Air Intelligence Information Report: Ground Observer Post Report of Unidentified Flying Object, Cape Vincent, New York

This document consists of an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding a sighting of an unidentified flying object near Cape Vincent, New York, on 19 March 1953. The report, filed by the 655th ACW Squadron in Watertown, New York, details an observation made by a local resident, Mr. [illegible], at approximately 2105 EST. The witness described a ball of fire with an orange border that appeared to be hovering at a low altitude and moving toward the north. The object was observed eight or nine times over a four-hour period, with each observation lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. The report notes that the object was visible through cloud cover and that the witnesses claimed to have seen similar objects previously, though they had never reported them. Weather conditions at the time were recorded as 3,000 feet overcast with winds from the southwest at 11 knots. The report explicitly states that the object was not detected by radar at the site. Captain Thomas C. Schirbel, the intelligence officer, noted that the report appeared reliable as four individuals had observed the object. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the sighting was astronomical in nature, specifically identifying the object as the planet Venus, which was positioned in the northwest at the time of the observation. The document also includes internal correspondence from an individual named Allen, who discusses various sighting reports from March 1953, including the Cape Vincent case, and mentions the 'Menzel plan' and the potential for meteorological phenomena or astronomical misidentifications.