Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Tsu-Shima, Japan, September 1952

This document consists of an Air Intelligence Information Report and associated records regarding a series of radar sightings reported on September 28, 1952, near Tsu-Shima, Japan. The report, authored by Captain Alonzo N. Sloan Jr. of the 527th AC&W Group, details observations made by radar scope operators A/3c Carlton L. Hall and A/2c Warren D. Grovenstein. According to the operators, multiple targets appeared on radar scopes directly behind aircraft departing Itazuke AFB. These targets were observed at various times between 2035 and 2209 hours. The targets were described as appearing like normal aircraft but rounder in shape, with a trace trailing approximately two to three miles behind the aircraft. The observers noted that the targets appeared when aircraft passed between WJKE 2518 and WJKE 2018, disappearing after two to four sweeps. The report explicitly states that the sightings were not evaluated by the headquarters of the 527th AC&W Group. The official conclusion provided by the D/I FEAF (Far East Air Forces) is that the radar presentation was caused by atmospheric changes resulting from the passage of the target aircraft through the area, which created ionization and extraneous echoes. The document includes statements from the two radar operators confirming their observations and noting that the scope was otherwise normal with only minor sea clutter. The report also includes a separate, seemingly unrelated observer questionnaire from an individual in Cincinnati, Ohio, dated September 29, 1952, which describes a different, visual sighting of an object. This questionnaire appears to be misfiled or included as a reference for comparison, as it describes a 'squat boat-shaped or lemon-shaped' object with a 'bluish glow' seen in Ohio, which is geographically and contextually distinct from the radar reports in Japan. The primary intelligence report remains focused on the radar anomalies in the Far East theater.