Project 10073 Record Card and Speedletter — Sighting in Lakewood, New Jersey, 23 July 1954

On 23 July 1954, at approximately 2200 hours, a witness identified as George Hitt, an employee of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey, observed three unidentified objects. The sighting lasted for 30 minutes under clear, calm, starlight conditions. The objects were described as having a square wing shape with a diameter of approximately 100 feet and a lime-white color. The objects were observed in a line, exhibiting a mechanical rhythm and varying speeds reaching up to 420 miles per hour. They traveled in a circle with a radius of two miles. During the observation, a portion of the circle emitted a brilliant white light for five seconds. The objects were estimated to be three miles from the observer at an altitude of 5,500 feet. The incident was reported to the Naval Air Station on 9 August 1954, and subsequently documented by the Commanding Officer, K. M. Kriger, in a speedletter dated 13 August 1954. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center was that there was insufficient data for evaluation, noting the delay in reporting and the lack of information regarding the objects' manner of disappearance.