Air Intelligence Information Report: Unidentified Flying Object Sighting, Barksdale AFB, 11 August 1953

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-36-53) detailing an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on the night of August 11, 1953, at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The primary witnesses were Major Jack D. Swickard, an aircraft observer with a background in astronomy, and S Sgt Otis Rector, a base game warden. At approximately 2100 hours, while located at the north end of Flagg Lake on the Barksdale reservation, the two men observed a reddish, ball-like object, estimated to be three times the size of a large star. The object moved at a high rate of speed, described as significantly faster than the B-47 aircraft operating in the vicinity, and left a streak in the sky as it traveled from a northerly direction toward the southeast, moving nearly parallel to the earth's surface before rising and disappearing. Major Swickard, who was considered a highly reliable witness, explicitly stated that the object was not a 'shooting star.' S Sgt Rector noted that he had seen similar objects on three previous occasions but had not reported them due to a fear of ridicule. The weather conditions at the time were described as very clear and cloudless, with no moon present. The report confirms that no photographs or physical fragments were obtained, and no interception was attempted. The Barksdale weather station had released a weather balloon at 2100 hours, but the report notes that the slight breeze at the time made it unlikely that the balloon could have achieved the high speeds observed. A separate, secondary observation occurred in downtown Shreveport at 1930 hours on the same night, where residents reported a round object approximately 10 to 13 feet in diameter; Barksdale Air Police later determined this was likely a balloon that had been released in the city. Despite Major Swickard's professional assessment that the object was not a meteor, the official conclusion recorded by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) categorized the sighting as 'Astronomical (Meteor).' The document includes subsequent correspondence between the 2nd Air Force and ATIC, requesting further technical details, such as wind speeds aloft and angular velocity, to assist in the analysis under Project Blue Book.