Dallas, Texas Area, January 1953January 1953

On the morning of January 6, 1953, people across the Dallas area reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. The sightings began around 1:30 a.m. and continued until about 11:30 a.m. Most witnesses described an arrowhead or delta-wing shape with changing colors, including orange, red, green, and white. The object appeared to hover, move in straight lines, and at one point reportedly shot straight up and disappeared by blending in with the stars.

A civilian near Paris, Texas, saw the object around 1:30 a.m. and chased it by car for thirty minutes toward Cooper, Texas, estimating it was flying at about 3,500 feet. Control tower operators at Love Field in Dallas reported seeing the object and said it appeared to be roughly 50 miles away at an altitude that witnesses estimated between 2,000 and 50,000 feet, with disagreement on the exact height. Radar operators at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma reported picking up a target about 21 miles southwest of Paris, Texas. The radar contact moved west and faded after eleven minutes. However, this radar target's westward direction conflicted with the civilian witness's report of the object moving south, suggesting they may have been tracking two different objects.

The Air Force investigated by checking flight plans, contacting aircraft companies, and interviewing witnesses. They found no scheduled aircraft in the area at the time. The Air Force's analysis noted that one of the visually observed objects was likely an upper air research balloon launched from Tyote, Texas, and that the radar contact was probably an aircraft heading for Perrin Air Force Base. However, the case file leaves some visual sightings unidentified. The full case file of 18 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.