Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Oxnard, California, March 1957

This document details an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding a UFO sighting in Camarillo, California, on the night of March 22-23, 1957. The primary witness, the wife of a US Air Force captain, reported observing an unusual green object in the sky, which she described as round, pulsating, and changing shape. She later reported two smaller red objects that appeared to join the green object before all sped away. The sighting lasted approximately two hours and fifteen minutes. The witness, who was alone at the time, became hysterical with fear and contacted the Officer of the Day at Oxnard Air Force Base. This triggered a series of events involving the local police, the California Highway Patrol, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. Despite the involvement of multiple ground observers and the scrambling of F-89 interceptors, no radar contact was established, and no physical evidence was found. The Air Force investigation, conducted by the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron, concluded that the sighting was a misidentification of conventional objects. Specifically, investigators determined that the 'UFO' was a combination of red warning lights on a nearby barn, the star Arcturus, and the reflection of light off telephone pole insulators. The report highlights the observer's emotional state and her belief in 'flying saucers' as contributing factors to the misidentification. The document also includes extensive correspondence between the Air Force and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), which had demanded details on the incident. The Air Force maintained that the incident did not warrant further action and expressed concern that the case was being exploited by 'die-hard flying saucer proponents' to create unfavorable publicity for the Air Force. The correspondence reveals a tense relationship between the military and civilian UFO research groups, with the Air Force dismissing NICAP's inquiries as based on erroneous information and biased questioning.