Project 10073 Record: Sighting by SS Morgantown Victory

This document contains a formal report regarding a UFO sighting by the crew of the SS Morgantown Victory on January 11, 1966. The report was forwarded by the U.S. Naval Defense Forces Eastern Pacific to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. According to the statements provided by the Master, Glynn J. Petrie, and crew members Robert J. Claunch, Richard T. Anderson, and John F. Facha, the object was observed at approximately 2200 ship time. The witnesses described a cigar-shaped, silent, glowing object with a bright light at the head, a duller light aft, and a fiery tail. The object approached the ship from the horizon on the starboard beam, hovered for approximately 30 seconds at an altitude of 400 feet, and then moved to the port quarter before disappearing. The total duration of the sighting was three minutes. The weather conditions were reported as clear with excellent visibility and a full moon. Following the sighting, the vessel executed a Williamson Turn to search for a possible downed plane, but nothing was found. The official conclusion recorded in the Project 10073 file identifies the phenomenon as the decay of the satellite Cosmos 53.