Air Intelligence Information Report: Sighting at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, 2 July 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (TAC IR 17-53) regarding a sighting of three unidentified aerial objects near Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, on July 2, 1953. The report, authored by Captain Leon J. Nowak Jr., details an incident occurring between 0200 and 0400 EST. Two witnesses, identified as an A/1C and an A/2C from the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, observed three circular, white objects. One object was described as significantly larger than the others, appearing to hover with a bobbing motion at tree-top height before rapidly ascending vertically to an unknown altitude. The other two objects were observed in a northerly direction. The witnesses reported no sound and no trail or exhaust. The weather conditions were reported as CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) with calm surface winds. The report explicitly states that no physical evidence, photographs, or radar contact were obtained, and air traffic control confirmed no known traffic was in the area during the observation period. Despite the witnesses' insistence that the objects were not astronomical, the final conclusion of the report categorizes the objects as astronomical, specifically referencing Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. The document includes a series of internal military communications, including a query from the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) requesting clarification on the objects' behavior, speed, and potential astronomical nature, to which the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing responded by affirming the objects were not astronomical. The file is marked as unclassified and was downgraded under DOD Directive 5200.10.