Project 10073 Record Card and Incident Report — Karlsruhe, Germany, October 21, 1958

On October 21, 1958, at 1755Z, a sighting of an unidentified aerial object occurred near Karlsruhe, Germany. The report, filed under Project 10073, describes a round, light yellowish-green object that appeared as a ball of fire with a tail four to five times its diameter. The object was observed falling straight down for a duration of one to two seconds. The primary witness was Captain William L. Mathews, a flight commander with the 461st TACFITRON, who was deemed reliable. His account was corroborated by Captain Glenn M. Johnson, the operations officer, who noted that the object appeared as a small light that suddenly grew larger before dropping below the horizon. The intelligence officer, 1st Lieutenant James R. Nuss, processed the report in accordance with AFR 200-2. Weather conditions at the time included haze and scattered cloud layers. Radar checks conducted with flight service yielded negative results. The official conclusion recorded on the project card identified the object as an astronomical meteor, though the reporting officer noted the possibility that it could have been a night photo reconnaissance flare.