UFOB Index Card and Teletype Report — Salton Sea, California, 16 March 1955

This document consists of a UFOB Index Card and a supporting teletype report detailing a sighting that occurred on 16 March 1955. The witness, Captain J. G. Pachman, a 33-year-old Strategic Air Command (SAC) pilot, reported observing a single, round, silver object while flying a B-47 aircraft. The sighting took place 30 miles north of the Salton Sea, California. The object appeared to be the size of a dime held at arm's length and was observed for a duration of three minutes before fading into the distance. The object was traveling due south. The teletype report, sent from the 751st Air Warning Squadron at Laguna, California, to various Air Force commands including the Air Technical Intelligence Center, confirms the details of the sighting. The official conclusion reached by the military authorities was that the object possessed the characteristics of a balloon. The report notes that the short duration of the observation could be explained by the fact that the observer's B-47 was flying in a somewhat opposite direction to the object's course, thereby limiting the time the object remained in view. The document is marked as unclassified and provides a standard military assessment of the event.