Incident Report — Central House, Alaska, 25 July 1953

This document consists of a military cable and associated report form detailing the investigation of an unidentified aerial object reported by a civilian CAA employee at Central House, Alaska, on July 25, 1953. The witness initially reported the object as a UFO. Subsequent investigation by Air Intelligence determined that the object was a research balloon with a rocket assembly attached. The rocket, described as being 11 feet 7.5 inches long and 6 inches in diameter, was found in a dense thicket near Circle, Alaska. The propellant markings on the rocket indicated it was loaded in 1952. A note included in the correspondence clarifies that such balloon-rocket combinations are released specifically in Arctic regions for cosmic ray research, a project sponsored by the University of Iowa and conducted by General Mills. The report confirms that the rocket had not been fired. The military authorities notified General Mills of the recovery of the remains. The document includes standard declassification markings and references to Air Force administrative forms, specifically AF Form 112, which was not prepared unless requested. The report concludes that the sighting was a misidentification of a legitimate scientific research device.