Project 10073 Record Card — Del Rio, Texas, 24 November 1957

This document is a collection of records and reports concerning Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings occurring in late November 1957. The primary document is a Project 10073 record card detailing a sighting on 24 November 1957, west of Del Rio, Texas. A 37-year-old sales clerk reported observing a round, red, baseball-sized object that appeared as a 'ball of fire' and moved west at an altitude of 1,000 feet for approximately 10 minutes before disappearing behind a hill. Official military evaluation concluded that while the object was likely an aircraft, the information provided was insufficient for a proper evaluation, specifically citing a lack of required azimuths, bearings, and elevations as prescribed by Air Force Regulation 200-2. The document also includes a teletype report (UFOB Report 741-11-48) confirming the details of the Del Rio sighting and noting that no unusual activity was picked up by radar. Additionally, the file contains supplementary materials, including a press clipping by James Stokley regarding the visibility of Venus in the evening sky, which was often mistaken for an aircraft or UAP. Other reports included in the compilation describe various sightings from 25 to 30 November 1957 across the United States and internationally, with evaluations ranging from 'Astro (Meteor)' and 'Balloon' to 'Unidentified' or 'Insufficient Data.' One report mentions a sighting by Miss Ella Louise Fortune near the Holloman North Test Range in New Mexico, where she allegedly photographed a luminous, flat, egg-shaped object. Another report from Dansville, Indiana, details a witness account of two lights moving in the sky on 20 November 1957, which the witness initially thought were airplanes but later described as having no form or shape. The document serves as a snapshot of the Air Force's systematic, albeit often inconclusive, process for documenting and categorizing civilian reports of aerial phenomena during this period.