Project 10073 Record Cards and Related Correspondence — South Portland, Maine, August 1956

This document consists of Project 10073 record cards and associated military teletype communications regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings in South Portland, Maine, in August 1956. The first incident occurred on 4 August 1956, involving a single, large, round, white light observed visually and through binoculars. The object was reported moving northeast before turning south at a slow speed. Despite a noted lack of correlation between the object's movement and local wind direction, the official conclusion for this sighting was that it was a balloon. The report also mentions that two other similar sightings had occurred in the same area within the previous 36 hours, involving groups of nine and six objects respectively. A second record card details a sighting on 9 August 1956, where a very bright, white, round object was observed for 40 minutes. This object was described as being larger than a star and was observed in the eastern sky. The official evaluation for this second incident concluded that the object was the planet Mars, citing its color, size, and position, as well as the low ceiling and overcast conditions at the time of the report. The documentation includes technical teletype headers and administrative notes from the 32nd Air Division at Syracuse AFS, referencing standard operating procedures under ADCM 55-1. The reports were processed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC).