Project 10073 Record Card — NE France, 12 September 1957

On 12 September 1957, at 1250Z, a sighting of an unidentified aerial object occurred over Northeast France. The report, filed as UFOB RPT 66-9-1, describes a single, round object, estimated to be the size of a silver dollar and colored light grey or white. The object was observed for 4-5 seconds at an altitude of 12,735 feet. A notable feature of the sighting was an object hanging beneath the primary object, which appeared to emit smoke or flashes of light. The object was observed to rise rapidly and disappear vertically into the sun. The weather conditions at the time included a scattered cirrus cloud deck above 3,000 feet. The report was transmitted by the Commander of the 60th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to various Air Force commands, including the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). Squadron intelligence evaluated the sighting and concluded that the object was likely a balloon. A handwritten annotation on the document suggests that the reporting officer may not have been familiar with the appearance of balloons equipped with radiosondes and other transmitting devices, which can produce the observed light and smoke effects.