PROJECT 10073 R!=CORO CA~O DATI; 2. LOCATION CONCLUSIOI'IS 0 Wcs Balloon Co lu1nbu:::;-ft. 0 Possi oly DATe-TIMe CROUP TYPC: OF OBSERVATION El Was Aircraft Cl Ground-Vi sue I 0 Ground-Radar _.oco, 0 P rob o bi y Ai r croft 0 Air-Vi suol 0 Air-Intercep t Radar 0 Possibly Was Aslronomi col 0 Probobl y Astronomi coi ..0 No Civi.lian Astronomica l LENGTH OF OBSERVAIION NUMBER OF OBJECTS COURSE 0 Other 0 In :;u ff i ci ,.nt Data for Evaluation BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 1 I. COMME:~HS the indicate CU.SS IF IC~ r ION CCU~TRY OF ACTIVITY REPORTI~G REPORT NO. (L."tve b I a nlr) AJR tNTELLlGENCE INFORMATiON REPORT C olu~bus-? t Ben~in~ Geo r gia ACT IVITY SUBMITTio~ ~EPCRT j D.o. rc: Of coLLECT 1 ON SRI STATUS (If applic~bl~) Hq 35th Air Division (Defense) PP?Joi1I NG l t.O I'IIOUAL DATE OF REPORT C ANCLEOIINCOMPlETE NMO CR DESC<l I i'T I ON Of' SCL.RCE EVA LUA T I 01' Hr . & ~irs ADDIT I ONAL !~f ORMATION ON (~te) RF~RENCES (aAl R Subject, preYioue report~. etc. , as applic e ) BAIR Subjec~ 3A~5 SUBJECT ( Descriptive title. Ue indi vidua l reports or seo~rate SUOJe C ~ Renort o f UFOB SUI'wf,IARY (Give u-ry which h ighU;ht the alient fact of' of narrat ivtJ report. .8e4in n~trrat ive text on AF Forttt 112 unl re,oort c a n bet fully tted on AF Fora 11:2. Lil incla.ure, includin~ nu .. ber of copies) of 16 January 1958 Mr. and Mrs _residents of Columbus, Georgia, sighted and reported a UFOB over the Columbus-Ft Benning, Georgia, area. Information concerning this sighting was given to the Airdrome OD, Lawson Army Airfield Command, and relayed to the AC of s, G-2 .u. S. Army, Ft McPherson, Georgia. Information was forwarded by Hq Third Army to AC o f S, G-2 U. S. Continental Army Command, Ft Monroe, Virginia, with information copy to Hq 35th Air Divi- 0'ST'l i9UTi ON BY ORIGII<ATCA (&cpt USAF t>d file. !ndic;Ho l)up l lt(/01 nd copie3 w/ o inclollurtu, i f .>pplic~tble) ',I.ARICilCG: Thi docu-nt contin i"for-tion eilecting the n tionl d e /enae o f the United St.ole within I~ -ninA of the ~pionAJ LA~. Titl 18. U .S.C . Section 793 end 794 . Jl tr11n~lion or t~ revelation of i t c ontent i n ny ~nn~r ro .Jn unuthoriJd ~ron i ,orohibited by 1 FORiol I 12 REPLACES AF FOR~ 112. I OCT 52. WHICH ~y 8E USED CUSSIF'ICATION ,..;: FORM 112-PART II 'lOVED I JUNE 1948 AJR INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION REPORT REPORT 110. I ?AGE OF 3 PAGES ; a 35th Ai r Div (Defense) Descr i ption o f Objects: rrcigar shaped a n d oblo n g " f lyin;; o bjects. "hard to say", perhaps comparable to size of a C-97. c . Color: bright orange with reddish Formation: one following the other. f. Discernible features or details: It was o~ stated that the ' objects ''faded out and then appeared to come bac~'' About seventeen I hours after the sighting, -the observing individual could not add to I (tapering?)off perhaps slightly at tail", with very short trails Other: Objects goes down". 2 . Course of Objects: looked "like sunlight on a small cloud as a.. What drew observer's attention? Not specifically reported; s eventeen ho~rs after the sighting, the observer stated that he 1 ::1ere~y sighted the objects visually while d'riving._ -.. _ b. Initial angle of elevation: 10 degrees . Initial azimuth: Not specifically stated, but described as against the western horizon, west of Phenix City, in Alabama. Final angle of elevation and azimuth: Not reported. d . Flight path and maneuvers: eoorted. North to south, with n o maneuvers e. Manner of disappearance: Faded out rather abruptly. Duration of sighting: Five (5) minutes. ~. Manner of Observation: a . Ground-visual Optical aids: Data re observatio n while airborne: 1!: TH IS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFOR\IATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THC: UNITED STATES Vi frli N 'rHE MEAN ING OF THE ESPIOUAGE ACT. !0 U S. C- ;1 ANO 32. AS AME~OED. ITS TRANSMISSI ON OR TilE REVElATION OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANY MANliER TO AM UNAUTiiORIZ0 PRSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. IT ~AY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN Y/HOLE OR IN PART, BY OTiiER TtiAN UNITED ~TATES AIR FORCE AGENCIES, EXCEPT BY PERMISSIONOi'THE DIRECTOR OF LIGENCE. USAF. (CLASSIFICAT10t1) ,: FORM 112-PART II >qovEO I JUNE 19-18 ---;;;(C;-;USSJnC.I rcl) AIR INTELLJGENCE iNF ORI'AATJGN RE?ORT R:>oRT NO. I Hq 35th Air