Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting Report 23 October 1957

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype report concerning an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOB) sighting that occurred on October 23, 1957. The witness, a 22-year-old civilian named William Chanitz, observed the object while aboard a Coast Guard cutter at the St. Louis Coast Guard Station. The sighting lasted for approximately 10 minutes, beginning at 1700 local time. The object was described as a round, silver, basketball-sized entity observed at arm's length, moving from North to South. The witness utilized Coast Guard Type 7 by 50 binoculars to observe the object. The report includes detailed meteorological data, noting that the winds at the time coincided exactly with the movement of the object. The official conclusion reached by the investigating officer, 1st Lt. James S. Prowell of the 20th Air Division, was that the object was a balloon, likely launched from the Coast Guard Station. The report was processed in accordance with CONAD M 55-1 and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Director of Intelligence at HQ USAF.