Incident Report — Oldtown, Maine, 1 January 1953

This document consists of a series of reports and operational messages regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on January 1, 1953, in Oldtown, Maine. An airman reported sighting a small, round object at 0815Z. The witness described the object as appearing like a star with a ring around it, which was observed to be whirling on its top and flashing on and off. The object exhibited complex movement, including traveling in a North-North-East (NNE) direction while simultaneously changing its color in a specific sequence: green, white, red, blue, and white. The witness further reported that the object would spin, stop, and then spin in the opposite direction. The observer noted that the object made no sound and lacked standard aircraft characteristics. After the initial observation, the witness drove three miles down the road to view the object from a different angle, at which point it appeared larger and faster. The incident was relayed through the GOC Filter Center B in Oldtown to the 32nd Air Division and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). Official military assessments concluded that the report lacked sufficient background data for a thorough evaluation, though it was suggested that the object could possibly be a balloon. The document is marked as unclassified and includes standard declassification instructions.