Report of flying object seen over the Atlantic Ocean

On October 18, 1958, the crew of the Dutch merchant vessel m.v. Coolsingel, while en route from Norfolk, Virginia, to Bremen, Germany, observed an unidentified flying object over the Atlantic Ocean. The sighting occurred at 23:20 ship's time (00:40 GMT on October 19) at coordinates 46 degrees 7 minutes North, 19 degrees 25 minutes West. The witness, 2nd Officer J. van Tiel, Jr., described the object as a very bright, white sphere featuring a row of lights resembling portholes and a short, reddish tail similar to a rocket. The object emerged from a cloud, traveled at a steady course of 200 degrees true with 'tremendous speed,' and disappeared into another cloud after a duration of 5 to 7 seconds. The crew reported no sound and noted that the object appeared to be at an altitude of approximately 1000 to 2000 meters. The ship's radar was not in operation at the time. Following the incident, the report was submitted to the U.S. Air Force. The Air Technical Intelligence Center subsequently evaluated the report and concluded that the sighting possessed all the characteristics of a meteor. Major Lawrence J. Tacker of the U.S. Air Force formally communicated this finding to the witness in a letter dated December 16, 1958.