Unidentified Flying Object Report — Pinewood, South Carolina, 25 January 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding a sighting of an unidentified flying object on January 25, 1953, approximately six miles southeast of Pinewood, South Carolina. The report details an observation made at 2120 hours by a group of approximately ten civilians, including a Coca-Cola representative and his family. The witnesses described a round, white object with an intermittent orange and red trail, estimated to be the size of a road sign. The object was initially observed hovering at an altitude of 250 feet for five minutes. It then traveled seven miles in a parallel course at high speed, hovered again for seven minutes, and appeared to fly backwards before disappearing over a wooded area, leaving a white glow behind. The weather was reported as clear with unlimited visibility and no moon. The witnesses attempted to follow the object by car but were unable to do so because it traveled too fast. The official conclusion provided by the Air Technical Intelligence Center is that the object was 'probably aircraft,' specifically noting that three L-20 aircraft were in the area at the time of the sighting. However, the document includes a handwritten annotation on the second page stating, 'not a balloon. not astronomical. not our aircraft. should be investigated more!' The report was submitted by the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base to the Director of Intelligence at Headquarters USAF. It includes references to Air Force Regulation 200-5 and was processed under the classification of Unclassified, with instructions for downgrading at three-year intervals.