Dairy, OregonDecember 1954

On December 22, 1954, a resident of Dairy, Oregon, who held an excellent reliability rating as a Ground Observer Corps chief, spotted a round, silver-colored object about 40 feet across in the sky. The observer watched it through 10-power binoculars, a rifle scope, and a surveyor's transit over a period of 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

The object moved at a rapid speed and made a sharp 90-degree climbing turn to the left. It produced a sound similar to a jet engine and came to a stop once during the sighting. The observer first saw it heading roughly southeast (120 degrees), then it executed the climbing turn onto a heading of about north (20 degrees), and finally leveled out on a heading of roughly east (90 degrees) before disappearing.

The Air Force investigator noted conflicting descriptions of the object in the reports and suspected the observer's view was affected by a pronounced temperature inversion (a layer of warm air that can create optical illusions). The investigator concluded that the object was probably climbing when first observed, and the sharp turn combined with sunlight reflecting off the inversion layer may have created an illusion of the object standing still. Wind data from multiple altitudes showed winds between 39 and 85 knots, which could account for the object's apparent speed when combined with the inversion effect and its relative closeness to the observer.

The Air Force's final evaluation listed the sighting as "unidentified," though the case file indicates the investigator suspected natural or atmospheric phenomena played a role. The full case file, consisting of 8 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.