PROJECT10CJ73 RECORD CARD 2. LOCATION Thermopolis, Wyoming 1 ....... ~tober 1957 M ton Utah Western U.s. a Pret..ltty Ball" ........ a pprnx 4 :s 15 MST I JE.kO..urui-Yiau.. a OreuftdRM D Woa Alrcroft a PreltaWy Alrcralt a Aa .. va... a Atr-lllf R... a Peaaaw, Air~ We AatrefteMical Firebal av .. D PreltaWy AatreMMic.e Various/military & civilian L NUM811 OP 08JICTI t. COUll! 0 lnaufflclaftt D.te fer Enluetion 1 to 45 deconds aiiiP OP SIOHnMO Large brilliant blue-white flaming object observed in Myton, Utah &. ot'he widaly separated areas. S i ghted by Navy and Air Force piloLs a l so. The former stating that it nHrrowly misse his aircraft. Obj rptd n:;; h nving a blue-~lamed tail. II. COMMIMTS I This sighting resulted in creat- ing nation-wide attention to the incident, following on the heel~ of tba Satellite lattnched only a few days before by the Soviets. Opj was a rarely seen form of meteorite, a fireball. I 00 RJEDW JEPHQ --- 1 DE RJEDEN S FM COMDR 1006TH AISS ENT AFB COLO I TO RJEPHQ/ACS INTELLIGENCE HEDUSAF WASH DC ~JEDWP/COMDR ATIC WPAFB OHIO /UNCLAS/ AlSOP 163 PD REFERENCE MESSAGE 1902 AACS CITE TEXAS 52NB PD THIS IS PRELIMINARY REPORT OF INVESTIGATION BY THIS ORGANIZATION MADE AT SITE OBJECT WAS SUPPOSED~TO HAVE STRUCK PD INTERVIEW.O~ SEVERAL EYEtJITNESstS-~lN AREA lNDICATS THAT OBJECT FIREBALL t1ETEOR PD FURTHER,OBJECT PROBABLY DID NOT STRIKE GROUND Ct1M INDICATIONS THif7: OBJECT DISINTERGRATED BEFORE IMPACT PD COUNTY SHERIFFS OF DUCHESNE AND UTAH COUNTIES NOTIFIED TO BE ON LOOKOUT CONTACT THIS ORGANIZATION IF ANYTHING FOR PIECES OF OBJECTfADN FOUND PD ATTE~lPT BEIN MADE TO LOCATE AND TALK TO NAVY PILOT OF ACFT NUMBER 16~7 PD RESULTS W LL BE COVERED IN FIANL REPORT PD END OF PRELIMINARY REPORT. 11/0236Z OCT.RJEDEN EDtlP Hl2:~1 t1PB9/2 YDDe.)27Et~A051 RJEDWP ' RJEPHJ RJEDE~J 14 RJEPHJ / ACS IHTEL HZAD2UI'.l1TERS l!SAF UASH DC ~J~DtlP /CO;'lDR AT IC HPAF3 OHI 0 /Ui!CLAS/AISOP 155 PD RE!="i:HZi!C!: ilY ~:ESSAGt.: Al SOP !53. THI~ I S ~:onr:-1 EASTE~li t:TAH AREA. Cl), . Tf\CT tiiTa PILOT 07 !:AVY AIRCRAFT l S ; 7 PI:IPOI!~TED LOCATIO!! 11!~ SAH 03JECT STR!i~E GRQt;;~n AT 4:: DEGREES o::ro SHERIFF DUCHSNE COUNTY UTAH A!~D HE INSTITUTED AIR ArJD GROU~D SERRCH OF AREA WITH NEGATIVZ RESULTS. GE~ERAL DESCRIPTION J OF SHIGHTING II! UT/1H AREA., IN FOR:1AT AFR 2CZ-2, AS FOLLOtvS: 1. A. rtOU D B . ~"!ASHTUB, HALF DOLLA2 f\UTOr~03IL~: E"fC. C. HHIT AP?LIC,\~LE F ~;o~JZ C LARGZ TAlL S;\ :S COLOR AS Et: IT I i:G FLAS:t:::s, SPAP.l<S, PIECES OF 0 3JECT, TL'R1:Ii:G EiiD 2. A LIT UP fl00~1 B. GZi!J::RALLY OUT Of AF!EA BETHEE~J i~OitTH A~!D EAST C. G:RERALLY OUT OF AREA BETHEE~! S{Jt:m'N~:n lJEST SAID OBJECT DI Ii~TflGRAED F GENERA Y FORTY FIVE SECOND'S ONE SOURC~ SAID Tt~IO AND Oll E HALF l1IHUTES 3. A. GROUND VISUAL E. NO~JE c. NOT APPLICABLE 4. A 10/11~0Z TO 11/11g5Z OCT 57 n. ~liGHT. 5. DUCHESNE A~D - UTAH COU~:TIES & . ABOUT TUENTY SOURCES Ii~TERVIE"'\JED IN A~EA 3Y BTELPHOii E AriD I N Pt:RSOi!. ALL GAVE GE:I-~ERAL DESCP.IPTIOH AS IiJDICATED ABOVE. SINCE Oi~LY SOURECE REPORTii~G OBJECT DID NOT DISI:!Tf.:lGRATE vJAS ~JAVY PILOT AiJD S i i:CE r!OTHit~G viAS FOU D I THI S ORGf.\i~IZATIOi'l I S OF OPli'JIOi~ THAT OEJZCT DE::"I:!ITELY HAS FIREBALL ijETEOR Ai~D DI D Dl.SI TE:~GRATE :3EFOrtE S T!1IKING GROUI~D NO FURT~t?:~ ACTIOU I S CO!iT1-'IPLATED BY THI S ORGA IZAT!Oi! Ui~LESS ' I i!FOr.~IA T I OiJ REC EI V EU Of A'JF..A THAT PIECi:S OF OBJ3:CT FOUND. 14/! 73SZ OCT RJEDE'~ D~ RJUF A:~ E GD LOtll1Y 7LIGHT SER"v'ICE Ct:1!T~R LO:i!