1 Mi S of Winston-Salem, NCFebruary 1958

Unidentified

Summary

On a clear night in February 1958, a couple near Winston-Salem, North Carolina saw something unusual in the sky. The man and woman, standing outside their home about a mile south of the city, watched an object that looked like a balloon but seemed to glow from within. They described it as transparent, with a flickering light inside that reminded them of a candle flame. The sighting lasted only a few seconds before the object vanished from view instantly.

The Air Force investigated the report. They checked with the Winston-Salem control tower, which had seen nothing on radar and had no reports of aircraft in the area. The investigators also discovered that a balloon had been released from Greensboro, North Carolina around the same time. Weather conditions in the region were clear, making balloon visibility likely.

Based on the investigation, the Air Force concluded the sighting was probably a balloon. The case file notes that the object's shape, transparency, and behavior were consistent with a weather balloon or similar device drifting through the night sky. No other explanation appeared in the Air Force's final assessment.

The full case file, consisting of seven pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

1 Mi S of Winston-Salem, NC

Date of incident

February 1958

State / country

NC / US

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 32

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 7

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
| 1. DATE “12. LOCATION "T7712. CONCLUSIONS PRI
{
| : 3 | | 2 vies Balloon {
{ Rab OR | lial Sie vinston-Salen Ar Probably Balloon
RE RIES Uo Shan Benth A el Ee OR Ee res = wd LAS Te el r— lO Possibl Balle
| 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION ji ah BA Latin |
| | uw 3 . i
local ooo 0; Ground-Yisual O Ground-Redar g San SH Ards
GMT 2d 7 2357 | 0 Air Visual O Air-Intercept Radar # Possibly Aircraft |
5. PHOTOS } 8. SOURCE | Was Astronomical |
C Yeas O Probably Astronomical {
| No a UE O Possibly Astronomical |
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 3. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE lo O $18 yh ia Ss tbl dl
00 Insufficient Data for Evaluation
ARE a |o Unknown
7 - NLS one NL i
ET eA] eee FRE ERE CR EE ee ie 3
110. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING i: COMMENTS
| 2d obj shape of balloon. grlongy A check proved Hsiiobg taiibe a
athe Seemed transparent w/ balloon rleased n Greensboro,
flickering light as of candle. Fa ded N.C, U.S. WX rpt 0-4,23.
| fm sight instantaneously.
! |
i
| |
Ee.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
4 §
hl
i .

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28977149