Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting Report - Philadelphia, PA, 14 May 1959

This document contains the official Air Force investigation into a UFO sighting reported by a civilian in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the night of May 14, 1959. The witness, an amateur astronomer and employee of an electronics firm, observed an object he described as an inverted dish with a structure on top resembling a diving bell. He reported that the object was bright orange, appeared the size of an egg at arm's length, and pulsated before fading. The witness observed the object twice over a period of one and a half hours, initially with the naked eye and subsequently with a four-and-a-half-inch reflector telescope. He provided the Air Force with photographic slides and negatives of the object for analysis. The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) conducted an investigation and concluded that the sighting was not an unidentified aerial phenomenon but rather the result of a US Navy F8U aircraft conducting a photo mission in the area. The aircraft was dropping 250-million-candlepower photo-flash flares. The Air Force noted that the public had been alerted via local radio stations regarding the mission to prevent unnecessary reports, though this specific witness remained unaware of the cause at the time of his observation. The correspondence includes letters from the witness requesting the return of his materials and formal responses from the Air Force confirming the identification of the flares and returning the photographic evidence.