Project 10073 Record Card and UFO Report Supplement — Lake Mead, Nevada, May 1961

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and a series of teletype reports detailing a UFO sighting that occurred on May 29, 1961, near Lake Mead, Nevada. Two civilian observers, one of whom was a Department of the Air Force civilian employee at Nellis Air Force Base, reported seeing at least 12 luminous, silver objects in a diamond formation. The observers described the objects as having a 'swastika' shape and being 'more enormous than any aircraft.' The objects were observed for approximately ten minutes, during which they performed effortless, floating maneuvers before accelerating rapidly toward Boulder City. The witnesses reported that the objects had brilliant lights and made no sound. Major Anthony J. Busalacchi, Director of Intelligence for the 4520th Combat Training Wing at Nellis AFB, investigated the report. He noted that the observers were emphatic about the unusual appearance and size of the objects. However, the official military assessment concluded that the sightings were misidentifications of F-105 aircraft conducting night refueling exercises with KB-50 tankers over the Grand Canyon. The report attributes the observers' descriptions to 'distance/direction/time errors and darkness contributing distortion and resultant miscalculations.' The document notes that no physical evidence was found and that radar returns from the 865th AC&W Squadron did not correlate with the reported objects. The report concludes that no further investigation would be pursued.