Project 10073 Record Card — Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 7 February 1956

On February 7, 1956, at 1400Z, personnel at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The incident involved three objects, described as a cluster of large, plastic balloons tied together. The objects were sighted from the ground and confirmed by ground radar, although radar tracking was described as unsuccessful due to an indistinct echo. Multiple military personnel, including the Wing Operations Officer, the Base Operations Officer, and the UFOB investigator, observed the objects through a theodolite. Additional reports were received from an F-86 aircraft at 40,000 feet over Dauphine Island and an F-84 aircraft at 43,000 feet, both of which reported the objects above their respective aircraft. The objects were moving in an easterly direction at an estimated speed of 60 knots. The reporting officer noted that the balloons appeared to be the size of a dime at arm's length when at their closest point to the base. The official conclusion reached by the military was that the objects were definitely identified as a balloon cluster. The report was submitted as a deviation from standard AFR 200-2 reporting formats because the object was successfully identified, with the intent of aiding in the evaluation of other potential sighting reports that might be attributed to the same objects.