Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Hastings, Michigan, July 16, 1957

This document consists of an Air Intelligence Information Report and associated correspondence regarding a sighting of five unidentified objects near Hastings, Michigan, on July 16, 1957. The primary report, filed under Project 10073, details an observation lasting 35 minutes. Witnesses, including a movie projectionist, a restaurant owner, and a newspaper reporter, described five objects that appeared as large stars, exhibiting a red-amber color with a brighter, whiter center. The objects were observed moving in an arc from west to east, occasionally joining and rejoining in an arrowhead formation, before eventually disappearing. The witnesses also reported hearing the sound of aircraft, which they estimated to be four-engine, propeller-driven planes. Subsequent investigation by the 71st Air Rescue Squadron revealed that a refueling mission, codenamed 'Everglades,' was taking place in the area at the time of the sighting. The Air Force concluded that the observed lights were caused by these aircraft during their refueling operation. The file also includes correspondence from 1963, in which a citizen from Port Huron, Michigan, inquired about the incident. Major Maston M. Jacks of the USAF Office of Information responded to the inquiry, confirming the official explanation that the lights were identified as a B-47 air refueling mission.