Project 10073 Record Card and Supplement to AF Form 112 — Lake City, Tennessee, 20 November 1955

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report compiled by the 4602D AISS regarding a series of sightings of unidentified aerial objects on 20 November 1955 in the vicinity of Lake City and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Seven witnesses, including six military personnel from the 663rd AC&W Squadron and one civilian telephone company manager, reported observing two objects. The witnesses described the objects as elliptical or cigar-shaped, metallic, and dull orange or silver-yellow in color. Estimates of their size varied significantly, ranging from the size of a pea held at arm's length to dimensions of 150 by 250 feet. The objects were reported to have traveled from the southwest to the west at speeds estimated between 0 and 900 miles per hour, with erratic flight paths and no audible sound. The sightings occurred during bright twilight conditions. Investigative efforts included checks with the McGhee-Tyson Weather Station, which confirmed clear skies, and inquiries with commercial airlines and the University of Tennessee, all of which yielded negative results. The 663rd AC&W Squadron did not track the objects on radar, and a scramble of two F-86D interceptor aircraft failed to locate or identify the objects. The preparing officer, Captain Sidney Stein, initially concluded that the objects were likely some form of optical or weather phenomenon, noting that the lack of radar returns and the erratic flight characteristics suggested they were not material aircraft. However, the final approving officer, Colonel John M. White Jr., provided a definitive conclusion, stating that the sighting was likely caused by the observation of the planet Venus through two identified temperature inversions in the area. The report includes detailed descriptions from each of the seven witnesses, documenting their varying perspectives and reliability assessments.