clit::ui:l:; bc-~llccn. e co )~ tl.nta b. At. on e t:i.uo , bt=~t\!eon ~ ond 3 ( 10~.i tion~ .. of thr: n/ c ) on t.hr. c]t ~r l .in tho It'orn 11~, h~ lwd to rnc!~ u n of s j ght l'll~r-:r th-.~ uing. -tc ,,-~.not rtu" of 'n conct.,tr<>t5.n~ on the oo~jcct cnt could only r.;ivc r'n C.l?ro:::iJ:.tt'~ tr .c .;: by lininr-; h i s a/c v:J o f si ..... ht or th~ 'l'h t u~ :; in thr line thnt 'Lh.: :"lilot. \re s Dl\rays about ldc s oi:le dist:mce f~ .. o111 the objvct f. 'l'h~ ob.] oct did. not Gradually fPt1~ FHay in chc di~tru1.;c., i t j1..s t disn.prycrr cd . AP?LtlUIX II l. DESCRIPTION OF IriCiu~!IT At ap?I"oxlmately 0950 BST on C..l J,.illunry 19 , a r .s. lTu'~';t pilot flylne a 'l'B).I alrcre:rt sighted an unidentified object sot1thco.st of !:i tcl.el AFU. 'fhe Tf3M vao on a heading at E.pproximatcly 45. \~"hen first noticed, the object vaa lo\1 at ft.1'l anelc or about 45 froo the 13.1rc:-~!"t. The locution or the eircrart vas about three runvt~ys l encths fror: the end of ar~d line:d up with, lhmvay /!'X) (JQ0}. The object appcarf.!d to tc lialf\lny l:-<;tw~cn the aircru.ft end tho end or the rununy. The pilot'~ first in~)ression wv~ thut the object vas n parachute and he think5 he no ti cod \wf.ec o:-pie-:::haped segrcr,n. tiL,nfJ ou the top, ho\rever, ho realize:(: that t1:o object. ".O:l: r.oinc cros:..-uiJ,d nnd th:!t it eould not be n ~riftinc po.r uchu tc. i!c jude c.-! ... :-.:: anettla r;i z~ to be the sru.:c h~ the nnele subtenclcd b~, a house on t b(. 1'0\.l.!!d a.~:i by \.'t:. ~chinr tl.lc oLj cc t cover the equivalent of a city block. Ee judge:u ti ~e: :::cd to b o 300 !mots. He judccd the altitude to be 200-300 feet. It appeared to be on a cour~e of about 225. The pilot started a l eft turn (sec overlay) in an attcn~t to id~ntify the object. lte states that he kept the air cd of the TBH ut about 160 knots end kept a nenrly conz tru1t altitude of tcOO ft .. all during the turn Ea estimated that he \tes pulling from two to three G's in the turn. At or.e point near position l/3 of the aircraft (see overlay) he had to increase his angle or bank to nearly 90 to keep the object from disappearing tmder the v1ng or the aircrart. The pilot's version or the attenpted intcrce}>tio!l is shovn 0:1 the inclosed overlay. He stated that the paths sho-...-n are not. exact due to the tact trust he was concentrating on the object nr.d not his position, althoueh he occasionally looked at the airfield to eet re!erence points. The object stayed below the TB!~ durinr, r-.ost or tl:e time 1 t \.'a a in eight. \lhen the aircraft wa~ eom(;l.:l!crc n ero-:;-.o:;i tioz1 4, the obj cct appearE:d to stsrt a rapid clir.L, accelero.tin to an esth.ated 500 knc~s, nnd \Jhen it vas nt an anele or about 10 above the pilot's r~r1zon~1 ltne of vision, it disappeared. \:hen the object disapp~arcd, the TOH \:as near poGition #5. 'lbe object did not dlr.dnish in appo.rcr.t size except pos~ibly near the end of th() chase, 1 t just disapp:o.red. 'i'he pilot wo.s 11ery positive in his stater:u::nt that when he was north of 1-~tchcl h..l4"8 h e could see the ob ject. The cours e on vhich the object disap;>~ared wus c~tablis}u:~d b7 linine; u.p t he aircraft vi th the apparent path or object and re~dine the conr-ass The object appeared to oo c!or:.e-::haped, or sir:dlar to t he v ertic.a.l cross - section or a parachute canopy. !ne top was liett c olored, "like nylon , and t.he under-;'..rr ace wes dark. It had a length to depth r atio of about 1:3. ~lle tho pbjco~ vas 1n level f'll~'. t it &!:T')Co.rc:l t? o~eillu te wit.~ ~ a low A tield trip V"u:J :.13de to lU. tchel AFD to reintorro~ato 't.he il':#:. ~d other personnel havi.:lc ~:novle~ge or rr.:.cts pcrtainin~ to t;lt'! si;:h ti -... rr::c ,not's :lescription flf the incident \las the sane es \.'us sthted in l:.i.~ or l:_i: . .u report. His a e:1 c!c.ta.ils ha7e been incorporated into Sectlo!l I o: thitl An-,endix. At 0950 ~'1 on '..1 Janaar-.r 1952, the weather section ot Michel J.r"'"'B launched a Rn\lin::'>:l'~e talloc~ fro~ the ?~s:.. tion !:ho,-1:1 0:1 t.;:e ove r : c.: . !'~: ;c bulloon3 are about SL"( r(;ot i:l. ~i!.!l.:.l~tcr at ti!!-=: of laU:l:h lll -~x~;:., ;._ 0!1 ny- condinc. 'rho cx?a."'lsio:l up tv 6,oco f't.. can b e nerl~cte:a, ho..tJ,er, =..;; l t 1::.: omall. The balloons arc a li::~1t ~ra"J color and hav~ \'hi t e streC! .. s ");."' t'll.cu:.1 power \rhich is used in pe.c'-.in~ tho balloons. :'he balloon carricC. a tin-foil radar 18 inch s;u:tre refloc tor six incb~s beloH t:,c balloon. '.L'hc ;:a t l o1' the balloon is ah~tr.l 0.:1 the inclosed overl~r. 11lese b:llloo:ts ~r~ trac:t:cd b;r radar. It vas hoped that t~1c r!;:....;:t.r ~- ra tors clr.:-tt bo.ve rccn]ls~l :;;eci!lC ~"l aircraft return circlin.r, their :uloon return. They stated. to~rever; that due to tt-.e heavy air traffic l:: 't-he area, it vas not \Ulcorunn to 'lie~ up aircraft returns and thoy die .:1ot pay anJ attention to the~. Tho towr o~rators on ty at th-3 tL-ae or tb~ sie!",ting wer.e .!..'lterrj - gated. They had n:lt seen the TBH or the balloon. T.!e t..:>ver lot; s:-~.1ed that the rirst contact \tith the TB!l was at 0955 EST c.t w:U.c~ ti:le pilot rt;:-x>rted air.hting an object east o! the fielc. At 1008 t~e ~ilot aeain ca1:s~ the ~wor to describe the incident in detail. !'he :>ilot' s descr 1=->tion :.re.s u conuensed version of' that glvs:1 in Part I of this Appendix. c::c'9pt ;,.r.: st.a~-d th~t the obJect 'ap::>ea.red to ba a ?Uachute canopy with a dar.~ colc:t:d ob~r_.~t \\Jlderneath . The 0955 contac~ WJ..G nade soon after the object WrL!l si~hteJ, . establishing tho t~e. l>ISCt.JSSIOU Ot I!:CI&JLtiT An accurate tine or the initial sightine is needed to establish the position o~ tho hal loon at t~is tin~. It is assw-1~d that the toWtr clock is t10re aecura to tl"t.an t.he clo::~ in tho TBi-1 thus the t.i:.ne of the i -:.i tial aightine wa:J prooo~ly closer to 0951. e1lo'Jin:: for tine to contact ~e to . .Jer than the 09SO vhicb was estir.atea by the pilot. At 0954 the balloon voul.c have been at about 4.,000 rt. al''l; in the position mar~ed 4 000 rt. on t.:le overla;r. The pilot sta.,ed thut 0 ob~.:-:t &p:>es.retl low, at an anele or 45 fro:l vertical, anl a; .. )eared to c r t!1e eame e.nglfl or vislo~1 ns o. house.. 'l'hi:J would t\nke tho ~lant ranee to the 500 rt. It can ~e aho.m the t an obJect thoucl: t to t.-c .30 ft. 1n diameter (assunin an avcraee hono is 30 ft. lo~a) at 8,500 ft. ranee could alco hnve been a six rt. diu:ac:tcr bal.loon onl;r l, 700 rt. rrou the ob5er- Yer or at o.bout 4,800 ft. altitude. Alloving for erro1s in e:otir...ation or tho ~le, thin coincides very closely to the altitude Gf t~e bolloon at 0954. Tho position of tho tnlloon in rt! S pC'C t to the eround \IUS nppro:dr.,. te l,Y off the end or Runw~ H~. . The pilot stated that the obJect appco.rod to be on a heootne of 225, the reciprocal of the hendine of the TBH, and the speed of the object wr" e.l)out 200 knots. The balloon \lould appeur to be travelinG on v. rcc:lproccl headiJle and appear to be truveline at a higher rate of npe:ed thv.n tho '11\H it tho pilot hnd assWlcd the balloon to oe a laree object e:lo:.e to the zro1:nd. In exAr.tininf the turn as sketched b~.-the pilot (sec overlrty}, it "!.~ believed that tl:o rl!cliun of tta"n iz teo grcut. Ho s'tiitc..d t.l:.r\t tiH:: ;.ir 0fC~d wus kept at lW knots nne he estiJ.tntod ho pulled t\Jo to thrue G' !i thi~ \Joule! give a radius of turn of about 1, 500 rt. instead of the neaily 6,CYJO ft. re.di u s ehown on the overlay. It \Jill also ba noted tha t in positions 0, 1, 2, and 3 on the overlay, the bearine of the object is relatively const~,t, b einc of e.bout 10 o'clock from the aircr&ft hcadine. A balloon seen fron un aircraft lllaldng a ;:1J left turn around tho balloon \oiQulc hE:ve e. con~tc.nt bearing at 9 o'clock, however, errors in tho sketch of the ground trackn could account for this discreF~cy. Arter the position or the airc~aft eiven as point 3 on the overlay, it is more difficult to shoY tha t th'3 oLJect could h a ve been the balloon. If point 4 (or aircraft) 1s shifted to near point 1 (aircraft) it is pos::;ible that the pilot stcrted another ;6o turn eround the balloon {see overlay) . Tvo maJor ciscrepancies in the theory that the object was a ballovn are that the pilot ws very sure that at one tilne durine the ntteopt to intercept the balloon he 1.:as north or northwest of the airfield a."ld could still see the object. In addition, shortly before the object disappeared, the line of sight or the object began to swine; toward the nos e or tr.e ai:-craft. If t.hiu vere true and the object vas a balloon, the pilot should have 1een able to come close enoueh to the object to identify it as a balloon. It should be noted that the pllo~ o.dr.d ts that the zket..ch coulc te in error. Durine the reintetToeation, 1 t wns broueht out by th~ Operation's OfZicer at Hitchcl AFB, \lho conduc~d the origino.l interrogation , tha t the first sketch the pilot c!rev wus about half the size (i.e. a11 r adii one: half) or the final sketch which hns been copied in the inclosed overlay. Tbi~ is f'urtber broueht ou':. by the calculations for the radius of turn. 'ln~ pilot \Jas positive the. t th!! airspee-d was alvays ltQ knots ent! thnt he \las pulline about t~o to three G's. ~s stated b~fore, this would cive a raGius of turn of about 1, 500 ft. instead or the 6,000 ft. as shown on the ever lay. A 6,000 ft. rodlus turn is not considered likely dur1ne any interception tactics in an aircraft as slow as a 'I'BH. \ih~neine the radius of tho 360 turn to 1 500 ft. vould "shrink the complete sketch to one-fourth the orizinul size (see overlay). -D CLASSlPll~D .AFTER 12 YEAltS. ~NCLASSH]ED. UNCLASSIFIED. ( !be tlM to turn, vith a 1,500 tt. radius, is )5 uecon~o.l3. k:..:U..Ll'\!. tl.e \urn \I&S not a perfect. circle bu~ :.:ore ot &."\ ellipse, the titlO WOt~lJ increase to ooss\.bl7 4~ sccon.!3. :bis ia also a Jiscrop!Ul~Y si:.c t .. o ~il'lt Jud;~\.'tl the ol&"8J l tir.l.e to be tYo Md one halt n!.nute3. Thin is :-t"'t 1..1. ~arious rE~- C"t1panc:;, bovever, as it is .movn t:1at ah~'=--t 1:'\tfrveJ..~ arc difficult to 'udge an:1 tho ?iltlt did no~ aetu1.1lly ti.I1o h.