PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - ELMENDORF AFB, ALASKA - 18 JANUARY 1956

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and subsequent military correspondence regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UFOB) sighting at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, on January 18, 1956. The primary witness, T/Sgt Warren G. Ramset, a control tower operator with seven years of experience, reported observing a single object at 0442Z. The object was described as resembling a rocket exhaust, orange-yellow to white in color, and approximately the size of a half-dollar. It was observed for two to three seconds, moving from East to West, and was described as moving 'very fast' and 'level' parallel to the horizon. No object was visible ahead of the glow. The witness noted that he had observed a similar event earlier that day at 1800Z, though that object moved from West to East. Weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with thin scattered clouds and 15 miles visibility. No radar returns were detected by the adjacent ACW Direction Center, and no aircraft were in the vicinity. Initial intelligence assessments from the 10th Air Division noted that the rapid movement and horizontal path initially precluded the possibility of a meteor or star, and that the description did not resemble machine gun tracer fire. However, a follow-up communication dated January 21, 1956, provided a reevaluation of the incident. This later assessment suggested that the UFOB may have been a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere in a normal arcing trajectory, proposing that the appearance of a path parallel to the Earth's surface was an optical illusion caused by the meteor moving directly toward the observer from a point low on the horizon.