Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Chilton, Wisconsin and Cadillac, Michigan, July 1956

This document collection details a series of reports regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on July 28, 1956, in the vicinity of Chilton, Wisconsin, and Cadillac, Michigan. Witnesses, including civilians and police officers, described a brilliant white object, often compared to a large light bulb, which exhibited erratic movement, ascended, and occasionally displayed red flashes or colored exhaust. The object was observed for approximately three hours. Military involvement included radar tracking by F-89 interceptors, though the contacts were described as not sharp and were ultimately dismissed as being caused by other phenomena such as birds, clouds, or atmospheric targets. Despite the initial reports and the involvement of local police and Air Force personnel, the official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and associated headquarters was that the sighting was definitively caused by the planet Venus. Analysts noted that the planet was visible at the same time and date, and all observed characteristics of the object were consistent with this hypothesis. The documents include record cards, teletype messages between military units, and a press clipping from the Detroit Free Press, all documenting the investigation and the final determination that the sighting was an astronomical event rather than an unidentified aircraft or balloon.