Project 10073 Record Card and Incoming Message — Chanute AFB, Illinois, 19 March 1962

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated incoming Air Force staff message regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on 19 March 1962 at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois. The sighting involved a single object described by witnesses—including Captain T.E. Wood, A3C R.R. Schenk, and A3C L. Rinehart—as appearing round and orange, approximately one-fifth the size of the sun. The object was observed for ten minutes, moving between 15 and 75 degrees above the horizon in the west-northwest and west directions. Witnesses reported the object changing shape from round to elongated, moving in various directions, and disappearing upward before reappearing two minutes later. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the witnesses had observed the planet Venus. The report suggests that the planet's position, its -3.4 magnitude, and atmospheric refraction created the illusion of color and vertical motion. Furthermore, the report notes that a B-47 aircraft was in the area at the time, which the witnesses likely conflated with the celestial object. The preparing officer, who identified himself as a former B-47 pilot now assigned to civil engineering, provided a professional assessment that the ground sighting was likely a B-47 illuminated by the sun with a short contrail, a phenomenon he had personally experienced during his four years of flight duty. The report was filed in accordance with Air Force Regulation 200-2.