Project 10073 Record Card — Hutchinson, Kansas, 21-22 January 1955

This document collection details a series of sightings reported in Hutchinson, Kansas, between January 21 and 22, 1955. Multiple witnesses, including personnel at the Hutchinson Naval Air Station and the Municipal Airport, observed four objects displaying white and red lights. The objects were described as hovering, then gaining rapid speed, and appearing bright silver in daylight. The witnesses included flight instructors and control tower operators who reported the objects moving from south to north, performing evasive maneuvers, and traveling in a string formation. Despite attempts by a Navy P2V aircraft to intercept the objects, no contact was made, and radar failed to detect them. The reports were compiled and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and the 4602nd Air Intelligence Squadron (AISS). Following an investigation, the 4602nd AISS officially identified the objects as balloons associated with a project designated as 'Project Barber Shop'. The documentation includes internal military correspondence requesting clarification on the nature of 'Project Barber Shop' and subsequent confirmations that the sighting was indeed linked to this project. The reports emphasize that the objects were not aircraft and that no radar contact was established at any time during the 20-minute duration of the observation.