Project 10073 Record Card and Related Investigation Reports — Columbus, Ohio, June 1954

This document is a comprehensive investigation file regarding a UFO sighting reported on 23 June 1954 by 1st Lt. Harry L. Roe, Jr., an Ohio Air National Guard pilot. While flying an F-51 Mustang on a routine training flight between Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, Lt. Roe reported being followed by a bright, white light for approximately 45 minutes. Despite performing various maneuvers, including 90-degree turns and slowing his aircraft to near-stall speeds, the object maintained a consistent position relative to his wing tip. Lt. Roe contacted the Dayton Municipal Airport tower and Patterson AFB tower to alert them, but ground personnel were unable to visually confirm the object. Radar control operator S/Sgt. Maynard Harris later confirmed that he had plotted two targets on his scope during the incident: one corresponding to Lt. Roe's aircraft and another moving with significant speed. The investigation, conducted by T/Sgt. Albert W. Drepperd of the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), included interviews with the pilot, tower operators, and other military personnel. Dr. Byers, an ATIC astro-physicist, participated in the interviews. The report notes that the pilot was initially concerned about his sanity but remained adamant about the object's presence. The official ATIC evaluation tentatively categorized the phenomenon as a 'reflection phenomena of some sort,' though this was contested by the pilot's observations of the object's maneuverability. The file also includes a secondary, unrelated report from a civilian witness in Columbus who observed a football-shaped object on 26 June 1954, which he described as having a gunmetal color and appearing to be a reflection from a painted surface. The document contains various attachments, including the pilot's completed technical information sheets, press clippings from the 'Dayton Daily News' and 'Springfield Sun,' and internal military message forms. The investigation highlights the tension between the military's desire to maintain operational security and the intense interest from the local press, with the pilot explicitly stating he did not initiate the media contact and was angry about the leak.