Cambria AF Station, Calif, August 1957August 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On August 19, 1957, military personnel at Cambria Air Force Station in California reported two separate sightings of unusual objects in the sky. The most thoroughly documented occurred around 20:10 hours (8:10 p.m.), when a crew chief, assistant crew chief, and three radar operators on duty saw two round objects, each about the size of a dime. One object was white and the other reddish orange. The two objects were separated by about a mile, with one hovering roughly 500 feet high and the other about a mile away. The witnesses noticed the lights because such illumination was unusual in that area. The objects appeared to hover, then slowly rose and descended before fading out completely after approximately 15 minutes of observation.

A second report came from the same station a short time later. Four radar operators observed three round, red-orange objects that appeared to be stacked on top of each other. The formation hovered and then slowly descended. These objects also faded from view after about 15 minutes. Two aircraft were diverted to intercept the objects, but pilots could not close on them. The aircraft later returned to their assigned patrol.

Weather conditions at the time were very clear with unlimited visibility. The Air Force had no radar confirmation of either sighting. The preparing officer initially suggested the objects might have been flares or helicopters, but no definitive conclusion was recorded in that portion of the report. However, the case card indicates the Air Force's final evaluation classified the sighting as probably astronomical, with a note that Jupiter was in the position of the first sighting and near the horizon. The evaluation also noted that Jupiter generally appears white to reddish orange in color.

The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 54 pages.

Reported location

Cambria AF Station, Calif, August 1957

Date of incident

August 1957

State / country

? / XX

Page count

54 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 28

i 3 . = } i A PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD a ah : 1 1. DATE . : 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS EL = £ 5 7 0 Wos Balloon : 19 August 1957 Cambria AF Station, Calif QO Probably Balloon {3 oaTe-TiME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION lh sb Bred E ; O Was Aircraft : ky TT Rly 0 Ground-Radar Q Probably Aircraft LR iD Rd er MEE HOR LIRR oO ARVOGY ars O Air-Intercept Rodar O Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTOS : &. SOURCE E@X¥as Astronemical Jupiter d . 0 Yes O Probably Astronomical j 23s Military DO Possibly Astronomical : 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OB!ECTS | 9. COURSE Ta A RAE SR i rpt p RAG O Insufficient Date for Evaluation 3 BE a. : DO Unknown 3 15 minutes pt 2 - 3 hovering | 3 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS : Ji Two round objects, size of dime, one Jupiter in position of sighting bo E white, one reddish orange, one 500 ft [and near horizon. Jupiter generally |‘ | | : high the other 1 mile separate. First |appears white to reddish orange, r i noticed because tire are usually no No reports from radar por a/c of i. ! lights in that area, Seemed to hover, [anything unusual, Concluded this l : Ros2 and descended slowly, Faded out sighting was Juriter, ; after 15 minutes, ! 7; : Another report of 3 similar objects 3 which appeared to be stacked, : . ~ ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) : Ja : : : CT eR EE I EE Br EET