PROJECT 10073 RECORD 1. UA TE TIME GROUP 2. LOCATION Fort Smith, Arkansas 3. ~lOUJ.('E NUf.~P.E R OF OBJECTS 10. CONCLUSION Posstble (AIR.CRAFr) 2. Astro (STAR/PLANET) : ANTARES was at 212 degree azimuth and 15 deg elevation, at ARCTURUS was at 270 degrue azimuth arxi 28 cieg elevation at ~. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 11. BRII,. SUMMARY AND ANA&.YSIS /1. 1 YPE OF OBSERVATION Observers reported various liv1ts in the s~ (red, green, and W"lite in color), occa3ionall.y blinking, and twinkling. Some Grourxi-Visual (BX) or the li,pts were tra.veline in a southerly direction. Local FAA tower report~d objects resembled aircraft. No radar pain1 a or any unusual objects wore reported by the FAA. One wi. tness reported that he observed t\'to planes refueling overhead. Loc< 1 tower operator said that he believed the people were looking 9. PHYSiCAL E'l IDENCE flO SEP 63 0-329 (TOE) at hi~-intensity s ' .. rooe liGhts from aircraft passing overhenc. A weather officer s~a~t:!d t..hat the alleged UFO looked like one of the aircraft t.hat ivls been seeding the clouds around the The 70th mr, Clinton 3hen.lan AFB, Okla., was refueling on the re.f"'\leling track ''Ten ~ller' between 0243-0~3, lt ,~6~.~ ~>. \ ' Fort Smith .'SQUinted skyward he drove around the city. no fire, no smoke :md no noise. ~Jonday night. searching I or Fort Smith po1ice contacted He said other wilnt!sses told something -fJying saucers -Little Rock Air Force Base him that when Ute lights disap- unusu~l phenomena-unidenti-about the sightings. The -base peared, they seemed to "just fi cd flying objects? reported that it knew of no air-blink off, not gradually fade ~Jany :;aw something they'll craft In the area. away." j att~st. ' .. Apparently they saw some .Gilbreth did not see the lights llut just ,., hat w a mystery thing over there last night, but go out because be wa.s talki_ng today. we don't know what it is," a by telephone at the tame wtth I A deluge of repol'ts of un base spokes~nan said. Air Force personnel at the Lit ; identified objects sigh.tings were Capt. James Ector, informa-tie RtX:k base.. . I'Cceived IJetween 9 p.m. and 10 tion officet at the base, said 'l'he followmg conversal~on p.m. hy the airport, law enforce-that from Jan. 1, 1947, to Dec. was monitored over the pollee ment officials and r ad i o 31 of last year, 10,047 sightings radio: stRtions. of unidentified flying objeCts . "Car eight to car four -did ' The more the statil)ns broad.. were reported and an hut 646 you see that UFO?'' : s~nned the skies. Force's .'Sati.sfaction. nat that means yes or okay)." JEd Stacy, chief of the r'eder-. Gilbreth said the lights he ' What did i~ look like?'' ! Ill Ayi~lion ~gcncy to:ver at the l~aw made no sharp man: vers, . (1 urn to page 5-A) J . luntcJpal Airport, ~a!d person-1 - n"l observed nothing t]ey could not identify. He said there was : .. ~mg not \'i.:-5ible on a c!cc;r r.::::.t. Sta~y sug_3e.,~d ~:t?re were aircTaft awa} ll!J t.;~re. their ; lights on, thei!-jet ~ngine noise ; not penetrating the t.iousands of 'feet b~tween sky ~nd earth. ot t!1:s ::.:::ure occur from time-to-tlme, but t h e r c s eemed more cxcite:nent I a s t :night than usuav 3cy said. : Reports of ~igb~ings began pouring jn a 9:Jf .;n. They stiJI tn .... .~-:1 ~n aIL c r ; midnight. C!uthorities :;aid. Har.drcds U~!'oug.hout the coun- : ;:>.1tro!men, to~d Clf sig:ttings. a s!x-y~a~ Yeteran r:f the Fort S:r1ith Po:Jce D 3r:.ent, sight- / 1 d the ob. e~t.; :\. :J !i:.3 eyes and ! T!1;.5 i::; now he c-?scribed 1, tll~m: I; I Four red l:~t~s. ationary; 'but seeming to rola:e ~e a po- lice patrol car warn~ng beacon, were spread out in i.he sky like-[: points on the coner3 of a J One set of red a:d 6fetn t li~ht~ app ed, . t~en a white / blmk~ng 1Jgnt, L1en a steady white bea m of li.;ht, all moving separately, in s~:-aig..1t lines, I I from one to iii:OJtner :.f :be Jour I red lights. 