UFO Sighting Report — Montauk AFS, LI, N.Y., 5 November 1959

This document is an official incoming staff message from the Department of the Air Force, dated November 7, 1959, regarding a UFO sighting reported on November 5, 1959. The incident occurred at Montauk AFS, Long Island, New York, and was observed by TSGT Clarence Nason, a radar operator with the 773rd Radar Squadron (SAGE). The observation lasted for ten minutes, during which a radar blip, described as one-eighth of an inch wide on the radar screen, was tracked. The object was first detected at 0019Z at an azimuth of 282 degrees, a range of 40 miles, and an altitude of 68,000 feet. It was observed steadily climbing until it faded out at a range of 43 miles, an azimuth of 286 degrees, and an altitude of 78,200 feet. The radar equipment used included the FPS-20 radar, the FPS-6 height-finder, and the UPX-6 IFF system. The report, prepared by SSGT Donald E. Woods of the Intelligence Division at the New York Air Defense Sector (ADS), McGuire AFB, concludes that the object was a weather balloon. This conclusion was reached by analyzing prevailing wind conditions in conjunction with the known rate of ascent of a weather balloon released from Idlewild Airport at 2300Z on November 5. The report notes that the Senior Director contacted various local organizations that might have been engaged in experimental operations, but all inquiries yielded negative results. The document includes detailed weather data and wind conditions at various altitudes to support the conclusion that the radar contact and the weather balloon were the same object.