Colorado Springs, ColoradoMarch 1955

Unidentified

Summary

On March 22, 1955, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a civilian reported seeing a circular, bright purple object about the size of a baseball. The object descended to the ground with a buzzing sound, bounced back into the air, and disappeared. The sighting lasted several seconds. Investigation by the Air Force and Colorado Springs Police revealed that children playing in a yard had thrown a burned electrical conduit across a high-voltage power line, causing a power outage and a flash that was mistaken for a UFO. The Air Force concluded that the reported phenomenon resulted from this electrical incident and required no further investigation.

Reported location

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Date of incident

March 1955

State / country

CO / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 22

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD

1. DATE: 22 March 1955

2. LOCATION: Colorado Springs, Colorado

3. DATE-TIME GROUP: Local
GMT 23/0200Z

4. TYPE OBSERVATION:
XX Ground-Visual

Air-Visual
Ground-Radar
Air-Intercept Radar

5. PHOTOS
Yes
No

6. SOURCE: Civilian

7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: "several seconds"

8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS: one

9. COURSE: Fell to ground
Bounced into air

10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING:
One circular, bright purple object, the size of a baseball held at arm's length, with a buzzing sound, descended to the ground & bounced back into the air & disappeared. Object appeared to burn itself out.

12. CONCLUSIONS:
Was Balloon
Probably Balloon
Possibly Balloon
[checkboxes]
Was Aircraft
Probably Aircraft
Possibly Aircraft
[checkboxes]
Was Astronomical
Probably Astronomical
Possibly Astronomical
[checkboxes]
Other: Shorted power
Insufficient Data for Evaluation
Unknown
Lines

11. COMMENTS: Notification of this UFO came directly to Hqs 4602d AISS. The CQ duty officer made a check w/ the police & with the power company. Power Co. noticed a power drop at time of sighting; police investigation revealed a length of burned conduit, which appeared to have been thrown across a high voltage line. Resolved that children who witnessed the UFO had thrown the conduit across the high volt line.

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28961611