Project 10073 Record Card — Long Beach, California, 3 July 1954

On 3 July 1954, at 0437Z, a civilian employee at the Naval Shipyard on Terminal Island, Long Beach, California, observed an unidentified aerial object. The witness described the object as being the size of the moon, red in color, and soundless, with no visible trail. The object was observed passing overhead at the zenith, revolving and veering in an arc before disappearing over the horizon. The total duration of the sighting was approximately ten seconds. The witness was noted as being 'probably sincere' in their report. Weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with ten miles of visibility, no cloud cover, and no storms. The official evaluation conducted by the Air Technical Intelligence Center concluded that the object was a meteor. The report notes that the perceived arc and the object's disappearance were attributed to an optical illusion. The sighting was documented on a Project 10073 record card and supported by teletype communications between various military commands, including the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB and the 2347th AFRTC at Long Beach Municipal Airport.