4044N 6440W ESE of Nantucket Island, MassachusettsDecember 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

On December 13, 1960, a military pilot about 240 nautical miles east-southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, reported an object at 1840 (6:40 p.m.). Flying an RC-121D at 8,000 feet, heading 291 degrees magnetic at 210 knots, the pilot saw an elliptical, football shaped object the size of a dime. It was blue-white when first seen and turned bright red on disappearance. It had more trail to either side than to the rear, beginning at the nose and fanning out to twice the object's size at the tail. It appeared about 20 degrees declination at true azimuth 300 degrees, made no maneuvers, and traveled straight downward, disappearing behind a deck of stratus clouds after about 5 seconds. The Air Force listed the case as a meteor. The card noted the object moved in the wrong direction for a satellite reentry, the duration and description matched a meteor, and the earth was passing through several meteor showers at this time of year.

Reported location

4044N 6440W ESE of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

Date of incident

December 1960

State / country

MA / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 41

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

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LABRANCHE, W.E. Capt PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
i. DATE : 2. LOCATION o£ 12. CONCLUSIONS
Loy 64hOV : .
18 = Leet BL Eat oR 2 0 Woes Balloon
13 Dee 60 £95 of llantuckel Island, lassaciuseficprobably Bolloon
3. DATE-TIME CROUP 4. TYPE OF ONSERVATION TI" Vesely Surtees
, 1840 0D Wes Aiverof?
Loco! HE een sp A 0 Ground-Visuul O Ground-Rodar QO Probably Airerafr
BRT BRLERNRE tI Air-Visvel 0 Atr-Intercupt Radar O Possibly Aircraft
5. PHOTOS 4. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical }
QO Yes ad AD Probably Astronomical [2h o0r
2 Ne Military 1 Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF C3S8ERVATION 3. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9%. COURSE ThE RE RAT Vs
! 0 Insufficient Dato for Evoluation
5 sec ona Way 0 Urknown
10, BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 1. COMMENTS
Appeared elliptical (football type), size of Object moving in wrong divecstion for a
dime, blue-white changed to red. More trail to | satellite reentry. Duration and descrip-
elther side than to rear. Trail began ab nose | tion similer to meteor. The earth is
and fanned out rapidly until it was 2 times as | passing through a nuaber of neteor showerp
large as object at the tail. Very slight trail | this time of year, and the object sighted
behind object, about 1/% length of object. was probably from one of these showers,
iTpeared arrox 20° declination and azimuth
300°T, No meneuvers., Sighted from a/c at alti-
tude of 8000 ft, heading (magnetic) 291°,
ffAS of 210 knots,
ATIC FORM 329 (®RY 24 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28990474