Report of UFOB - 16 Sep 57 - Italy, 40°45'N, 16°12'E

On September 16, 1957, at 1800Z, a U.S. citizen serving as a Political Attache at the American Embassy in Rome, Italy, observed an unidentified flying object while driving with his wife on Route No. 96 in Southern Italy, between Potenza and Altamura. The witness, an ex-infantry Captain, stated that his wife first noticed the object and called it to his attention. They stopped their convertible to observe the phenomenon. The object was described as circular, appearing similar in size and color to the planet Mars at its brightest. It maintained a straight, non-maneuvering course from west to east at a constant altitude for approximately five minutes before disappearing behind mountains in the area. The witness reported no sound, exhaust, or trail, noting that the object reminded him of a V-1 in flight. Weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with good visibility. The report was forwarded by Major Patrick J. Ness of the Air Intelligence Information Report office in Rome. In his evaluation, Colonel R. A. Knobloch of the Air Attache office concluded that the object was likely a high-altitude aircraft. This conclusion was based on the similarity of the sighting to other reports of slow-moving lights in the sky, which were subsequently identified as aircraft through radar and flight operations checks. The report notes that the witness's eyesight was not optimal, though his wife, who also observed the object, possessed very good vision. The document serves as a formal record under Project 10073 and adheres to the reporting standards set forth in AFR 200-2.