Bethesda, MarylandJune 1955

Unidentified

Summary

On June 22, 1955, at 8:30 p.m. local time, a civilian observer in Bethesda, Maryland reported seeing four elliptical-shaped objects flying over the area. The objects emitted a bright yellow glow with no discernible trails or sound. They were estimated to be about the size of a dime at an altitude of 42,000 feet and appeared to move from northeast to west. The observation lasted approximately 20 seconds and was made with the aid of a seven-power scope. The Air Force noted that an aircraft was in the area at the time of the sighting. Additional investigation was forwarded to ATIC (Air Technical Intelligence Center). The objects were possibly identified as jet afterburners based on limited available information.

Reported location

Bethesda, Maryland

Date of incident

June 1955

State / country

MD / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 23

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD

1. DATE | 2. LOCATION | 12. CONCLUSIONS
22 June 1955 | Bethesda, Maryland | (checkboxes for Was Balloon, Probably Balloon, Possibly Balloon, Was Aircraft, Probably Aircraft, Possibly Aircraft, Was Astronomical, Probably Astronomical, Possibly Astronomical, Other, Insufficient Data for Evaluation, Unknown)

3. DATE-TIME GROUP | 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
Local 2030 RST | X Ground-Visual [ ] Ground-Radar
GMT 0030Z | [ ] Air-Visual [ ] Air-Intercept Radar

5. PHOTOS | 6. SOURCE
[ ] Yes | civilian
[X] No |

7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION | 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE
20 sec | 4 | NE to W

10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING | 11. COMMENTS
Elliptical shape. No sound. All of | Acft reported in area at time and due to
approximately 40,000. | limited info in report, it is possible that objects were a flt of USAF a/c. Additional info rec'd by 4602a points to obj's being jet afterburners.

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28962483