Dalton, MassachusettsMarch 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

On March 25, 1960, a 30-pound chunk of ice fell in Dalton, Massachusetts. The object made a loud noise when it struck the ground near the home of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Roche, creating a hole about one inch deep. The family heard the impact and rushed outside to find the fallen ice scattered across their yard.

An investigator from the Air Force Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) surveyed the landing area and found no overhead object from which the ice could have fallen. The ice chunks spread across a fairly even distribution over an area measuring 28 feet by 23 feet. The ice itself was notable for being quite porous and resembling rime ice, the type that forms from frozen water vapor in the air rather than from liquid water.

Scientists at Wright Air Development Division conducted a detailed chemical analysis of a sample taken from the center of one of the larger pieces. Their tests identified the ice as containing calcium, silicon, magnesium, and aluminum, along with trace amounts of other elements. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the tiny particles in the sample to be silicon dioxide, a common natural mineral. The filtered water from the thawed ice contained similar mineral traces.

The Air Force's case file indicates that investigators arrived at no definitive conclusion about the origin of the ice. The file notes that "no conclusion" had been reached despite the physical evidence collected and analyzed. The exact source of the frozen chunk remained unexplained. The complete case file, consisting of 15 pages of records, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Dalton, Massachusetts

Date of incident

March 1960

State / country

MA / US

Page count

15 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 38

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 15

View transcribed text

‘
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i PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 112. CONCLUSIONS
ND Geet : avd : 0 Vas Balicon ¥
ON Mapph oy. [)ea an Maganp nam -
cD) RAaArcl a 1 SOO ie § Vol ly Massac nus» t Ls [®] Probably Balloon
ei ed pte aes sc esl tibialis toe 0a gn ita Sp os oe ls ns sits bent abrasions n . .
2. DATETIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Tess oly Puioon
; 1030) PoM, X¥ Vi % 0 Was Aircraft
EA A 85 LE 0 PONE 4.0 Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar 1 Probably Aircraft
SMT. A | 0 AirVisual 0 Air-Intercept Rador 0 Possibly Aircraft lies
5. PHOTQS aaa 1 Hite 18 SOURCE O Was Astronomical
C Yes pnysical specimen As O Probably Astronomical
“Ne | Civilian DO Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF CBSERVATION I's. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE OE RRERS FT SR ee
0 Insufficient Data for Evaluation
N/A one down 9 Np
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
giv, \ A a Se : hi EE DRE TEPC Srey ~ nO Bane net An ae
A 30 1b, chunk of ice fell in Dalton, Mass, flgtt nak BrIlved at no gonglusion as
the area wa ssurveyead by an A1IC investivato: to the o1 SA 9 of the ice sure
and there was no overhead object from whnien Cases Lay ipdicate a nc bi 2513 WIL C0
2 wh Hi, A [11 Ww 12 ty a econclust on
the ice could have fallen. The spatter will lead to a conclusion.
pattern was a fairly even distribution over
an area 28' x 23', The ice was analysed
and describzad as porus, or like rime ice,
ATI FORM 32% (RZV 16 SEP 52) y

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28986280