Air Intelligence Information Report: Unidentified Aerial Object Sighting, Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco, 25 March 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (No. 28-53) dated 20 April 1953, concerning an unidentified aerial object sighted at Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco, on 25 March 1953. The report details a combined visual and radar sighting involving a C-47 aircraft and an unidentified target. The aircrew of the C-47, including Lt Colonel Gilmer E. Walker, Jr., Major Norman I. Radin, and 1st Lt Leo C. Fletcher, reported observing a white light that appeared to be an aircraft running light. The object exhibited unusual behavior, including rapid speed changes, abrupt turns, and hovering, which the crew noted was inconsistent with conventional aircraft. Radar personnel at the Port Lyautey Naval Station also tracked an unidentified target from 2200Z to 2355Z on the same night, reporting radio interference that suggested jamming. The radar operators, Joe G. Krzympiec and Charles G. Waltenburg, noted that the target appeared to be a 'fast jet' or 'conventional plane' based on their observations. The report includes detailed logs of the radar tracking, showing the target's bearing, range, and altitude. The official conclusion of the report states that the object met the description of an aircraft and was likely a French C-54 that landed at Nouasseur AFB at 2120 hours, with the stationary light on the ground assumed to be a ground light. However, the report also includes a letter from J. Allen Hynek to 1st Lt. Robert Olsson, dated 19 May 1953, which expresses skepticism regarding the explanation, noting that the data for the Nouasseur sighting were 'contradictory and insufficient' and suggesting the possibility of a helicopter. The document includes a sketch of the flight path and various aeronautical charts of the region.