Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting at Mt. Lemmon AFS, Arizona, 18 July 1957

This document contains a series of records regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on 18 July 1957 by the 684th ACWRON at Mt. Lemmon AFS, Arizona. The sighting involved a single object observed at 0546Z, which remained stationary for 34 minutes at an altitude of 42,000 feet. The object was detected via radar at a 308-degree azimuth and 82 miles distance. The witness, Captain Bickham, was noted as very reliable. The report indicates that the object appeared on IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) radar as a normal mode 3 paint. A very slight strobe effect was observed, which the senior director noted resembled ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) jamming. Weather conditions at the time included an overcast layer with tops forecasted at 40,000 feet. Following the initial report, the matter was referred to the Air Technical Intelligence Center for analysis. Disposition forms from August 1957 show that the Air Sciences Division reviewed the report, noting the radar unit's location in a mountainous area and the possibility of ECM jamming. A subsequent evaluation by Colonel Gordon C. Hoffman concluded that the available data was insufficient to fully evaluate the report, but suggested that the lack of motion and slow movement indicated the object was likely a large weather balloon or a target simulator. The final consensus among the reviewing offices was that the sighting was not a flying object but was likely caused by internal factors, specifically the possibility of a target simulator.