Unidentified Flying Object Report — Webster Village, Maryland, 5 April 1953

This document consists of a series of military communications regarding an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting reported on 5 April 1953 in Webster Village, Maryland. The primary witness was Patrick Lynch, a civilian volunteer with the Ground Observer Corps (GOC). Lynch reported observing a stationary, V-shaped object that was white and gray in color for a duration of 36 minutes. The report explicitly notes that there were no vapor or exhaust trails, no maneuvers, and no sound associated with the object. The observation was made at 0131Z. Following the report, a fighter aircraft was scrambled to the area to investigate, but the pilot reported a negative sighting. Furthermore, electronic equipment at the 647 AC and W Squadron in Manassas, Virginia, detected no aircraft in the area of the observation at the time of the incident. Mr. Mitchell, the supervisor of the 'Peter King 53 Baker' unit, provided an assessment that the object was likely the North Star reflecting off of clouds. The documentation includes the original GOC sighting form and subsequent military teletype messages relaying the information to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The report is marked as unclassified and includes standard declassification instructions per DOD Directive 5200.10.