Project 10073 Record Card — Pope AFB, S.C. — 10 Dec 52

This document details a radar sighting of an unidentified aerial object at Pope Air Force Base, South Carolina, on December 10, 1952. The object was tracked by the 728th AC&W Squadron from 1420Z to 2215Z. The radar operators described the object as a bright, circular, stationary blip that did not disappear when the moving target indicator was engaged. The object was observed at an altitude of 8,000 feet, approximately 8.5 miles from the station. An F-51 aircraft was scrambled to investigate the area, but the pilot reported seeing nothing unusual. The report includes technical data from the radar equipment, specifically the AN/CPS-5-D, MSQ-1, and AN/MPQ-10 systems. The investigating officers, including Captain Albert F. Perna, concluded that the sighting was likely a permanent radar echo caused by temperature inversions in the area, noting that the object's behavior was consistent with such phenomena. Photographs of the PPI scope were taken, though they were not received by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at the time of the report. The document includes correspondence between the 507th Tactical Control Group and ATIC, requesting further information and the completion of electronic data sheets. The final assessment provided by the military personnel involved was that the incident was possibly due to weather phenomena.