Project 10073 Record Card — 6 Feb 61 Sighting

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and an associated Naval Message regarding a UFO sighting reported on February 6, 1961. The incident involved five officers aboard a WV-2 Barrier aircraft (BUNO 41328) operating in the Atlantic at coordinates 43.17N 37.30W. The crew observed a white, round or oval object through binoculars and an octant. The object was initially sighted at 2320Z at a bearing of 267 degrees with an elevation of 5 degrees 34 minutes, while the aircraft was at an altitude of 6500 feet. The object was described as being brighter than any star and approximately the size of a match head held at arm's length. The observation lasted for approximately 30 minutes, during which the object appeared to move with the aircraft. The weather was reported as clear with the aircraft flying above an overcast layer. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the object was the planet Venus. This determination was based on the object's brightness, which was recorded at magnitude -4.1, and the observation that its disappearance below the horizon coincided with the setting of Venus. The naval message serves as a formal debriefing of the barrier crew, confirming the details of the sighting and noting that an advance copy was delivered to the Commander-in-Chief.