Project 10073 Record Card and Sighting Report — Naha AB, Okinawa, 30 August 1961

On August 30, 1961, at 0247 local time, a sighting of approximately 12 unidentified objects was reported at Naha Air Base, Okinawa. The witness, Captain Armand Stellabotte of the 623rd AC&W Squadron, described the objects as appearing like the head of a pin, each with a trail approximately four inches long at arm's length. The objects exhibited an increasing glow near stars and followed long, arching flight paths, though several performed abrupt angular changes in direction without apparent changes in speed. The witness described the speed as tremendous. The total duration of the sighting was approximately five minutes. The weather was reported as exceptionally clear with some cumulus and altocumulus clouds and very light rain. No radar contact was made, and no photographs were taken. The official evaluation concluded that the sighting possessed all the characteristics of a meteor shower, specifically the August shower that typically occurs during that time of year. The coordinates of the shower's apparent origin (355+9) matched the origin point indicated by the witness. The report suggests that the witness's perception of the objects moving away from him was an optical illusion and that there was no reason to identify the objects as anything other than meteors.