~Y AFc COLO 1~ AF.,., COLO :1JE!lUP/Cl1DR t.IP. TECH IlJTL CErl URIGHT P.~TTERSOIr AFB OHIO ::!JUrDNIC!~DR 34TH .~IP. DIV KIRTLA~;D AFB t~ !lZ~: itJUPCU/Cr~DR 29TH AIR DIV HALSTROi'I AFB :10i!T ~J~PHQ/Din OF INTEL HQ WASH 25DC 1 DESCRIPTio:: A ROUIm-t~ITH A TAIL D ONE E 1JI~'\ F r-.:orJE G TAIL-2~:'0-300 YDS H HIS!;lilG l PLe~lON5 iROi1 CP.CUND I LIT Si\Y ~ .. IKE_.S.W.U.I.GHI.t liAS FLAri G & -~JTS, O..L..U.Ali L ....... EJ: FALLI1JG OFf. 2 DES_C_P-.. I-,P--~Io:: OF COUHSE A co:IsEr;u~ OF OPiiliO~J~tl~ LEVEL TO 03,;.:DEG JOUN TO FALL11JG RAPIDLY C :~l\li AS 2B D LEVEL TO FALLii~G E HIT GROU~!D A IR-Vl~Ul\L E ilONE C 3B 47'S ~elO.COla..Utah-4aiD_(MS1')~Blue1sh-grean Fireball misses Plane iXPLODES i \ G~A~!DVILLZ ~ 45DEG AFCI1'-4A2/Lt Col W C Vitunac/eek/54204 Reference Fire Ball" of Utah, Captain Gregory states: ~be object was not the Soviet Satellite. The Soviet Satellite was near South Atrica at that ti.tre and this object was seen simultaneously from widely separated areas, attesting to its great altitude. The l006th Air Intelli- sence Service Squadron is investigating becauae of public concern. Investigators arrived at :Jaton, Utah. a1ea late yesterday afternoon (10 Oct 57). Incident is s~ilar to an Arr~rican Air~ys ca~e, which was idantified this unit as o. "Fi r e Bf::1ll" 'rhe Chief, OSI, is coming in this afternoo n fo1 details. The PRO is being kept inforcreci." Data on "Fire D~ll": Official uessag e from Lowry Flight .3ervice Center, LO'NrY JD, Colocado (10 Oct -l4JJZ) to 1\TIC, states that this object "was t-l'c.>bubly a meteorite. 'l_lha following descriptive data was includeel it1 this message: The object was round with a tail 200 to 300 yards l oni, flaming, made hi:5sing noises which, together with explosions, were heard from the ground. Parts of D'aterial were s een falling off. rhe flarre and explosions lit the sky brightly. It \-laS travelling on the course of West/3outhwest. Descent was ~stirnated at an a ngle o f 030 de5rees to fallin~ rapidly. It either hit the ground or burned out in 8 to 12 seconds. Observation;:~ were uade by three B-47 aircraft at JJ,OOO, 35,000, and 37,000 feet reslJectively, one \o/estbound airliner, altitude unknown, and one Eastbound C-118 at 17,000 feet. Tin~ and date of sighting was 09ll04Z to 091107Z at night. ~rea of sighting was Grandville, ichi~n. and Iviiton, Utah.. Identifying infor:rat ion of all observers and all reports 1eceived second hand from 3enior Controller at Denver Control. f.eliability estimated good, pc1.rticularly on air sightings. ':leather was clear to high scattered clouds and broken at the surface. Wind was from the West/Northwest, varying from 5 to 35 knots. Weather;Station said comet was supposed to be in area. All reports com~are very well. 2. Reference UFO over rew York area approxinmtely 20 Septembers ':..':ro offici a l re~orts a ,ra ilabl::! ~o C~pta~n :Jr-?._;or y J~re rec8.Lv-ed ( J Septam- ber 195 7 and 2 0 .September 1957) . T he J ..3~:ptem.ber 1757 repo~t, f r om Con*ander Stewart ~FB. ~ew York, identifies the object seen by s. h o u .;ewife as ILos t I~roba bly Cozuet .. l .MOS , :vhich had been in view for the past several nights from are a of observation. Description of object as follows: a. Could not see object, just the tail whjch was orange/yellow in color, approx1 ne te ly one foot long. b. Altitude estimated at 20,000 to )0,000 feet, from the West/ Northwest. c. Observed for three minl.ltes. Went up and then arced downward and faded. 