Project 10073 Record Card: Sioux City, Iowa, 25 Oct 63

This document archive details a UFO sighting report from October 25, 1963, involving two civilian pilots flying a Bonanza aircraft near Sioux City, Iowa. The pilots, identified as Reilly and Bates, reported observing a dark, sharply defined mass that appeared to 'loom' and then disperse into 10-20 distinct objects. The objects were observed for approximately 25 to 30 minutes. The pilots initially suspected they were witnessing a KC-135 refueling operation, but the behavior of the objects—splitting, diminishing, and breaking up—led them to report it as an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The report includes correspondence between the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) and the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, confirming that a KC-135 (#8104) and a B-52 (#066) were indeed conducting a refueling operation in the 'High Life' refueling area at the time of the sighting, at an altitude of 29,000 feet. The FTD, specifically TSgt David N. Moody, concluded that the sighting was a 'looming' phenomenon, a rare atmospheric effect, and requested Dr. J. Allen Hynek to prepare a case summary. The archive also contains extensive technical documentation, including SAC Manual 55-14 regarding high-altitude refueling procedures, adiabatic charts, and aeronautical charts, which were provided to assist in the evaluation of the sighting under AFR 200-2. The pilots' experience and their ability to identify the KC-135 and its drogue from a distance of approximately 120 nautical miles were noted as factors in the investigation.