Project Blue Book Sighting Report — Haddonfield, New Jersey, 16 July 1952

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-43-52E) dated 21 July 1952, detailing a UFO sighting that occurred on 16 July 1952 near Haddonfield, New Jersey. A civilian couple, while on a pleasure drive with their children, observed a perfectly round, white, glowing object at approximately 2050 hours. The witnesses described the object as having no visible means of propulsion. It was initially seen traveling from west to east at an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet. The object reportedly 'turned out' like a light bulb, disappeared for approximately five seconds, and then reappeared before changing direction to travel directly north. The witnesses estimated the object's size as initially comparable to a baseball, later appearing the size of a honeydew melon. The report includes a detailed questionnaire completed by the witness, who was a 44-year-old male employed by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. The witness emphasized that the sighting was not an optical illusion and noted the absence of stars or moon due to cloudy conditions. The investigation was conducted by S/Sgt Dennis G. Washburn of the 568th Air Base Group at McGuire Air Force Base. Correspondence between the 568th Air Base Group and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base indicates an effort to correlate the sighting with weather balloon releases. A follow-up message from the 568th Air Base Group confirmed that a balloon was released from North Philadelphia Airport at 2159 hours, which was tracked visually for 3,700 meters. A handwritten note on the final page of the file categorizes the incident as 'X-E,' indicating it was likely a balloon due to insufficient data. The report was approved by Captain William B. Holmes of the 4709th Defense Wing.