Radar Sighting of Unknown Aerial Object — Great Falls, Montana, February 1953

This document collection details two separate radar and visual sightings of unidentified aerial objects in Montana during February 1953. The first incident, occurring on 11 February 1953, involved a bright, star-like light observed visually by A/3C Donald Monico and Lt. Wayne M. Fonnesbeck at the 29th Air Division blockhouse at Great Falls AFB. The object moved from the North to the South East at a high rate of speed over a five-minute period. The second incident, occurring on 27 February 1953, involved a radar track at the 779th AC&W Squadron in Opheim, Montana. Radar operators Earl W. Hersher and James F. Weeks tracked an object that faded and reappeared on the scope over an 11-minute period. The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) requested detailed electronics data sheets for these sightings to assist in their evaluation. Correspondence between 1st Lt. Robert Olsson and the Emerson McMillin Observatory at Ohio State University highlights the ongoing effort to collect and analyze such cases, with a focus on filtering out known phenomena like Venus or conventional aircraft. The radar data for the Opheim incident includes a detailed log of coordinates, altitude, and speed, though the final conclusion for the radar sighting was 'insufficient data for evaluation.' The documents also note that radar interference, described as 'running rabbits,' was observed at the Opheim site, though this was not considered the cause of the target track. The reports were processed through the 29th Air Division and forwarded to ATIC for further study.