Bethesda, MarylandJune 1953

Insufficient Data

Summary

Two civilian observers in the Bethesda, Maryland area reported seeing an unidentified oval object on the evening of June 3, 1953, at approximately 1915 hours (7:15 p.m.). The object moved generally from north to east across the sky and remained visible for about one hour. Neither observer heard any sounds or saw any trails coming from it.

The object appeared very high in the sky and had a bright surface that reflected sunlight. One witness estimated it was twelve to fourteen inches in diameter. It moved in a steady arc without making any unusual maneuvers, though it did disappear behind scattered clouds several times before reappearing. The witnesses noted that while it moved too fast to be a star, it had some characteristics similar to a balloon.

The Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) suspected the object may have been a weather balloon. Investigators checked local balloon launching stations, including Andrews Air Force Base, the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, and the Navy's Anacostia station. They found that Silver Hill Observatory had released a weather balloon of a new Navy plastic type at 1700 (5 p.m.) EDT on June 8th. Air Force officers at Andrews had observed this balloon at an estimated fifteen thousand feet using a theodolite (a surveying instrument used to track objects), and meteorologists recorded detailed wind measurements aloft from one thousand to forty thousand feet.

The Air Force concluded the sighting was probably a balloon. The scanned case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 8 pages.

Reported location

Bethesda, Maryland

Date of incident

June 1953

State / country

MD / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 18

EE i — - ! . AY p E a § 2 \ . | y bh! 1) | . ; ‘ y 1 I. DATE - TIME GROUP 2. LOCATION & Jus £3 (8137 “31972 etiesd vp dAlXy land ) % 3. SOURCE 10. CONCLUSION | 3 Civilians BALLOON : Innouvers similar wo thet of balloon, stm midlet out Jue to : 4. NUMBER OF OBJECTS apparent Ludghiness of objset, ars, Vous and Jupiicr Lelow | Che gorizons Jun setting 2a 'lest, Dub Arcturus aud Soden nid in fast y ad SoM ab NT. Ba. SA 0) : : : 2 a — — - teen roms - EAA mar apeazs Beant ON b! S. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION |11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS : § Ba Cal od eby 110 SOLS or or 11s, lid tude ag pesrad very high, J ia Bd Contoine? i hboor un bra. ght suarf2ce ond reflaeted sun, 4 6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Travel:ad in constant are, dlsep cand Lehi clouds Lhen 3 = . eke reappecreds tod sore chwrncteristica of & balloon. 3 ‘ Souri-Vis el 4 7. COURSE J to hon . ; 9 8. PHOTOS i 0 Yes . “ . 1 “TL Ne K 9. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE ] 0 Yes FORM § FTD sep 63 0:329 (TDE) Previous editions of this form may be used, : ' ; ; ; . By 4 5 4