PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 12. LOCATION I ~MB~nessas, Virginia 3. DATETIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Local l<JJO BGtouncl-Visual 0 GrounciRodar S. PHOTOS SOURCE 0 Air-Intercept RodCIF 12. CONCLUStoNS 0 Wos Balloon 0 Prohahly Balloon 0 Possibly Balloon 0 Was Aircraft 0 Proha.,ly Aircraft 0 Possibly Aircraft 0 Wos Astronomical D Pro.,ohly Astronomical 0 Possi.,ly Astronomi~oiJ 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION I. NUMBER Of OIUECTS 9. COURSE AC,.1.1Vi\J B Otherp08S. Hesearch D Insufficient Data for Evaluation 0 Unlrnown 5-8 Minutes three/one Hisi ng I~t; 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Sighting at dusk trbough BX. Obj. eppetueu to be tbree stars together forming a tr1&n61e Motion ert'&tic. JQQYOt&M Appeared to be bretd ing up. like a red spark tbot burnea out. Lookc d as bright as meteor at first. waite. Obj. wt;s observed in flight in tbe East on the norizo1 and rising. J.Jisappeerence a1. 45 deg ele vat.icu. ATIC FORM 329 (RitV :16 81tP !1:1) wino uirection at alt. wro~ for bt:d loon type obs. unless obj. anveare~ to ri~e to the ~. Wallops Island l ocated at 120 deg az. from nnssus. Virginib. Sighting more likely s~soc. with activities from this l ocvtion it vieN of initial s ppeurence of meteor and the rising. Al~o poss. ~ ba; loc n lounc h for 0 WlOSpheric 9 ~udies lirom U i s J or..e.tion. 20. Do you think you can estimate the speed of the object? (Circle One) IF you answered YES, then what speed would you estimate? ------- 21. Do you think you can estimate how far away from you the object was? (Circle One) IF you answered YES, then how for away would you say it was? --------- 22. Where were y~ located when you sow the obiect? (Circle One): 23. Were you (Circle One} a. In the business section of a city? a. Inside a building b. In the resiJential section of o .:!ty? In a car c.-In open countryside? c. Outdoors d. Near an airfield? d. In an airplane (ty,.) Flying over a city? f. Flying over open coUntry? 24. IF you were MOVING IN AN AUTOMOBILE or other vehicle at the time, then complete the following ~.ri~s: 24.1 What direction were you moving? (Circle One) e. South g. West b. Northeast d. Southeast f. Southwest n. ~4orthwes, 24.2 How fast were you moving? _..miles per hour. 24.3 Old you stop at any time while you were looking at the obiect? (Circle One) 25. Did you observe the object through any of the following? Eyeglasses Binoculars b. Sun glosses c. Windshield g. Theoclol ite d. Window glass 26. In order that you con give as clear a picture as possible of whot you 1aw, describe in your ow;, wo--d. ~ 1;- r objeet or objects which, when placed up in the sky, would give the som1 appearanc as the obiect M-"th you .- In the following alcetch, imogine that you ore ot the point shown. Place an .,A, on the cwvo~ l ine to show how high the object was above the horizon (skyline) when yotJ lirst saw it. Pla-:a a "8" on the :&arM curved Une to show how high the object woa above the horizon (alcyline) when you laJt :r.aw it. P ldce CAn "A., on the compota when you lirst sow it. Place a .,8" on the compau whore you last sow the objeet. 28 . Draw a picture that will show the motion that the object or objects mad. ~i<;&c:e on .~" a tho inning ol the path, o "8" at the end of the path, and ahow any changes in direction during tha c~ta~. 29. IF there wa1 MORE THAN ONE object, then how many were there? ---------- Draw a picture of how they were arranged, and put an arrow to show the direction that they wer~ hflvoili"~ 30. Have you ever seen this, or a similar object before. If :>o ~i.,e date or datos or.d iocation. / . , 31. Was anyone else with you at the time you saw the obja.cr? (Circle One,l 31.1 IF you answered YES, did.they see the object too! ( Circle Or:ei 31.2 Please list their names and addresses: 32. Pl~ose give the following information a bout yourself: F irst Nome T ELEPHONE NUMBER A,o\id J lo Nom.!~ ,ndicate any additional idormation about yoursalf including any special experience, which .':1!Ght ~ r ~(lo!er.