Project 10073 Record Card — Peoria, Illinois, 18 September 1955

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype communications regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on September 18, 1955, in Peoria, Illinois. The witness, a 40-year-old secretary, observed a single object from a Ground Observer Corps post located on top of a fire house. The object was described as long and narrow, lacking wings, and resembling a circus balloon. It was noted to be grey on one side and orange on the other. The witness reported that the object appeared to be rolling and rotated once during its flight. The object maintained a steady altitude of approximately 1,000 feet and traveled at a speed estimated between 30 and 40 knots, moving from the southwest to the northeast. The sighting lasted only a few seconds. The weather conditions were reported as clear with winds under 10 mph. Military personnel from the 73rd AC&W Squadron at Hanna City, Illinois, processed the report, which was subsequently forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Defense Command at Colorado Springs. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that there was insufficient data to determine the nature of the object. The report includes a note from the investigating officer, 2nd Lt. Richard R. [illegible]ower, regarding a vector in the landing pattern that occurred shortly after the sighting.