Air Intelligence Information Report: Sighting of Unidentified Object, 23 August 1952

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-3-52) dated August 26, 1952, detailing a sighting of an unidentified object by the crew of a B-29 weather reconnaissance aircraft. The incident occurred on August 23, 1952, at 0104 hours over the Simiju area of North Korea (grid coordinate XE 2841). The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 22,000 feet on a heading of 044 degrees under conditions of 1/8 to 3/8 undercast with no moon. The sighting was reported by the aircraft's crew, including the Airborne Commander, Pilot, Bombardier, C.F.C., and Right Scanner, who collectively possessed experience from 17 combat missions. The object was described as cigar-shaped, approximately 6 to 7 feet long, and orange-red in color. It was observed traveling at an angle of 45 degrees, roughly parallel to the B-29's heading, and appeared to emit red particles approximately 1 foot in diameter at right angles to its flight path. The object was first spotted at the 3 o'clock position, approximately 300 feet away, and disappeared after ascending to 150 feet above the aircraft's altitude. The entire observation lasted no more than 3 seconds, with the object's speed estimated at over 300 MPH. The report was prepared by 2nd Lt. Eugene L. Rybicki and approved by Captain Charles M. Clark, Jr. The approving officer provided a formal conclusion, stating that the object was believed to be a rocket-propelled ground-to-air missile. The document was distributed to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command, and the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Air Intelligence.