Gadsden, AlabamaJanuary 1953

On January 11, 1953, roughly twenty citizens of Gadsden, Alabama reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. The sighting took place around 1705 (5:05 p.m.) and lasted between five and ten minutes. Among the witnesses were the Gadsden Airport Manager and the Civilian Air Defense Director. The object appeared bright, glowing, and multicolored, but observers could not make out its exact size or shape. It was spotted northwest of town at an estimated altitude of eight to nine thousand feet, moving south-southeast until it disappeared beyond the horizon. There was no sound, no exhaust trails, and no signs of conventional propulsion. The weather was clear with visibility of twelve to fifteen miles. The object seemed to drift with the moderate north-northwest winds rather than being propelled.

The manager of Gadsden Airport had a pair of binoculars with him and used them to view the object more closely. He noted that no known meteorological conditions at the time could explain what people had seen. There was no air traffic in the area. No photographs or physical evidence was recovered from the sighting.

The Air Force Intelligence report concluded that the object was "probably balloon," though the OCR text does not explain the reasoning behind this conclusion or reference any specific balloon launches in the Alabama area on that date.

The full case file, comprising 28 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.