Gulf of Mexico Off of New Orleans, July 1955July 1955

On July 15, 1955, the crew of the tanker Tydol Flying A reported seeing an unidentified object hovering above their ship in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast. The observation occurred at 10:23 p.m., when the tanker was at latitude 27 degrees 2 minutes north and longitude 89 degrees 33 minutes west.

The crew described the object as cylindrical in shape with a milky white, semi-transparent appearance. Inside the cylinder was a rounder, deeper white balloon-like shape that sometimes resembled a drop of water. The object appeared to be roughly 25 feet in diameter and hung at an estimated altitude of about 5,000 feet directly above the ship and slightly to the south. The sky was partly cloudy with excellent visibility, and light winds were coming from the southeast. The crew noted that the object seemed stationary and was not drifting with the clouds.

The Air Force's Flight Service Center at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama evaluated the report. The operations office concluded that the description matched a weather balloon, which was used to measure atmospheric conditions. The Air Force marked the case as "unknown" in its final classification, though the personnel who reviewed it suggested a probable balloon explanation.

The complete case file, consisting of 7 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.