Project 10073 Record Card — McChord AFB, Washington, 14 June 1957

On 14 June 1957, at 2114Z, a radar contact was recorded at McChord AFB, Washington. The incident involved a single object tracked by ground radar for approximately 33 minutes. The radar return was described as a normal pip that was eventually lost in ground clutter. The object was observed at a position of 3550 degrees at 25 miles. The behavior of the object was characterized by a radio descent straight down at an approximate rate of 2,000 feet per minute. Military personnel, specifically A/3C Raymond Robertson and A/1C James Bowen of the 635th ACW Squadron, were involved in the monitoring of the event. In response to the radar contact, a T-33 aircraft from the McChord AFB instrument school was diverted to investigate, but no visual sighting was made. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the object was a suspected deflated weather balloon, citing the relatively slow rate of descent as the primary indicator. The United States Coast Guard was tasked with investigating the area for a possible landing site. The report was forwarded in accordance with ADCR 200-7 and documented through various logs, including the recorder's log, surveillance log, and the 635th ACW Squadron's operations log.