Project 10073 Record Card and Incident Report — Surfside Pier, S.C., July 1959

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and a series of teletype messages regarding a UFO sighting reported on July 7, 1959, near Surfside Pier, South Carolina. The primary witness, a medical doctor, reported observing two objects while on the beach with relatives. He described the objects as circles of six lights with a seventh trailing light, comparing their size to a hula hoop held at arm's length. The witness reported that the objects made four passes over the observers, maintaining a constant formation, and that on the fourth pass, he observed an explosion-like flash, after which the configuration changed to four smaller solid circles of light. The objects then hovered in a square pattern before two of them accelerated inland at an enormous rate of speed. The witness emphasized that there was no sound associated with the objects. The report includes details of the witness's background, noting that he was a mature, sober individual who hesitated to report the sighting for fear of being considered a crank. Military intelligence at Myrtle Beach AFB investigated the report and noted that at the time of the sighting, eight F-100 aircraft were performing refueling missions with two KB-50 tankers in the vicinity. The 727th AC&W Squadron reported no unusual radar activity. The preparing officer concluded that the objects were likely the KB-50 tankers refueling the F-100 aircraft, though the witness maintained he had never seen an aerial refueling operation. The document includes references to drawings and home-made slides provided by the witness to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC).