Project 10073 Record: UFO Photograph of 19 Nov 68, near Acton, TX

This document details the investigation of a purported UFO photograph taken by FAA civil engineer Paul H. Freund on November 19, 1968, near Acton, Texas. Mr. Freund was conducting engineering work for a navigational aid facility when he took eight photographs between 2:30 P.M. and 3:30 P.M. The photographer did not observe any unusual objects at the time the pictures were taken. Upon processing, one photograph (Number 12-1) showed an unidentified image near the horizon. The FAA initially requested an analysis of the negative to determine the nature of the object. The negative was forwarded to the Air Force's Foreign Technology Division (FTD) at Wright-Patterson AFB. The FTD conducted a technical analysis of the print and the corresponding negative. Their final report, dated October 29, 1969, concluded that the image was a film processing or emulsion defect. The analysts noted that the 'object' appeared on only one of the eight photographs taken in the same general area. They hypothesized that a foreign substance or chemical deposit on the emulsion side of the negative prevented proper exposure and retarded development during the processing phase. The report explicitly states that the photographer did not see the object, and the analysts determined that the image was the result of physical phenomena occurring within the camera rather than an external aerial object. The correspondence included in the file tracks the administrative process of loaning the negative from the FAA to the Air Force and its eventual return, alongside the formal Photo Analysis Report (69-19).