Project 10073 Record Card — Airborne Electronic Sighting, Dallas, Texas, 24 Dec 52

This document details an electronic sighting of an unidentified aerial object on December 24, 1952, involving a B-36 aircraft conducting a flight test near Dallas, Texas. The phenomenon was detected by two separate radar systems, the AN/APG-41 and the AN/APS-23, while the aircraft was performing simulated attacks with F-84 fighters. Despite the radar tracking, the object was never seen visually by the flight crew, even though they conducted an intensive search. The object was tracked for approximately 30 minutes, during which it maintained a distance of 2,000 to 4,000 yards ahead of the B-36 while the aircraft descended from 40,000 to 15,000 feet. The radar operators, W. C. Osmon and R. O. Garlington, reported that the object appeared to be stable and trackable, with behavior that suggested intelligent guidance. The report includes extensive correspondence between the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and the Convair plant representative regarding the acquisition of radar scope photographs and film for further analysis. While some initial concerns were raised regarding potential weather-related interference or spurious returns, the operators insisted that the target was distinct and not a result of normal aircraft returns or ground clutter. The documentation includes flight test plans, operator statements, and technical details regarding the radar equipment used during the incident. The case was assigned to Project Blue Book for further investigation, with ATIC requesting high-quality prints of the radar scope film to determine if any known phenomena could explain the unusual returns.