Elmendorf AFB, AlaskaDecember 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On December 15, 1957, a pilot with the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska saw an unusual object while flying at about 38,400 feet. The object appeared as a round, brilliant blue-white shape roughly the size of a silver dollar. It resembled a falling star or a burning magnesium flare and seemed to be about 2 feet long.

The pilot watched the object fall straight down. It had fuzzy edges and trailed black smoke behind it. At some point during its descent, the object burst into yellow flame and appeared to break apart.

An intelligence officer with the base, First Lieutenant Cyrus L. Brooks, examined the pilot's account. Brooks described the pilot as a very reliable officer. Based on the pilot's detailed description and his own limited knowledge of the subject, Brooks concluded that the sighting was almost certainly a meteor. The official Air Force evaluation also classified the object as an astronomical phenomenon, specifically suggesting it came from the Geminids meteor shower, which occurs in mid-December each year.

The full case file, totaling 9 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Elmendorf AFB, Alaska

Date of incident

December 1957

State / country

AK / US

Page count

9 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 31

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 9

View transcribed text

a PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD Boon
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
O Was Balloon

15 December 1957 Elmendorf AFB, Alaska g BreEdbly Bolsen
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION ossibly Balloon

COPY EY We a 0 Ground- Visual O Ground-Radar 8 Prabebly Alveraft

cMT__16/00402 XX Air Vi sual O Air-Intercept Radar | 0 Possibly Aircraft
5. PHOTOS . SOURCE XX Was Astronomicol

O Yes DO Probably Astronomical
No | Milit i O Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION " NUMBER OF OBJECTS 9. COURSE : A
0 Unknown A

Plc oe Ed Ca TT BR CR Sls ESD
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS )
Round, brilliant blue-white object, Undoubtedly a meteor from the
size of silver dollar, Similar in Geminids,shower,
appearance to falling star or burning
magnesium flare. Approx 2 ft in length, E
was falling straght down and appeared
fuzzy at the edges. Trailed black :
smoke then burst into yellow flame &
appeared to disintegrate, ;
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $82) j

. P ¢ ‘

/ 9

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28976158