Birmingham, AlabamaJune 1956

Insufficient Data

Summary

On June 5, 1956, two Air Force majors spotted an unusual object while flying near Birmingham, Alabama. Major Robert L. Oelker and Major Arnold D. Zimmerman were piloting a B-25 aircraft at 6,000 feet when the object came directly toward them at an altitude of about 3,000 feet. The object appeared circular and flat, roughly 40 to 50 feet in diameter and 6 to 8 feet thick, with an aluminum or silver color.

Major Oelker watched the object for 20 to 30 seconds as it climbed approximately 2,000 feet and passed near his aircraft. Major Zimmerman saw it for roughly 4 or 5 seconds. Both men noted that the object was spinning the entire time they observed it. The object then continued climbing toward the south and disappeared from view. The officers described the weather as clear with about 10 miles of visibility.

The pilots were unable to estimate the object's speed, but noted it readily pulled away from their view. Despite having a camera available, Major Oelker did not attempt to photograph the object because he initially thought it was another aircraft. The Air Force investigators noted that the object's unusual behavior and the pilots' inability to follow it suggested something extraordinary, but the file records the official assessment as a probable balloon sighting.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 7 pages.

Reported location

Birmingham, Alabama

Date of incident

June 1956

State / country

AL / US

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 25

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 7

View transcribed text

if . . . . < " Gl ’ RTL PTET TH EE A YEN Mr Pe AA bie HE 1 A LS Ge RP Rg 1 PE PI
(
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
————— ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— '. ——————
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
; : ‘ 0 Was Balloon
5 June 1956 Birmingham, #Alabama xX Probably Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION 0 Possibly Balloon
{ia edl = O Ground-Visual O Ground-Radar g lt Ha fa
mr 05/1 14377 5 X38 Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Aircraft
5. PHOTOS 6. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical
OVYes 0 Probably Astronomical
X x3 No Military D Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE 0 NOIhRE Se CARR a fa
: : O Insufficient Dota for Evaluation
fo 0 Unknown
20-30 seconds one | South
ho. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING bbl COMMENTS ; i
| One round circular & flat object Probable balloon sighting.
| approximately 40-50 feet in diameter, |
| 6-8 ft thick, Color aluminum or
{ silver, no unusual maneuvers. Dis-
appeared climbing to South,
; i
| |
| |
) ATIC FORM 329 (REV 24 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28965802