Project 10073 Record Card — Santa Maria, Calif, 22 Jul 55

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and a supporting memo routing slip regarding a UAP sighting that occurred on July 22, 1955, in Santa Maria, California. The witness, a civilian on vacation from New Orleans, reported observing a single, long, silver object with no wings and no sound. The object was sighted at an altitude estimated to be above 12,000 feet, moving from over the water. The witness took photographs of the object. The report was filed by the 669th ACWS and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the object was a 'possible Navy blimp.' The documentation includes a memo dated January 12, 1956, from S/Sgt Ronald DeRadder at the 602d AISS, which notes that the ATIC forms sent to observers would not be returned for further analysis and that the headquarters had performed its own assessment based on available information. The memo also references other contemporary sightings, including one in Akron, Ohio, and one in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which were also evaluated by the agency.