Brooklyn Navy Yard, N.Y., March 1955March 1955

On March 24, 1955, at around 6:30 p.m., residents near the George Washington Bridge in Brooklyn and Manhattan reported seeing unusual luminous objects in the sky. The sightings came from multiple locations and witnesses across the New York City area.

One report came from a woman in the Bronx who described an egg-shaped white object about ten inches across. She observed it from the intersection of Fremont and Third Avenue, in the vicinity of the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge. Another witness, an elderly woman, reported seeing a white oval object with no clear directional motion or change in appearance. A third sighting came from two witnesses at 225th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, who reported seeing a luminous round object roughly the size of a full moon. These two observers described the object appearing intermittently in two separate positions, one above the other, lasting approximately twenty minutes total.

The Air Force investigation noted that an Air Force pilot flying over the area at the time of the sightings reported observing searchlight activity. The 26th Air Division, also operating in the area, concluded that the sightings were caused by searchlights reflecting off a cloud layer. The case file indicates considerable aircraft traffic over the area during the time of the sightings. Weather conditions at the time showed a cloud deck between 12,292 and 12,828 feet scattered across roughly 12 miles, with surface winds from the west at 12 knots.

The Air Force evaluated the case as "Probably Balloon," though the basis for that determination is not clearly explained in the available documents. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 11 pages of microfilm.