Project 10073 Record Card and Report of UFO Sighting — Cleveland, Ohio, 14 August 1961

On 14 August 1961, between 1600 and 1640 hours, numerous reports of unidentified aerial phenomena were received from the Cleveland, Ohio area. A writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer contacted the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, stating that the public was jamming telephone lines to report the sightings. The objects were described as traveling from the Northwest to the Southeast in a straight line, visible within five degrees of the sun. Witnesses noted the objects were significantly brighter than the brightest star, estimated at one-half to one-third the brightness of the Echo I satellite, and traveling at two to three times its velocity. At 1645 hours, two military aircraft (B-47 or B-52) were observed in the area at approximately 25,000 feet, one of which performed a left bank heading south, passing between the sun and the city. A researcher at the SOHIO Research Laboratory Tracking Station was consulted regarding the sightings. He initially suggested the objects might be seed pods flying in the jet stream, noting that their irregular and rough surfaces would be conducive to reflecting sunlight. The researcher was described as being evasive during initial inquiries until he could conduct further investigations or speak with an Air Force representative. Ultimately, the official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card categorized the objects as balloons. The report includes a request from the Plain Dealer writer for the Air Force to investigate the matter to clarify the situation for his newspaper.