Project 10073 Record Card — Richmond, Virginia, 31 August 1961

This document collection centers on a Project 10073 record card documenting a sighting on August 31, 1961, in Richmond, Virginia. The witness, an aviation writer, observed one or two objects with lights running down their sides. The object was described as a round, reddish-white light, approximately the size of a large plane light, moving at about 150 mph at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The witness reported that the object stood stationary, moved off, stopped, reversed course, and appeared to chase another airplane. The witness initially suspected an aerial tanker from the Tactical Air Command, but later considered it might be a civilian airliner. The official conclusion on the record card suggests it was likely a refueling operation. The collection also includes extensive correspondence between a civilian organization, 'Civilian U.F.O. Research,' and Major William T. Coleman of the Air Force's Public Information Division. This correspondence reveals the civilian group's persistent requests for information regarding various UFO reports, including sightings over Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. The Air Force responses consistently direct the civilian researcher to official channels and provide limited information, often citing that reports were not found or that sightings were identified as known phenomena, such as Sputnik IV or meteor activity. The document also contains technical information sheets completed by witnesses, providing detailed accounts of their observations, including sketches of the objects' paths and descriptions of their behavior. Several pages are dedicated to reports of fireballs and other celestial phenomena, including a report from the American Meteor Society regarding fireballs observed in 1961 and 1966. The overall narrative reflects the tension between civilian UFO research groups seeking transparency and the Air Force's structured, often dismissive, approach to investigating and categorizing these reports as conventional aircraft, satellites, or astronomical events.