Unidentified Flying Object Report — Amarillo, Texas, 22 May 1956

This document is a formal Unidentified Flying Object Report filed by the 688th AC&W Squadron at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas, dated 24 May 1956. The report details a sighting that occurred on 22 May 1956 at 23/0035Z. The primary witnesses included a refrigerator maintenance man, his wife, and a first sergeant from the 688th AC&W Squadron. The witnesses described observing a single, round, bright golden object, approximately the size of a pea held at arm's length, which appeared in the northwest at an elevation of 45 degrees. The object remained stationary for approximately one and a half hours before fading from sight. The report notes that the observer initially saw a B-47 aircraft overhead, which was followed by the sighting of the object. The document includes a detailed meteorological report and a sighting layout diagram. A significant portion of the investigation involved Lt. Billy Adams, an AC&W director assigned to the 703rd AC&W Squadron. Lt. Adams was flying a B-25 aircraft between Dalhart and Amarillo at the time and was in contact with the object. He reported that he had sighted a weather balloon while over Dalhart, estimating its altitude at 15,000 feet. Based on his report, the flight path of his aircraft, and the correlation of radar tracks and tape recordings of transmissions, the command concluded that the sighting was definitively caused by a weather balloon with a bright light attached. The report was submitted to the Commander of the Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, in accordance with CONAD Manual 55-1.