Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — 25 June 1955 Sighting, Hillcrest Heights, Maryland

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (3H-UFOB-6-55) detailing the investigation into an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOB) sighting that occurred on the night of 25 June 1955 in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland. The report compiles accounts from several witnesses, including high-ranking military personnel (Lt/Col and Major, USAF) and a civilian administrative assistant. Witnesses described a brilliant, yellowish-red, round object with a trail, moving from east to west before hovering, oscillating, and moving off at high speed. The object was observed for approximately ten minutes. Witnesses also reported that searchlights trained on the object appeared to be neutralized or extinguished as the beams approached it. The 4602d Air Intelligence Squadron (AISS) conducted a thorough investigation, contacting various military and civilian agencies, including the Air Traffic Control Center at Washington National Airport, Andrews AFB, and the Washington Naval Observatory. No radar confirmation was obtained. The investigation identified that the Silver Hill Weather Observatory, located approximately five blocks from the sighting area, released a weather balloon containing a small, bright magnesium light at 10:45 PM EDST on 25 June 1955. The report concludes that the sighting was, in fact, this weather balloon. The investigating officer, 2/Lt Charles L. Berrier, argued that the observers' perception of the object's speed, altitude, and behavior was deceptive due to the night conditions and the balloon's low altitude. The reported 'neutralization' of searchlights was attributed to the observers misinterpreting the behavior of distant advertising searchlights. The report includes weather data, wind conditions, and formal concurrence from the approving officer, Colonel John H. White Jr., confirming the conclusion that the phenomenon was a weather balloon.