Project 10073 Record Card: USS Davis Sighting, 25 August 1960

On August 25, 1960, the USS Davis, operating in the Western Mediterranean, reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The object was observed for approximately three minutes, beginning at 2244Z. The witness described the object as being twice as bright as a first-magnitude star. Initial observations placed the object at a bearing of 060 degrees with an 80-degree elevation, and it was last seen at a bearing of 080 degrees with a 40-degree elevation. The flight path was characterized as initially southerly, followed by a steady movement in an easterly direction. The report explicitly notes that the object's movement and duration ruled out the possibility of it being a star, planet, or meteor. The sighting occurred under conditions of nine-tenths cloud cover below the object's position. Multiple military communications were generated regarding this incident, including a retransmission of the message from the USS Davis to the Commander of the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Despite the detailed reporting of the object's movement and brightness, the official conclusion reached by ATIC was that the information provided was insufficient to reach a valid determination regarding the nature of the object. It was further noted that a follow-up investigation would not be practical given the limited data available.