Project 10073 Record Card — Smyrna, Georgia, 31 July 1956

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (Report No. 2C-UFOB-2-56) concerning a UFO sighting in Smyrna, Georgia, on 31 July 1956. The report, prepared by Captain Thaddeus W. Kallini of the 4602d AISS, details the investigation into a report of a bright white light, slightly larger than a star, moving from north to south. The sighting lasted approximately 60 seconds. The primary witness, a 19-year-old student, reported the object at a 60-degree elevation. The investigation included checks with Base Operations at Dobbins Air Force Base, the 861st ACWRON in Aiken, South Carolina, and the 35th Air Division. These checks yielded no radar confirmation of the object, although a B-47 was in the area conducting a radar bomb plot. The investigating officer, M/Sgt Willis B. Minor, concluded that the sighting was likely caused by a low-flying aircraft. This conclusion was supported by the proximity of the sighting location to the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, where continuous engine testing is performed, which would explain the lack of noise reported by the witness. Furthermore, the report suggests that the witness's estimation of the object's path and duration was likely inaccurate due to the presence of houses and trees obstructing the true horizon, and that the witness may have underestimated the duration of the event. The report includes a Project 10073 Record Card and an index card (AISS-UFOB-221-56). The final assessment by Colonel John W. Meador, the Commander, concurred with the preparing officer's conclusion that the sighting was probably caused by an aircraft.