Dayton, OhioMay 1956

Insufficient Data

Summary

On May 22, 1956, an observer in Dayton, Ohio reported seeing a round object in the sky that appeared to be about the size of the planet Jupiter. The sighting lasted for an unknown length of time. The object moved toward the south before disappearing from view.

Air Force investigators checked the report and quickly identified the object. The case file shows that a weather balloon had been launched from the Sulphur Grove weather station (a facility that tracks atmospheric conditions using instruments carried aloft by balloon). The investigators determined that what the observer saw was almost certainly this weather balloon, not an unidentified flying object.

The Air Force's official conclusion, as recorded on the case summary card, was that the sighting was "probably balloon." This meant the investigators had reasonable confidence in their explanation, though some small uncertainty remained.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 8 pages of microfilm.

Reported location

Dayton, Ohio

Date of incident

May 1956

State / country

OH / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 25

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 8

View transcribed text

v ORE TERE FTE TRIN Zor ro RII En HT SS tw Br ——— ’ Pre — E>
PRN 4 2. bb AL ee ld Lt aoe a AE —_—
‘i ) PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD a
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
RX Wos Bolloon
22 May 1956 Dayton, Ohio 5] Probably Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION 0 Possibly Balloon
Cosi 9240 BBR. i  Qround- Visual O Ground-Rador a Ne ably Aircraft

GMT 23/02 15Z 0 Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar D Possibly Aircraft

5. PHOTOS . SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical

O Yes 0 Probably Astronomical
at Civilian DO Possibly Astronomical
j 7. LENGTH OP OBSERVATION 5. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE ; 0, Other ————————————
o |outiismn! Doto for Evaluation
unknown one south lp
10._BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING i 11. COMMENTS : ;
One object round, compared in size This sightng was checked & obj
3 to planet Jupiter. Object disappeared| was determined to be a WX ballooq :
to the south. that was launched at Sulphur
: Grove weather station.
, ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
8 : : . A :
| | : d . ; 5 1 ¢ | . ) :

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28965691