Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Anaheim, California, November 1957

This document details the investigation into a UFO sighting and subsequent photograph taken by a 19-year-old service station attendant in Anaheim, California, on November 6, 1957. The witness, identified in the report as a source, claimed to have observed a fuzzy, cigar-shaped, pinkish-red object hovering over Disneyland for approximately 30 to 40 seconds. He reported stopping his vehicle on a bridge over the Santa Ana Freeway to photograph the object using a Graflex Century camera. The witness stated he moved the film forward one frame to prevent a double exposure, a detail that investigators later cited as evidence of the source's familiarity with photography and potential coaching. The photograph was subsequently brought to the attention of the Garden Grove Daily News and later LIFE magazine, leading to significant media interest and inquiries from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Air Force intelligence officers from Detachment 4, 1006th Air Intelligence Service Squadron, conducted a thorough investigation. They contacted local police, the Disneyland security department, the Long Beach Weather Station, and local observatories, all of which reported no unusual activity or phenomena. The weather at the time was described as cold with a light mist and scattered clouds. Investigators noted that the Santa Ana Freeway was illuminated by newly installed amber sodium lights, which, from a distance, could appear as small rectangles.

Analysis of the photograph by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) led to the conclusion that the image was likely an attempted hoax. ATIC experts argued that the photograph appeared to be a time exposure or a composite created through trick techniques, such as multiple exposures or the use of a transparent, painted object. They specifically noted that the 'halo' effect and the dense negative were inconsistent with the witness's stated camera settings and exposure time. Furthermore, the investigators observed that the source appeared to be seeking publicity and had a history of filing minor, unverified complaints. The report concludes that the sighting was not a genuine aerial phenomenon but rather a fabricated event, possibly intended to generate sensationalist media coverage. The original negative was eventually returned to the source, and the case was closed as an attempted hoax.