Project 10073 Record Cards and Related Correspondence — Miami, Florida, July 1954

This document collection details a UAP sighting reported by Chief Petty Officer M.J. Brown and Seaman Sydney J. Martin, both serving aboard the USS YTB-543 on July 29, 1954. While the vessel was en route from Miami to Key West, Florida, the witnesses observed a brilliant, pale blue, egg-shaped object moving at an incredible speed. According to the reports, the object appeared from behind a cloud bank near 'The Elbow' lighted beacon, traveled horizontally in a semicircular path from the southwest to the northeast, and disappeared over a northbound merchant vessel. The witnesses noted that the object possessed four cones of light extending from its main body at 90-degree angles. The observation lasted approximately 6.3 seconds. Both witnesses emphasized the object's extreme speed, noting it moved faster than any flying object they had previously encountered. M.J. Brown, who had over twenty years of naval experience and familiarity with meteorology, explicitly stated his belief that the object was not a natural phenomenon like a meteor, as it traveled parallel to the earth's surface. Despite the detailed testimony and the creation of a schematic diagram by the observers, the official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card categorized the sighting as a 'Meteor'. The documentation includes various internal naval memoranda forwarding the report through the chain of command, including the Sixth Naval District and the Air Technical Intelligence Center, as well as a correction memorandum regarding the specific bearings of the sighting to ensure accuracy for schematic mapping. The file underscores the military's process for handling such reports in the mid-1950s, emphasizing the reliability of the witnesses while ultimately assigning a conventional explanation to the event.