Blue Book MAXW-PBB14-51-66 (PDF)

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

Description of Incident

At 15512, a radar track appeared 20 miles SW of W-P AFB. The course was 240° at 400 knots. Two P-86's under GCI control were then located ten miles SW of that position. The fighters were vectored and made visual contact at 15552. Fighters stayed with the object until 16132.

Interrogation of sources, an AF major and lieutenant, reveal the following:

The F-86's climbed to 18,000', fell off, and then made a second climb to 18,000'. The major made a camera run the second time and received a weak return on his radar gun sight. The lieutenant's sight was "caged" so he received no return. The major estimated the object at 12,000-20,000' above his altitude of 18,000'. This estimate was substantiated by the range capability of the radar gun sight. The object's size, accepting source's estimate of distance, was 24-40' in diameter and source said his optical sight just covered the object. The films were not sufficiently clear. The object appeared as a fuzzy, small image in the upper right hand corner with discernable motion to lower left.

b. The AQW Squadron established two important facts: Be-affirmation that the UFO moved at 100 knots and indication that the two F-86's and UFO appeared simultaneously on the GCI scope. It is obvious that all eyes and antennas were fixed on the same object.

## Comments

The object was not a balloon, since the speed was too fast. A rawinsonde was released at 15002 and moved off to the east. The object moved against the wind. The blip size was that of a normal aircraft. The object was not a known aircraft because the altitude was too high. The object was not astronomical as dual radar returns eliminate this. Electronic or visual mirage of meteorological phenomenon is out of the question as the radar set was on high beaz, and both would not occur simultaneously in the same place. The sighting occurred above the weather".

## Conclusion