Bayonne, New JerseyMay 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of May 2, 1960, at 8:40 p.m., a witness in Bayonne, New Jersey, observed a luminous object flying from east to west and descending toward the north. The object made a "zoom" sound followed by crackling noises as it fell. The witness described the object as having a grayish-blue and white light that suddenly turned red, then blacked out completely near 33rd Street in the city. The witness estimated the object passed overhead at a height of 300 to 500 yards and traveled at approximately 90 to 110 mph. The sighting lasted between 60 and 90 seconds.

A second witness saw the same object from the same location at 33rd Street. However, only the first witness filed an official report with the Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Air Force sent questionnaires to both witnesses but received a completed response from only one of them.

The Air Force's initial assessment noted that the description resembled a meteor, but the length of the observation period seemed too long for a typical meteor sighting. Because the Air Force received information from only one of the two witnesses, it could not adequately evaluate the case. On May 17, 1960, Major Lawrence J. Tacker of the Public Information Division requested that both witnesses complete official questionnaires to provide sufficient data for a proper investigation.

The case was ultimately categorized as "Insufficient Data for Evaluation." The full case file, consisting of 12 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Bayonne, New Jersey

Date of incident

May 1960

State / country

NJ / US

Page count

12 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 38

a A TO AER Pr - SL — WL oa— . i a PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD » I. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS © |o Was Ball 2 May 60 Bayonne, New Jersey Ort Bute 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION Q. Possibly Balloon RO ii xX Ground-Vi suel 0 Ground-Rodar 8 Bry Mvordy omy.___0301402 May 60 0 AirVisuol O Air-Intercopt Radar | 0 Possibly Aircraht | 5. PHOTOS Y SOURCE 8 a a | [] ® {] 1 ag Civilian O Possibly Astronomicel 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 6. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BE DU iii XC Insufficient Data for Evaluation 60-90 sec one | SE-NW 0 Unknown | 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Luminous object. It blacked out and then a Although there were two witnesses to the reddish glow appeared. It then blacked out sighting, only one reported it. A again. Speed aprox 90-110 mph. | questionnaire was sent to both witnesses, but only one completed. The description : | is similar to a meteor, however the duration is excessive. Due to the receip ; of info from only one of the witnesses, this 1s categorized as Insufficient data. ATIC FORM 379 (REV 26 SRP 52) . E ; / ; : : .