Project 10073 Record Card — 29 July 1957

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated intelligence report detailing a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon on July 29, 1957, near Piedmont, South Dakota. Two Airmen from the 28th Field Maintenance Squadron, identified as R. L. [illegible] and Donald P. Bradley, reported observing a bright blue flash at approximately 0815Z. The object was described as leaving a long, narrow stream of smoke, with a diameter comparable to a B-36 vapor trail, covering 20 degrees of arc. The observers noted that the trail shifted in color from white to green and then to pink, before the object contracted into a spherical shape. The sighting lasted for five minutes under clear, calm weather conditions. The report was evaluated by the Intelligence Division of the 28th Bombardment Wing. The investigating officer remarked that while the witnesses appeared sincere, they were young and relatively inexperienced. Because there were no other reports of the incident in a heavily traveled area, the investigators concluded that there was insufficient data to determine the cause of the sighting, though they suggested it was a possible meteor with a persistent trail.