2355Z at dusk. of observation was on the 28th of August at 2J50Z to The second sighting in September was reported by the Coruc,.nder, 26th Air Division, Roslyn AFS, Roslyn, l~ew York, and was considered by the Air Division Intelligence Service to most probably be a weather balloon. It was observed by Francis r..1cr.;eill of Long Island, New York, e former ~JII gunnar on an aircraft carrier. He described it as follows: a. Round, twicA the size of a basketball at a11t. s length, shiny, silver or gray, looked like a ballQOn but the speed of departure was minut~a from the b. He ohatH'Ve\1 it for approximately "hree ground, the 19th of Sa}.tamber at 1905Z. The object then suddenly moved fJcH L hwest very rapidly. moved slowly at first. c. The weather at tiDe of observation was clear, surface wind South/Southeast, 10 knots, increasing to 34 knots at 54,000 teet fro~ the l';orthwest. CO~\lvlEl.T: 1-:S.ny cases a.ce reported exclusively to the press, the Jt.F having no knowledge until the press hits it. We do not take cognizance of any sighting not reported to us. 3 Reference Soviet Reconnaissance Aircraft over 6th Fleet: On 3 October 1957, a TWX was sent to AFCIN-L~l requesting any pho ~hs or information available on this aircraft. In addition, of Ja.FCI1'-J-4F2, had his l~aval Resezve Commander write directions o Ol\I requesting either photo hs or infornfltion. There have been no zlesults to date. ;tM.TER C. VITU~lAC Lt Colonel, US~F Jo.FC Il'J -4A2 ) .:. IlBOAT S P.J. A ALL ~EPO TS RCV D S r::co::n :-iAi!D FP.C:~ SE~!IOH CO:lTROLLEH AT L>E::vER CG~:T;{CL E :1I:LIABILITY ESTI:lATt.: ~OOD PA~TICtJLARY OiJ AIR SIGH'IIi~CS 7 WZATHZR A:ID t:!IIIDS ALOFT COi~DITIO~: AT. TIME & PLACE OF SlGHTllJGS l\ CLEAR TO HIGH SCATTERED B SURFACE- ?i~GE THREE RJ~IFA~l 85D C CLEAR TO HIGH SCATTERED D 1.0 i'llLES PLUS E 2/10 NAXli'1 .,j F NEG 3 H~: SAYS C ~-iET c: PPOSED TO BE IU AREA 07FICER l\T ADC H~,Et:r AFB) 9..-CALLED DUTY TO Ai,ZA Oi SIGliTI:.Gs ALTITLD:!: OF OZJECT :1UST HAV;:: BE:~! DETACHMKN'l' 4 4773D GROUND OBSERV~R SQUADRON Post Ottice Box 123 oos 10 October 1957 SUBJECT& UFOS Air Detenae '"' A'tTN 1 OOS/I Ent Air Force Colorado , Colorado In accordance vith AFR 200-2, Par 7d, subject aa 12 Aug 54, the following report is hereb7 aubd.tteda abo.e, dated 1. Description ot objecta a. Round in front fiaring wider toward tail b. Quarter. g. Tail approxilllately 8 times the diameter or the ball or body'. 2. Description ot course ot objecta a. nash ot light. d. Object flew in straight line with occasional bursts ot e. One observer reported it disappeared behind a mountain r. Approximately t second. GOS, Det #4, 4773d Grd Obar Sq, dtd 10 Oct 51; Sub,ja UFOS ). Mmner or observatiODI Ground -Yisual -a-and date of eightinga a. llOlia, 10 Oct S7. was located at MP 4738. 6. Identifying in!ox tion of &11 observers: a. Mr H D Harris, Age Unk, 529 Park St, ThermopoUs, Wyo, policeman. 1. Weather and winds-aloft conditions at time and place or sighting& a. Hazy &uds, very thin. 230 Direction 6 Knots Velocity Ceilil ng Unrestricted Visibilit7 lS miles Plus. Clound cover 14,000 scattered. High and broken. Tbunderstortu, Other, None. Other activity: 477.3d Grd Obar Sq dtd 10 Oct 57 Subj a UFOB 10. Unimovn. Detachment #4, 4773d Ground bserver Squadron a. In rq opiD:ion the cau ot tbie sighting wu a meteorite. JT.FR,B:D T Headquarters, Ai.r Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colorado 1er, Air TaGhnical Intelligence wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Center, A Tl'N: AF'Cm 4E4,