AIR INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION REPORT: FLYOBRYT - Report of Unidentified Flying Object

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (TAC IR-55-52) dated October 31, 1952, concerning an unidentified flying object sighting that occurred on October 28, 1952, at Love Field, Dallas, Texas. The primary witness was 1st Lt. Walter H. Baxter, III, a rated USAF pilot with combat experience in Korea, who was accompanied by a Dr. and Mrs. [illegible] from Arlington State College. At 1812 CST, the witnesses observed an orange-colored object descending on a slight dive angle from a bearing of 180 degrees. The object initially appeared to resemble the exhaust or running lights of an aircraft, leaving a trail similar to an afterburner exhaust. Over a duration of approximately four seconds, the object completed an arc of about 15 degrees, appeared to fire a number of rockets, and then vanished. The witnesses reported the event to the local U.S. Weather Office, though no formal record was made at that time. Captain Thomas E. Smith, the Wing Intelligence Officer for the 140th Fighter-Bomber Wing, evaluated the report and noted that the witnesses were considered reliable. While the official conclusion on the Project 10073 record card categorized the sighting as 'Probably Astronomical,' the narrative report explicitly states that the trajectory was believed to be too flat for a meteor. The bursts of light observed were described by the witness as looking exactly like 5-inch HVAR rockets fired at that time of day. The report confirms that there was no change in flight path, no indication of a crash, and no reason to believe the light had done more than burn out.