Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Hampton, Virginia, 11 August 1952

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (TAC IR-23-52) dated 13 August 1952, detailing a sighting of seven unidentified flying objects over Hampton, Virginia, on 11 August 1952. The primary witnesses were an Air Force Captain assigned to the 4400th School Squadron at Langley Air Force Base and his wife. According to the report, the witnesses observed seven yellowish-orange objects in a series of two, four, and one, flying at approximately 400 mph. The objects were sighted at altitudes ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 feet. The witnesses described the objects as having a steady motion, noting that the original two objects performed a chandelle maneuver and reversed their heading. The objects were observed skimming treetops at one point. The total duration of the observation was approximately 30 minutes. The report notes that the Langley Control Tower dispatched a B-26 aircraft to intercept the objects, but the mission resulted in negative findings. The Captain, who was an instructor, stated he was able to differentiate between the flying objects and local aircraft. The weather conditions at the time were reported as having 25,000 feet scattered clouds, 6 miles visibility in haze, and winds from the southwest at 5 knots. The investigator, 2d Lt Alfonse R. Russo, concluded that the source was reliable. In the 'Project 10073' record card, the final evaluation was marked as 'Possibly Balloon,' though the investigator's comments on the worksheet suggest skepticism, noting that the time between the sighting and the last known balloon release was too long for the objects to be balloons from Norfolk, and suggesting they could have been launched from Dahlgren, Virginia. The document includes a completed observer questionnaire where the witness describes the objects as looking like an airplane light at a distance, but noted the 'gig-zag' fashion of their flight and the color change from orange to reddish-orange as they approached the horizon. The witness's child reportedly exclaimed, 'Mama here is an airplane gone crazy!' The report is accompanied by a sectional aeronautical chart as an enclosure.