UFO Sighting, 21 Mar 64, Roswell, New Mexico

This document details the investigation of a UFO sighting reported by a civilian in Roswell, New Mexico, on March 21, 1964. The witness, Richard Bacom, was in his yard with a 35mm Japanese-built camera, intending to photograph birds, when he observed and photographed an unidentified object. He described the object as a metallic oblate spheroid that appeared bright, like chrome reflecting sunlight. The sighting lasted approximately five minutes, during which the object moved toward the North before disappearing below the horizon. The witness noted that the sun was below the horizon at the time of the sighting. The photograph was subsequently brought to the attention of Captain Frederic J. Kruzel, who was recently assigned to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base. Captain Kruzel secured the 35mm slide from the photographer and forwarded it to the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for evaluation. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., of the FTD, requested that the witness complete an FTD Form 164 to provide further details, including camera settings and the object's elevation and azimuth. The witness completed the questionnaire in September 1964, providing technical details about his camera (Tower 37, 35mm, f/45mm lens, shutter speed 1/38). The FTD conducted a formal photo analysis, documented in Report 64-67, dated December 22, 1964. The analysis concluded that the image on the film was not an actual object observed at the time of photography. Instead, the evaluators determined that the image was likely caused by a drop of processing chemical on the film emulsion during the development process. Consequently, the case was classified as having insufficient data for evaluation, as the photo did not provide a verifiable image of the object described by the witness.