him of jet exhaust seen at night. The incident was documented in an Air Intelligence Information Report and filed under Project 10073. The official conclusion categorized the event as possibly involving an unknown conventional aircraft, though the data remained insufficient for a definitive identification.