Project 10073 Record Card and Incoming Message — Ocean Beach, New Jersey, 12 August 1959

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an accompanying Department of the Air Force incoming staff message dated 14 August 1959. The report details a sighting of an unidentified flying object by a civilian witness, identified as a housewife in Ocean Beach, New Jersey. The observation occurred on 13 August 1959, between 0230Z and 0415Z. The witness described the object as appearing like a saucer from the side, roughly the size of a nickel held at arm's length. The object was reported to be red in color, turning golden at times, and initially displayed a slight trail. The witness observed the object for one hour and forty-five minutes, noting that it orbited and moved back and forth over the same location, approximately thirty degrees above the horizon, before eventually fading out to the north or northeast. The weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with some high cirrus clouds and a haze layer. The report was prepared by 1/Lt William S. Barnett of the New York Air Defense Sector. Following the report, an investigation revealed that a weather balloon had been released from the Lakehurst Naval Air Station at 0000Z on 13 August. The station is located approximately 25 miles due west of the observer's location. Based on this information, the preparing officer concluded that there was a strong possibility that the observed object was the weather balloon released from Lakehurst.