Div (Defense) Time o f Sighting: a . Hour and dat e : Light conditions: Dusk, with pcrfcctl,~ clear skies .. Location of Observer: Sighting was effected while driving a n d .:1.fter dismounting from vehicle, with all sightings made fro m Victa:z:y~D.rive {a~inain-a-rtery between Fort-nenning and CoJ.umbus, Georgia) near King' s Airport, a local civilia n installation. Observer telephoned report to Lawson Army Airfield Command at Identifying Information on Observer: (and wife, who was d riving in a vehicl e , from wh ich she dismo u nted when .. s ignalled to d o so b y her , husband)... is a .. r,;. ~ ~:former Army c a ptain. Ha iling Address: ccupation: Section, US Army Infantry Human Fort Benning , Georgia Military : See item 11. _'Weathe r , and Wi.n ds.:...Alo:ft ot furnished. Conditions a t Time a n d Place of Sighting: 3 . .Any Other Unusual Activity or condition: I 9 . Interc eption. o r Identi:fica tion Action Taken : None Location o:f Any Air Traffic i n the Area a t Ti me of Sighting: Name, Rank, Title of Pers~n Receiving the Report, and Comments and Actions : Airdrome Officer of t h e D o n Army Airfield Command, Ft Benn i n g , Georgia . On 1 7 Jan 1958, {the observer) stated tha t he had seen a similar phenomenon once b e fore "about two months a go". Th e AOD, LAAc, stated that a n individual (later identified as Pfc Gabriel S PERA, US 51397403 , Hq & Hq Det , LAAC) entered the room where the telephone report from HARRIS wa s being received a t ppro x imately 1900~hours o~l6 January 1958, remarked that he had s e e n what appea r e d to him e two ~t airc raft , and volunta rily discussed the matter with "7 t e lephone afte completed submittin g his report. Pfc SPIRA was contacted by OACofS, 0 - 2 , o n 17 Januar y 1958, and s tated s ubstantially as follows: that he (SPERA) had seen lihat e believed to have been two jet aircraft at abou t the time o observation; that he discussco the sighting wi t h by telephone; that the over-a11 description of the object s , t e time of their sighting , their ~i rection o f movement, a?d their general location ''low a long the hori pretty far ~n Alabaman, wer e a greed upon be:ween him a n d S OOCUMEN T CONTAINS INFOR'4ATIOI'f AFFECTI NG THE N.t.TlOUAl Ort:NSC: OF THE UNITED STAT$ >'liTH I :'I Tt-'E MEANING OF T'iE ES?IONAGE ACT.~ U S C.- ,_ As "''DEo ITS TRANSMISSION oR rHE REVEl.AnDN OF rrs CONTE.'TS IN'"' "''"" To " UNAUT"DRI2D P:so 1~ PROHIBITED BY "'" ;, \lAY NOT BE RE?RODUCC:O IN WHOLE OR IN PART, SY OTHER THAN UNITED SiATES AIR fORC: i\GE!ICIES. EXCEPT BY ?~R . ~ISSIC .. OF THE DIP ECTOR Ct I ' TEWGC:!'.CE. I.; SA F. (CUSSIFlC.ITICtl) . ~F FORM 112-PART II (CUSSIFlCATIOtl) '"ROVED I JUNE 1948 A1R INTELUGENCE INFOR~AATJON REPORT REPORT NO. '!q 35th Air Div (Defense) !'5o that h e wa~ certain that the same;..:..phenomenon was under discussion; j-:hat the sun w~s sett..in.g a.t th . .! tim~, and, although be cou~d ':lot s:e '::he je1: a~rcraf1: themselYes, he assumed from the characterJst~cs of :he sighting he had made that '}et a i r c raft were actually involved; ~hat he was led to this conclusion by prior experience of jet sight- ings; and that he would describe the sighting as "the reflection of 1:h e sun on the exhaust of two j ets agreed on 1 7 Jan 58 that he and SPERA had observed the same p enomenon, but was unpre- p a red to lend personal credence to tb~-vie!! -~l:!.at the sighting had . actually .. been~ar-jet ai'rcra:ft, and equally unprepared to say that the sighting definitely was not of jet air9raft; he simply stated that the phenomenon remained unexplained to him. Actual suPset on Pnysical:Evidence: None. COMMENTS o~ Ereparing Officer: , Descript~on o:( objectsand circumstanc~s indicates that.they probably were non-persistent contrails from a formation of tw~ jet aircraft . Sun's position low on horizon could have caused the . ' I ~ EDWARD w OTTEN Captain, USAF 101: THIS OCCU-..EN r CONTAINS I NFOR\IATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT,~ U.S. c . ..: 31 AND 32. AS A~IE'lOED. ITS TrtANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION OF ITS CONTE'lTS IN ANY MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. IT MAY NOr 9E REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART. BY OTHER THAN UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AGENCIES, EXCEPT BY PERMI5SION OF TH DIRECTOR OF lNTB.LlGE='<CE. t.;SAF. (CI..\SSII'ICATICIC}