-J n~Otl\T;!rs. lfbe description or the object could ver~ well bo that or a bal. i ) \n. ~aervot.lons have shown t!'lnt n balloon a:> ')J~rs to be tloro o1al or do ~c- ahaped thun spherical anr1 due to shado'Js_. the b.,tt,.)ll a:pcars t.1ar!:-:--!ho.n the top. Tho taleur.l power used in pao::inc; the balloon could eo.Di.ly givo t.'te ap,.,co.raneA or seguents such as tho panels in a r> .r achu t.e o 'i'hc .. scil- lationo or the object described by the pilot aro vcr.y similar in pe~lo~ to th~so of a bnlloon~ j.he nilot. sltltcd thnt h0. d1.d not obnervu o.r...ythtnr sus- pended frorl the object such 9.S the rv.da.r r eflector hor.J inr, b eneath thtJ baJJ.0on, ho\levcr J th!~ to\IC:r orycrator \oi~S sure tho. t thtJ pi l.ot, n!ld nc:p tionc ! 1 .. h~ fact th!! t. there was soncthing do.rk beneath the o"!:>jcc t vhen he called tho towt:r to des- cribe the object he had seen~ A T-11 was t.~ only a.ircr;;.f't in the area ncar t.~e time or tht) sii:lltinz, The ooa::>ib111 ty or the pilot's first seelne the bulloon 1-_.hen the 'i'-11 wc~c cheokotl but, the T-ll v:1s on b1l e ... tiroly diffe1ent h c udin_e t'h!ln t h;: t of the obJect, and was out or the innediate area, IV. CONCLtJ~IO~IS Prorn the data obta.lned on this sifhting, 1 t can.'1ot :~e definitely :.on- eluded that the obJect sighted b:r the 'ml-t pilot \..'as the Ra. -linsond~ balloor released by the Miu:hel AFB \leather Station. Hotre:er. en~.t:eh or the data on the reoorted objec~ does correlate with that of the bal1oon to indicate that there is a possibllit~ tbn.t the object. observed w{!3 a balloon.. There .:ere no other reports or 9ersons observir~ any unusual objec~s d sinco the ~bject appeared to be 20 rt. to )0 rt. in diatleter and very un!.lsua.l in appearance at only 200 f't.. to ~0 f't. al. ti tude over a thic:dy povu.la ted area, it would very li'<ely that it vould have been seen and reportel r):: s.,ner:>'l~ on the 1>0\V~C:HADgD AT 3 YEA it L~'J'EHVAI !:3. lJJ!.CLASSIF,IJ~D AF'l'..'!;I~ 12 YEARS I I U"''C' " '55\F\ED. ~r,ortcd ~nth or a.ircrr.rt Posi t~on of ballor.!l ~t UNCLASSIFIED APPEliDIX II M1tchell A1~ Force Base -2~ J X 19 I. piSCU~SION_pf IN~ID~NT At. approximately 0950 t;S1' on 22 January 1952, a U. s. Navy pilot flyine a. TlsM type aircraft sir.h ..ed a disc-shaped objcc t ncar Hi tchell Air Force Be1se, New York. Tho object appeared to be light, like a nylon parachute canop]", vith a dark under aurrace. It vas estimated to be ~0 feet to )0 teet in dilltleter vi th a ):1 din..Y!leter to thiei:ness ratio. The obj<.:ct ap;>c o.rcd to be circli.."lG 1~1 tchcll Air Force Base a.r}:! the obs,~rvcr vas nblc t.=> get nt:ar tho ob~ect b./ cuttlnc inside on turns. II. STATIJS OF THE UffESTIGATION Additional inforcation has been re~ucsted from ~atchell Air Force Bose. Jo conclusions can be nade on data c~ntainod in preliminary wire message. lJEC.uASSIFiED Al'j.'r' DGD DIR 62CC . 'i'rtlt' H. 'l'ite f'irnt. c Jnt.ac-c, o.t t li tcllCl .A-"13 U~.\S \Ji th Lt Col Clt.r.~ , uirc c t.or of they kneu :bout t.ho sir<r~inc~ , {;ivln~ l1';) nc~-1 into, Dlt l c a.lled i in.jor uur;.Lsllcr, Oncrntions Oi'f:ic er fro1;1 J;it,~11el A:n u ho hacl m it+.en uo the initial I-'o:cn 11 !~tj or uu1,islter then rcvieu~d ~ho inc~.clcnt. t;v cr yo:l e at both Go nAG Lc~ oncl la. tchel Yore c .. \:trer ~ely C.'>oper a ti v e . Iii tcit.0l ':e~ th'. r St!:!.tio11 '.i'h.-~sc 'JCopl e could ~ivc no fu"L t.~1or info other thtFl