2 Mi E of Miho AB, Japan, July 1960July 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

# Summary

On July 14, 1960, aircrews flying near Miho Air Base in Japan reported seeing a bright, oblong object traveling at extremely high speed. The object appeared pale yellow to brilliant white, roughly the size of a dime to three-quarters the size of the moon, with what witnesses described as a short tail. It was visible for about 5 to 6 seconds, descending at a 45-degree angle as it crossed the sky from northwest to southeast. The crews estimated its speed at around 10,000 miles per hour. The object seemed to be burning as it vanished from sight.

The Air Force analyzed the sighting and found no satellites were known to be reentering at that time. The reported speed far exceeded what any aircraft could achieve. Although the witnesses could not specify how far away the object was, the Air Force concluded that the description and short duration were consistent with a meteor. No radar evidence was collected. The case was marked as an unknown evaluation, but the analysis suggested a natural phenomenon, most likely a meteor burning up as it entered the atmosphere.

The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below (16 pages).

Reported location

2 Mi E of Miho AB, Japan, July 1960

Date of incident

July 1960

State / country

? / XX

Page count

16 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 38

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 16

View transcribed text

Rs ( — a ba Ep —
i 5 4
| MILITARY AIR PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD |
: 1. DATE = 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS |
H {
{ 14 Jul 60 2 mi E of Miho AB, Japan - Prey Buttes |
; 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION NW TORI Wan
i I RRR iin O Ground- Visual O Ground-Rodor a Brobedly Air ares
PI gut. ASIA008 ® Air Visual O Air-Intercept Rader | 2 Possibly Aireraft
? S. PHOTOS oy 8. SOURCE 9 Ron Catronaet ent al Ist
: : |
| hh Military © 18 Possibly Auwenemiest 1
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CEE PRE EARIRO CG RRS
: O Insufficient Date for Evaluation
5-€ sec | one | SE O Unknown
4 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Oblong object, size of dime to 3/4 size of Description and dquration are characteristic
moon, pale yellow, brilliant white to pale of a meteor. (The IR112 was returned to
white, appeared to have a short tail, speed 4Blg--Library)
about 10,000 mph. Descended to an angle of
45° with flight path of aprox 135-145° Object |
seemed to be burning as it disappeared.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 82)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28987757