Project 10073 Record Card — Caddo Lake, Louisiana, 13 December 1955

On December 13, 1955, at approximately 0245Z, a radar observation was made over the southwest corner of Caddo Lake, Louisiana. The sighting involved a single, oblong-shaped object that appeared on radar with a size comparable to a normal aircraft return. The object was observed by Captain Lloyd Wentworth of the 513th Bomb Squadron, who was aboard a B-47 aircraft (number 429) flying at 7,800 feet with a magnetic heading of 330 degrees at 250 knots. The object was initially detected by Shreveport Control and was reported to be drifting in a northeasterly direction. When last seen, the object was on a magnetic heading of 150 degrees, passing beneath the observing aircraft before moving out of radar scope range. The sighting lasted for five minutes. Weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with complete darkness and no moon. The wind at 6,000 feet was recorded as coming from 250 degrees at 15 knots. Official conclusions noted the possibility of a balloon sighting, citing the wind conditions as a potential explanation for the object's movement. A KC-97 aircraft was also noted to have been in the area and heard reporting a radar sighting of the object.