~ 33. When and to whom did you report that you had seen the object? Month Yeor 34. Date yau completed thia questionnaire: Information which you feel pertinent and which is nor adequately covered in the specific points of the questionnaire or a narrative explanation of your sighting. SUd J ECT: HEADQUARTERS FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY DIVISION AIR ,ORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND UNtTCD STATilS AI" II'O"CIE WfUCIMTIItATTCNSON AUt II'OitCC 8ASE, OHtO TDFCC/Major George Mills/57223 Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon 1. Reference: Sighting of 18 April 1964 1930L near Manassas, Virginia. The time, location and description suggest this sighting may have been the 19 April 0030Z radiosonde release from Washington, D.C. 2. Supporting facts a. The radiosonde train consists of a balloon, a radio- sonde package and another intermediate object. Oscillations of the radiosonde package may cause the entire train to take a triangular shape from tLme to time. b. The release time of the radiosonde train preceded the sighting sufficiently to allow a climb to an altitude consistent with the sighting angle . c. Sunset for t~e area occurred a t 1849 local time followed oy 30 minutes of twilight. At the sighted altitude t h e radiosonde would first be bathed in direct sunlight. As sunset occurs for the higher elevation the radiosonde would be bathed in more of the red light from the sun. This might account for the observed color change. The time and altitude were correct for this transition. There were no weather. systems and few clouds to t he west which also permits this sequence. (High clouds, cirrus, often show this same color change at sunrise or sunset)~ The trajectory of the radiosonde train determined the following winds: from which Speed knots t'OIJ THE NUCLEUS OF SECURITY! (e.g., 270 degrees is a wind from the west, 250 degrees is from $Outh of west). The rise rate is 1000 feet per minute. The 250 degree winds would carry the radiosonde train into the NE quadrant which would appear to the observer as a movement to the north. The apparent motion would be more noticeable than that caused by the higher winds which occurred at higher elevations and from the NW quadrant. At this later time the distance of the radio- sonde from the observer reduces the apparent motion 3. -No explanations of this nature are conclusive but there is enough consistency between Mr. bservations and the supporting data above to our hypothesis plausible. Please let me know if more detailed analysis is required / Major, USAF Meteorologist ROUTING SLIP N6VBR gs I'OR APPRDVA"'i DISAPPROVALS, CON VRllBNCES. OR SIM UR ACTIONS INITIALS ClltCULATI COOIIDIII .. , INrORUTION VI IllATION 'IS M'l'ACHED tz.rrBR IS '10 BB UTILIZRn OR WHICH .TO BAR A REPLY 10 THIS GDU'BMEN. TAIXED TO YOO ~N PHONE ABa1T ra IS. I NOTICED THAT MAJ MILLS USES 'Iti WRDS MAY AND raoHT. SUOO.".!ST YaJ I.F.AVE Tli!SE 'mANIC Yai SGT 03E?TOOR 'OitAII 95 ~n DO Form e6. 1 Feb 80 uui DD Form N, leb 80 wbicb wtU be Ullllllll&il ew:hUited . This letter is in further reference to the sighting or an Unidentified Flying Object you reported seeing on April 18 The time, location and description of this ~ sighting coincide with the release ~f a radiosonde balloon in the Washington, D.C. area The radiosonde train consista of a balloon, a radiosonde package and another intermediate object. Oscillations of the radiosonde package may cause the entire train t o take a triangular shape from time to time. The release time 0 f the ~diosonde train preceC.ed the sighting 3ufr1cientl y to allo'tl a climb to a n altitude consistent with ~he sighting ang l e . 