Incident Report: Albuquerque, New Mexico, 11 October 1953

This document consists of a series of military teletype communications and a hydrographic bulletin regarding aerial observations in October 1953. The primary report concerns a sighting on 11 October 1953, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where thirteen tan, basketball-shaped objects were observed in formation. The objects were described as traveling two abreast with a dark streak on the left side of the formation, exhibiting no tail or exhaust trail. The observation lasted for four seconds before the objects disappeared behind clouds. The military investigation, conducted by Captain Walter E. Shirski of the 4620th AISS at Kirtland Air Force Base, concluded that the objects were likely birds. This conclusion was supported by a subsequent report in the Albuquerque Tribune on 17 October 1953, in which a witness named Alexander Jack stated that the objects were definitely ducks. The document also includes a separate, unrelated entry from a Hydrographic Bulletin regarding an instance of 'abnormal refraction' reported by the Master of the Panamanian SS Thekla in the Arabian Sea on 12 October 1953, where the ship sighted Minikoi Island at a distance of approximately 60 miles. The military report is marked as unclassified and includes standard declassification instructions per DOD Directive 5200.10.