1 (Continued from page 1-A) "Like a star. . .only one light is green and the other bright r ed." I 'Car four, is that one str:.ti6hl nhead or vou?" "'fen-Four ." Crowds gathered on street corners. Citizens clad in ~Jip pcrs or barefoot scanned the skirs with their seeirching eyes. 1\tonte Lumpkin of Alma, who was travelin~ down RogE:rs . Avenue, said he saw two t , white objects "traveling low . over the city. ~ Youths with binoculars or telescopes had a field dtty. , There were discr:epancies in . what was seen. One man Sllid that it was two white lights traveling t ogether. Another com- mented that he saw only on~ -"and it was red." . Yet, there are many possible r-"and logical'' -explanations or the phenomen. accord- to Jerry, Bain, controller at FAA tower. -ves, I saw something up fh~II'P-," Bain said. "But I be- was high -intensity robe lights from a high-alti. de jet passing overhead. (l'hese have been known to stnrt scares in the past." Bain said that the Memphis ~ affice ef the Federal Aviation Agency, which has char Je of in the Fsrt Smith area, had been notified. "They say they hCJve noL seen on the scc:nner that be accounted for," Bain An ex-serviceman said that he ieved that "the lights carne two planes refueling over I was watching it through high powered binoculars," he said. ''I could see the tanker. The white lights were on the tanker and the red lights were on the jet. By listening closely I c~uld hear the engines roar." The lights could also have a satellite passing above, Bain said. on, I can't say... I, Gilbreth said J~e 0cs ..,-~ A YlE \V Ol'' AN UFO -Many citizens 1 throughout the area ~potted UFO's Monday night over the city. Thi~ pbotugraph is a Asso&iated Press said that at Pine Bh.:ff, residents r e. ported sig hting four red lights in the pre-dawn darkness to 1 time exposure s day. : jP.ct." (Southwe! The lig:1ts appeared to be ' . Lhcm for about ~n ~our. O:::e~ 1 lsetid the lights were vis:b~e :a-~. ~ ~!:lout three hour.s. Gilbr~th said 'j jlte saw crowds of about 60, 350J nnd 600 watch!~g~ ~he _Ji s as very high, slowly moving north. - ---~-----ea~tward. with three arranged in a triangle format!nn ~ n d t;,f!' fourth li3ht, very dim. cescrib-: : ld ets ' seeming to be out of: I The Jights ch:mged colors! from red to sil\'er to green to blue and IJack to red, witnessPs' And at Paragould residents rcpott(;d seeing what look~d like a bright 5tar traveling iH:ross the sky in an erratic 'rite light would zoom nheact, thrn hover in cne spot, moved up nncl do1vn, and two ~mailer lights would 1Jre:1k off of it, tr:weJ .:~way. :wd rf'turnl "jt. ntsses ~ aid-. !'hw:man Ken Bock of Radio Station KDRS, Parn~1uld, ..,;tid that h~ wa~ a.;ked to look at lhe light ~tnd re observNt it llhJVin~ in what he de3CJ'ibf'd :l.i ' '1, ery tt~ht circle." A VIEW OF AN Ulo -Many citizens throughout the trea &potted UFO's Monday niglit over the dty. This photograph is a time exposure showing the path of an "ob- ject." (Southwestern Photo by RilJ Spruell) Sky Ga,zer~ . THESE TEEN-AGE BOYS point to the IJid!s over Fort Smith after spotting a UFO which wa~ seen by many ~ltizens throughout the city and area l\londi'y nigbt. Cr.owdt of from 60 to 600 were seen throughout the city as Jlgbts, red and grern and white, appeared In the sky. Reports of sigbtings began pouring fn at 9:13 p.m., and they were still trickling in after mid- night. What the people saw is still A ntystery. (Southwestern !,bohr) By FRANCES ~fiLLER prrsons saw the lights which set be ahle lo identify an object, Capt. Jame! Ector, informa off a, batch .. of comment about or light, this does not mean tion officer at Littie Rock Air unidentified flying objects. Wit that it is necessaryily unidenti- Force Base, was i~ fort Smith nesse1 included police officers fiable, Capt. Ector said. Tuesday to make 3 routine in-and newsmen. But Xactly what it (or they) vestigatioo on u1usual lighu 'fhe lights -red. green, blue was still remains a mystery. in the skies Monday night and or white -didn't do much but As far as the visit here Tues. before dawn Tuesday. blink on and off. day by Capt. Ector and a non- Hundred! of citY and area While the na~ed eye may no~ commissioned officer from his -, office, he said: "It wq stand- . ard operational procedure. We ~ 1 alw.:tys fol~ow 41p