Del Mar, California, November 1961March 1961

In early November 1961, residents of the San Diego area, including Del Mar and Pacific Beach in California, reported seeing bright trails streak across the night sky. The sightings occurred on November 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9, mostly between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time, during clear weather conditions.

A missile expert working at a defense contractor saw three of the brightest objects he had ever witnessed. Each sighting lasted about three seconds. The objects appeared to descend at very steep angles, leaving uniform, luminous trails without the buildup typical of meteors. One observer measured a trail he witnessed on November 6 as roughly 500 units wide and 1.5 to 2 units in length using a military measurement called mills. An FAA tower controller at Lindbergh Field also saw a bright trail on November 3 and said he had never observed one with such unusual characteristics in five years on the job. The witness noted that it seemed to emit smoke for about 10 seconds after the main trail disappeared.

The principal investigator, a former military officer, theorized that the objects were either missile reentries or practice shots fired from an unknown source within North America. He calculated estimated heights around 100,000 to 150,000 feet and positioned the objects between 20 and 30 miles west of San Diego. However, the file notes that several meteor showers occurred during this period. The Air Force concluded that meteors, combined with occasional sporadic fireballs (larger, bright meteors), most likely accounted for the sightings, though the witnesses' accounts showed characteristics that seemed inconsistent with typical meteor behavior.

The full case file, consisting of 24 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.