Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card — North Bend, Oregon, 20 August 1956
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AI-Generated Summary
A radar-tracked object observed over North Bend, Oregon, on 20 August 1956 was officially identified as a probable balloon. The object was tracked for two hours by multiple radar stations.
This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and associated military action reports regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on 20 August 1956 near North Bend, Oregon. The object was detected by ground radar and height-finding equipment at 0615Z. Military personnel at the North Bend ACURON station tracked the object for two hours as it descended from an altitude of 54,000 feet to 50,000 feet. During this period, the object appeared to orbit and moved from a 320-degree azimuth to a 32-degree azimuth. The North Bend station contacted the radar station at Nasselle, Washington, to request a secondary height measurement, which confirmed the initial altitude reading. The object eventually faded from radar scopes after the two-hour tracking period. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency, ATIC, is that the sighting was likely caused by a balloon. This determination was supported by a check with the ADC Forecast Center, which confirmed the presence of a balloon in the area at the time of the sighting. The report notes a discrepancy regarding wind data at 50,000 feet, which did not initially correlate with the object's observed course, yet the final evaluation remained that the object was a balloon.
However, due to the fact that the winds at 50,000 ft (as given in initial rpt) do not correlate to the course of the object, evaluation is balloon (probable).
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Official Assessment
balloon (probable)
The object was tracked for two hours by ground radar and height finder. Initial reports indicated an orbiting object descending from 54,000 to 50,000 feet. A check with the ADC Forecast Center suggested a balloon was in the area, though initial wind data did not perfectly correlate with the object's course.
Witnesses
- [illegible]1/LTACURON
- [illegible]A/CCACURON