on sight' :rsucb as th1s. V I "Our visit was to try and de. l termine if a further investiga. tion was needed and to obtain photographs if possible. We wiJl ~ continue the investigation until we get what we need." Capt. ~ctor said more-than likely he and a member of hi staff '"''ill come t., Fort Smith l one more time -t o d a y or . Thursday, ' We wiU look at ph4ltograpbs and try to determine. whether or not the UFO wa_. really just that or if it was a higb flying aircraft." Wl1en ~sked hi.s opinion about the sightings. C~pt. EctM said: "We ~re prohibited from spec- . ulatlng. The only release that can be made must (:orne from the Foreign Tt::chnilogical Divi. ion at Wright Patterson Air Force Bitse, Ohio. It's t h e i r to examine the data we give them and then they will either identify what it was or thPy won't." The captain said .;ighting5 ol unu:;ual l1gilts are not infre- quent and are usually ea.sy to xplain. 'Three weeks ago we were f!ooded with calt. about (Turn t, pa1e 3-A) (Continued from page 1-A) an unu.~ua\ light. 1 went outside and looked tl1rough my binocu- tars and saw the li~ht myself." What was it? "A b\g sign advertising a fried chicken res- taurant.'' Capt. Ector said he and h\s NCO obtained a signed state- l ment on their visit here 1'ues day from Sgt. J. W. Gilbreth ! Jr., 38, a six-year veteran of ( the Fort Smith Police Depart- , Sgt. Gilbreth viewed the lights above Fort Smith by eyesight \ and with the aid of binoculars. \ ~ His description went this way: "Four red lights, immobile ' but seeming to rotale like a po. '1 lice patrol car warning beacon, , were spread out in the sky 1\ke 1 the points on the corners of a "One set of red an:l green \ights appeared, traveling in straight lines from one of the four red lights and then on to others. A blinking white light and later a steady white light in the same manner. "What we saw were lights," ' Gilbreth said. "What they were on, I can't say." The sergeant said he observ ed them for about an hour. He also saw crowds of 60, 350 and 600 watching the same objects during the night. One crowd, listening to a newsman broad cast his descriplion of t h e lights, was estimated to num- ber ahoct 1,500. ' Capt. Ector said he conduct- ' ed several other interviews dur- ' ing the day but Hthey were lis.. \ I tening type interviews." The captain also said: "The : people apparenUy saw some- \ thing over there last night, but ; we don't know yet what it is." ' He said that ~ince Jan. 1, 19H. there have been 10,047 re . port.' of unidentified flying ob- 1 ]ccts. The Air Force has ex- pluined all but 646 to its own satisfaction. 1F Aub/o-~t'tAL h1 ll,.s 1'D'II ... filLY TO DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS 12STH STRATEGIC AEROSPACE DIVISION (SAC) LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS 72076 7 September 1966 UFO Sightings 1. The following conforms to the basic reporting format shown in AFR 200-2. However, because of the large number of people involved and the number of sightings, information on the subject is not detailed. 2. Included are news clippings from local newspapers describing the events of 16 August. Recording tapes are being sent under a separate cover which go into detail on the sequence of sightings. 3. Description of the object(s) a. circular shape b. size of a pea c. red, green and white in color d. one to four traveling in a straight line e. blinking white light which changed to a no tail was noticed g. no sound was heard steady white light h. three \Vere in formation and the fourth out of formation(shape of a triangle.) Description of course of objects a. attention was drawn to the blinking lights in the sky b. seen to the northwest and moving south c .. moved to the south flight path was straight and no sharp maneuvers objects disappeared abruptly rather than faded out objects disappeared instanteously to the south 1.:~.&.; ~ objects w ere visible for three hours VAJ.~' ~or.;.Ji"' ~ 1-fa!'