Fresno, Californai, August 1957August 1957

On the evening of August 13, 1957, a Fresno, California resident witnessed a silent, round object with a three-quarter dome shape pass overhead. The witness estimated the object to be about the size of a large cantaloupe, with a dull aluminum color and no lights. The sighting lasted roughly eight seconds, though the witness observed it through binoculars (16x50 magnification) for approximately three additional seconds. The object moved in a straight line from the southwest toward the southeast at an estimated speed of 150 miles per hour and altitude of about 1,200 feet, with very smooth flight and only a slight upward shift in trajectory as it disappeared behind trees.

The witness, who indicated a willingness to swear to the account under oath, submitted a detailed written report to the Air Force's 4602d Air Technical Service Squadron. The report included sketches showing the object's path across the sky as viewed from the ground. The witness also noted frustration about the difficulty of reporting UFO sightings promptly, writing that he did not know whom to contact in Fresno when something needed immediate attention.

The Air Force's conclusion appeared quickly. In a letter dated August 21, 1957, the Air Defense Command's Director of Intelligence noted that this sighting had been logged and that an earlier report from the same witness (from September 1956) had been analyzed as "probably overactive imagination." The command applied the same assessment to this new sighting, categorizing it as a hallucination rather than an unexplained aerial object.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 7 pages of documents.