Unidentified Aircraft Sighting — Port Moresby, New Guinea, 23 August 1953

This document collection details a sighting of an unidentified aerial object reported by a Superintendent of Air Navigation with the Department of Civil Aviation in Port Moresby, New Guinea, on August 23, 1953. The witness, while in the vicinity of the Marine Base Workshops, observed a cloud formation that appeared to be generated by vapor trails. From this formation, a small object emerged and climbed rapidly in a North-Westerly direction. The witness described the object as appearing slightly larger than a pinhead at a very great height, leaving a clearly defined vapor trail before disappearing with a rapid gain of altitude. The witness, who had a movie camera, attempted to photograph the object using a telephoto lens. The report notes that the witness was a realist and not prone to jumping to conclusions, though he suspected it was a high-speed aircraft. The Department of Civil Aviation confirmed that Air Traffic Control had no record of aircraft movements in the area at that time, and the RAAF stated they were unaware of any aircraft with such operational performance capabilities in the region. The incident was subsequently reported to the U.S. Air Attache in Australia and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson AFB for further investigation, including a request for the film and scientific data. The documents also include a separate, unrelated report from August 26, 1953, involving a 53rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron officer in Bermuda who observed a cylindrical, plate-like object. The primary focus of the New Guinea file remains the attempt by intelligence agencies to secure the film taken by the witness, with internal correspondence noting rumors that the witness had been offered money by the press for exclusive rights to the footage.