3unset for this a~ea occurr~d a t 6 :49 p.m. local time, follu~red b~/ 30 minutes. of twilight. :~t the sigh t ee.. al ti tud2 the radi.:>sonde v1ould f1r3t be bathed i~ di~ect sunlight. ~s sunset ~ccurs for the hiGher elevatio n , the radiosonde would be bath~d i n mor~ of c~e d light from the sun. This accounts for the observe d color change. The time a nd altitude were correct f o r thi s transition. Also, the Tflinda at t ha t time vtould have carried the radiosonde train into the NE quadrant which 'llould appear t o you as a mo v e ment to the nort h . It is hoped that this information will answer your query. Thanl{ y ou for rep<>rt ing this sighting t o the Air Force. e ash ngton Station Alexandria, Virginia Sincerely, !viAS TON l\1. JACKS Major, USAF Public Information Division Office of Information Thi s questionnaire has been prepared so :n:..t ~"J'J c o n g;~".! thf~ U.S. Air :--=orr ., o::. rnuc h information as possible c;oncerning the unidentifta.l ccr io l phenou:n.l.i ;hat :-:.;J h:''.l o.i~Sfil'l, ~ Please try to answer as many q~o~estions as yC>u ;-os&iL!t ,,a n . The ir.krn.oJ:i.J> rh . YC'o.t \:;,. .,., ;!j be used for research purposes. '(our nnme will r..Jt Lt~ ~sC'Id 1.~ .:.,r.i~ec~t.:.t~ ,.-i~h ul\,' .... ta~ ...... t~r. . .. , conclusions, or publications without your permissi()r.. We request tl-tis p(;:r ;onal l ntoil"\oti':)n ~o that if it i:& deemed necessary, we may contact y\)u for iurther details. 1. When did you see the object'~ I { Clfc:l~l One): 3. T imeZo'le: (Circle One): c . (Circle .)n'!i: a. Ouj'!ig $e;.,i) J u . 5 ta,.ldl"lrJ Nearest Post~ 1 A<!c!<! s s 5. How long was abject In sigh r? (Total Our"Jt1on1 a, Certain b. Fairly certain .:; . ~Jot ,ery sure d, Just o guess 5.2 Was object in sight c:cntinuously? 6. What was the condition of the sky? 7. IF you saw the obiect during DAYLIGHT, where wos the SA-: loc~ted os :-ou lo:H~1 o't th., \.Sec! (Circle One): a. In front oi you b. In bock of you c. To your right d. T o y.,t, r ieft f. Or.ra r ef'\1ernbur FTD OCT 62 164 8. IF you saw the object at NIGHT, what did you notice concerning the STARS and MOON? STARS (Circle One): MOON (Circle One): a. None o. Bright moon I ight b Dull moonlight No moonlight -puch..dork c d. Don't remember d. Don't remember 9. What were the weather conditions at the time you saw the object? CLOUDS (Circle One): WEA"rH~R (Cirde One): a.' Clear sky a: Dry b. Hazy b. Fog, mist, or light rain c. Scattered c I oud a c. Moderate or heavy rain Thiele or heavy clouds e. Don't remember The object appeared: (Circle One): d. As a light b. Transparent e. Don't remember 11. If it appeared as a light, wos it brighter than the brightest stars? (Circle One}: a. Brighter c. About the some d. Don't know Compare brightness to some common object: 12. The edges of the object were: (Circle One): a. Fuzzy or blurred ~ Lilce a bright star . c. Sharply out I ined d. Don't remember 13. Did the object: (Cirde One for each question) a. Appear to stand still at any time? Don't know Suddenly speed up and rush awoy at any t ime? Don't know c. Break up Into ports or explode? Don't lc,ovt d. Give off smoke? e. Change brightness? Don't lcnow f. Change shape? Don, t l.:now g. Flash or flicker? Don't know h. Disappear and reappear? Dot\' 1 know 14. Did the object diaappear while you were watching it? If so, how? 15 . Did the obiect move behind something at any time, particuiarly a cloud? (Circle One): Don't Know. IF you answered YES, ther, tel! what 16. Did the object move In front of ~mething at any time, particularly a cloud? (Circle One): Don't Know. IF you answered YES, th~tn tell what 17 . Tell In o few words the following things about the object: We wish to know the ongu lor s ize. Hold a match stick at arm's length in line with J kno~n :,bi-:;t anci l lob h ew r much of the object is covered by the head of the rt~atch. If you hod performed th is e~perimnt ct the f lff: of rh~ ' s ighting, how much of the object would have been covered by the match head? ... _.... .. Draw o picture that will show the shape of the ob;ect or objects. Label and Include In your slcetch ""V detc.i !s ., of the object thot you sow such as wings, protrusions, etc., and especially exhaust trolls or 'IOpet fttJils. t Place on arrow beside the drawing to show the direction the object wo s moving. i