Air Intelligence Information Report IR-9-53: Sighting of Unidentified Aerial Object, 2 February 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-9-53) dated 10 February 1953, detailing an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighting that occurred on 2 February 1953. Two gunners, Technical Sergeant Carl Y. Edwards and Staff Sergeant Kenneth B. Juelke, aboard a B-50 aircraft flying near Victorville, California, observed a stationary silver object in the wake of a B-52 aircraft. The object was described as a silver ball or disc, approximately three feet in diameter, and was observed for three minutes at an altitude between 40,000 and 45,000 feet. The witnesses, who were engaged in a training mission involving simulated attacks by F-86 aircraft, reported that the object made no sound. Both gunners attempted to capture photographic evidence using their G.S.A.P. cameras. The report includes statements from both witnesses, who confirmed the sighting and their inability to identify the object. The official conclusion reached by the intelligence officers was that the object was a large plastic balloon, as such items were known to be used for classified experiments in the vicinity. The report notes that the gun camera film was forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, but subsequent correspondence indicates that the film was never received and was likely lost in the mail. The document includes administrative correspondence regarding the missing film and the formal reporting process under Project Blue Book guidelines.