Earnest Harmon AFB NFLD, October 1955October 1955

On the night of October 11, 1955, three servicemen at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland watched an unusual light move across the sky. The object was small, about the size of an average star to their eyes, but much brighter. It appeared as a shapeless white light with no sound.

The main observer reported that the light first looked like a falling star dropping from the northeast. After a short distance, it stopped and hovered for about two minutes. It then moved again and stopped once more, repeating this pattern four times in total. Between each hover, the object changed direction sharply, yet it tracked generally southeast. During the hovering phases, the light dimmed and appeared to rock and sway. As it accelerated, the light grew brighter. The observers said the object moved faster than any jet aircraft they had seen. After roughly 15 to 20 minutes of observation, the object climbed vertically at high speed and disappeared.

The Air Force investigation checked several possibilities. Weather personnel noted that a weather balloon carrying a radio transmitter had been released at 2232 hours that night, but the transmitter had failed and the balloon was lost. The balloon was illuminated by 1.5-volt batteries and could theoretically have been seen from the ground. The base's intelligence officer noted that the timing and the wind directions and speeds that night were consistent with carrying a balloon along the general path described by the observers. A low-flying C-124 cargo aircraft approached the base for landing around the same time, but appeared to make a normal approach and landing. The intelligence officer suggested the sighting might correspond to an earlier balloon report from the same date at the same installation.

The Air Force concluded the object was probably a balloon, possibly a balloon, or possibly aircraft. The full case file, 13 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.