Hamilton, AlabamaDecember 1954

Insufficient Data

Summary

In December 1954, a farmer near Hamilton, Alabama reported that a meteorite had fallen on his property. According to his account, the object created a substantial impact crater measuring 9 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 52 feet long. The farmer, who lived 11 miles north of Hamilton, wanted the Air Force to inspect the site and determine what the object was and what it might be worth.

The Air Force took the report seriously enough to request an investigation. In March 1959, more than four years after the reported fall, the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio sent instructions to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama asking them to look into the claim. However, the investigation was short-lived. By May 1959, the Air Force Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) decided to close the case, concluding that it would be unprofitable to pursue the matter further. An attempt had been made to send a unit to the farmer's property to check on the report, but this effort was unsuccessful.

The Air Force ultimately classified the case as unknown, though the case file suggests skepticism about the meteorite claim. The complete case file, spanning 8 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Hamilton, Alabama

Date of incident

December 1954

State / country

AL / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 22

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 8

View transcribed text

| | ,
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
i ————————— ————————————————————————————————————— ee. rete et es. a Wt el 4, 0. Br Wl 5 lt + ts eg re. |]
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
& ” ? os PE 0 Wos Bolloon
MT Noerorbtyaesy 1QK) TA 2 1 ~ / a lame
Lo PeCEInDer LY Di nan lton, Alabama 0 Probably Balioon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION —|O Possibly Balloon _
FA Vi ! 0 Wos Aircroft
Local  ¥ f cas e & Ground-Visuol 0 Ground-Rodar 0 Probably Aireroft
CMT A fd @) Air-Vi sual 0 Air-Intercept Rodar DO Possibly Aircraft
5. PHOTOS 6. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomicol
0 Yes 00 Probably Astronomical
4G No mivilian 0 Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE B® Other. Eccentric
0 Insufficiant Data for Evaluation
’ 1/4 " ir / A a} Unk nown
10, BRIER SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Meteorite reported to have fallen or farm Attempt was made to have a vnit in
1 Dec 54. Source wished to have it inspected | source's locality to check on report,
and 21so wanted money for it, but was unsuccessful, Case was closed
by ATIC as it was felt it would be
unprofitable to pursue it further,
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28960578