Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Las Vegas, Nevada, 16 July 1957

This document collection details a radar sighting reported on 16 July 1957 near Las Vegas, Nevada. The incident involved a single object detected on an FPS-3A radar scope. The object was described as appearing like a normal IFF paint but lacking an accompanying skin paint. It was tracked moving inbound at a speed of 5400 knots before stopping abruptly and remaining stationary for 12 seconds, after which it headed outbound. The total duration of the observation was two minutes and 12 seconds. Initial reports from the reporting squadron suggested the sighting was caused by electric interference resulting from a temperature inversion. Subsequent internal correspondence within the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and the Air Sciences Division further analyzed the event. A disposition form dated 1 August 1957 requested a review of the incident, noting that the object remained on the radar scope even when the video was turned off for one complete sweep. It was also noted that the object's flight path paralleled a traffic airway (V-8). A later comment dated 16 August 1957 by Colonel Gordon C. Hoffman stated that the extreme speed of the target eliminated the possibility of it being a U.S. aircraft with IFF installed, and concluded that it appeared to be another case of a radar sighting for which there was no satisfactory explanation due to a lack of sufficient data. The file includes teletype reports, a record card, and internal memos regarding weather conditions in the area, which were described as a conditionally unstable low-pressure frontal area with broken cumulus activity up to 12,000 feet.