UFO Sighting, 3 April 1966, Madison, Wisconsin

This document collection details a UFO sighting reported on April 3, 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin, by students at the University of Wisconsin. The initial reports, submitted via military message channels, described a cigar-shaped object and later, multiple round, red objects moving westward. The witnesses, students at the university, provided photographic evidence in the form of 35mm color slides. The Foreign Technology Division (FTD) conducted a formal photo analysis of these materials. The final report, dated November 17, 1966, concluded that the images were not of an unidentified flying object, but rather the result of camera movement while attempting to photograph a stationary electric light source at night. The report notes that the resulting 'boomerang' shape in the photos was a byproduct of this movement. The file includes correspondence between the 20th Air Division and the FTD regarding the collection and analysis of the original negatives and slides. The investigating officer, 1st Lt. Frank L. Howe, expressed frustration regarding the lack of detailed data provided by the witnesses, noting in one instance that the investigating officer should have obtained more data. The case was ultimately closed with the conclusion that the phenomenon was likely an electric light, and the photographic evidence was deemed insufficient to support the claim of an unidentified aerial object.