Project Blue Book Incident Report: San Antonio, Texas, 21 December 1952

This document contains a series of reports and correspondence regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighting on 21 December 1952, near San Antonio, Texas. The primary witness, a 36-year-old General Engineer at Kelly Air Force Base and former Eighth Air Force pilot, reported observing a green, ball-shaped object while driving on the Freer-Tilden Highway at approximately 1815 hours. The witness described the object as having the appearance of a 'ball from a Roman candle,' traveling at a high rate of speed in a slightly downward trajectory before dipping further and disappearing. The witness estimated the duration of the sighting to be approximately one and a half seconds. Despite the witness's professional background in engineering and aviation, which he cited as evidence of his reliability, the official military assessment concluded that the phenomenon was 'probably a meteor.' The file includes the original observer's questionnaire, official Air Intelligence Information Reports (AF Form 112), and internal correspondence between the San Antonio Air Materiel Area and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The documentation highlights the administrative process for handling such reports, including the distribution of standardized questionnaires for future sightings. Notably, the witness expressed frustration with the questionnaire format, arguing that it was poorly executed and failed to capture the necessary data to accurately describe the event. The file also contains a separate, unrelated inquiry from a student in France regarding the existence of flying saucers, which was routed through the same administrative channels. The documents are marked as unclassified and include instructions for downgrading and declassification, consistent with standard military records management of the era.