Air Intelligence Information Report: Unidentified Object Sighting, 29 April 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-55-53) dated May 15, 1953, detailing a sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) on April 29, 1953. The incident occurred in the Pacific Ocean, northwest of the Hawaiian Islands, at coordinates 28°14' N, 166°05' W. The primary witnesses were three armed forces officers—Major Henry L. Brown, Captain Harold J. Lentz, and 2nd Lieutenant Lloyd V. Jan—who were traveling aboard the USNS General A. W. Brewster. According to the report, the object was observed for approximately 60 seconds between 1700 and 1705 hours. It was described as a metallic silver, circular object, roughly the size of an F-80 fighter aircraft, with no visible control surfaces. The object was initially seen stationary below the clouds at an altitude of 2,000 feet. It then performed erratic maneuvers, including a 90-degree turn toward the ship, a gain in altitude, and a flight path in an arc, disappearing aft of the ship. The report explicitly states that the object's speed exceeded that of a jet fighter and that its movements were not consistent with known aircraft. The Master of the USNS General A. W. Brewster initially expressed skepticism, noting the possibility that the sighting was a meteor, but the formal report submitted by the officers emphasizes the controlled, non-meteor-like nature of the object's flight. The document includes a diagram of the object's path and is signed by Major W. B. Betts. Additionally, the file contains supplementary materials, including a 'Saucer News' newsletter from 1965 that references various UFO reports, and a summary table of sightings for April 1953, which categorizes various incidents as meteors, balloons, or aircraft, while marking the April 29th incident as 'UNIDENTIFIED'.