.ner of Observation a . objects were seen from the ground and with the aid of binoculars b, Binoculars were used for a few of the sightings c. Sightings were all made from the g:cound. Peace is our Profession Time and Date of Sightings a. Time of sightings were fro1n 0300 hours zulu to 0600 hours zulu, 16 August 1966. b. Sightings were made on a clear night with no haze. Location of Observer All sightings were made in the Fort Smith, .Arkansas area Identifying Infortnation on Observer(s) . a. Sergeant J. W. Gilbreth (Fort Smith Police Department) b. No military personnel were involved in the sightings i.cc. It was noted that hundreds of city and area personnel were witness to the sightings. However, all were not interviewed. Weather conditions a. Clear night with no haze b. No reading was taken on the wind direction c. Apparently unlimited ceiling d. No cloud cover e. No storm areas f. Temperature was normal for the year (70-75 degrees F) No :1nusual activities as far as Meteorological conditions are concerned. No identification action taken. No a:r traffic designated for the area. SE-e news clippings for comments. Exis:ance of physical evidence; Under separate cover sheet are re- cording tapes, news clippings, and photographs (negative not obtain- able) covering the sequence of events. 4. F~rwarded for your information in our investigation of the August 16 sig i::lgs of UFOs in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area. Under sep- arate:! .:o'-er sheets v: e are sending recording tapes to supplement this 5. 'Ne have included all information gleaned from the "more reliable" sources. Because of the large number of people (approximately 1, 500) involved, we did not attempt to formally interview more than two people. The descriptions given by these people coincided with that given by a majority of the observers. 6. If you feel that any further information is necessary, you can count on our full cooperation. FOR THE COMMANDER JAMES S . ECTOR, Captain, USAF Director of Information. MF)IO FOR THE RECORD 16 .August 66 R~ceived a call from Col. Lemdley, Commander, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas at 0230 ~;sT. He stated that objects had been seen in th~ sky over Fort Smith, Arkansas. ~ny people had witnessed th! phenomena for the predeeding two hours. The objects looked as flashing red and green lights at low to medium altitude. Texarkana radar failed to pickup the objects. Colonel Lemdley ested that contact be made with the Fort Smith Police De- pa ent (Sunset 31121). Tape recordings were made by the Little Rock AFB Command Post o! reporting conversations. Following tification ot SSgt H.T. Jones, the Little Rock AFB Command Post was informed that any further action from FTD would be forth- cc ng after 0715 ES T 16 August 66. Conversation with Lt. Dixon, Little Rock AFB. He will leave ~ ~he afternoon of 16 August to investigate the alleged Con~act was made wit~ Capt.~u? of Little Rock AFB. He said ths~ Jer~y Bain~, FrU., Fort Smith Muni. Airport saw the alleged UFO and reported to local news media that the object looked like an a:!...:-eratt. Capt. ? telephone number is Autovon 631-1860 A a e~ officer also stated that the alleged UFO looked very muc~ 1 one of the aircraft that has been seeding the clouds Call ed Lt. Dixon at Little Rock AFB. He will tell Capt. Ector that Projec~ Blue Book needs additional information of any aircraft that were in t he area on the night. Capt, Ector is to forward ow .. office b~ of phone the necessary information regarding an; aircraft in the area. ~emphis Center of the FAA told Capt. Ector that they had no record of any aircraft in the area. Contact was made with the 70th Bt-l Clinton Sherman AFB, Okla. The 70th BW was refueling between 024)-0343Z on the refueling track Ten Killer on 16 August 66. Contact with 70th B\-1 Clinton Shennan Al''B, OKla. The 70 th BW was using refu!!ling t r-ck Ten !;iller between 0243-0343Z .16 August 1966. The 43rd BW was in the area between 0055~0155Z 16 August 000 going west i Fort Smith squinted skyward he drove around the city. rno fire. no smoke and no noise. i\londay night, searclling I o r Fort Smith po1ice contacted He said other wHneSjes told something -Ilying saucers -Little Rock Air F