Johnson Air Base, Japan, November 1957November 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

Two Air Police officers at Johnson Air Base, Japan watched an unusual object at dawn on November 15, 1957. The men were standing at the entrance to Area 12 when both casually glanced up and saw the object hovering approximately 20 degrees above the horizon to the southeast of the base. The object resembled a fountain pen held at arm's length, with a pale yellow or white color comparable to moonlight during daylight. It had a long, thin tail that was longer and thinner than the main body, similar in appearance to a shooting star but not as bright.

The object hovered silently for about two minutes before suddenly climbing at a very steep angle, approximately 64 degrees pitch, in a southerly direction. As it climbed, the object became smaller and gradually disappeared from view, with the observers estimating the entire climb took between 14 and 15 seconds. The object disappeared at approximately 67 degrees above the horizon to the southeast of the base. The sky was clear with scattered clouds to the north and low cloud buildup to the south, with good visibility and moderate winds at the time.

The two observers, identified as James E. Smith (an interior guard) and Robert Thompson (the desk sergeant for the Air Police Squadron), were both considered reliable witnesses by their supervisory officer. The officers reported their observations to the Passive Defense Officer of Johnson Air Base. The investigating officers noted that one observer initially had the impression the object was a cloud that then disappeared due to dissipation, and suggested the object was probably a cloud formation. No other unusual activity was reported at the time.

The full case file, consisting of 42 pages held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Johnson Air Base, Japan, November 1957

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

? / XX

Page count

42 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 30

\ J rE 1 : 3 HOSA ER PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD : | I. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS : 5% ; ba : ; 3 (3 Wes Balloon i La NOYVENoel Lv JONNSOL ALY pase, J4pdl 0 Probably Bolloon : ose C—O SSD te eee A > lB rm S- a, OS Sei ets SE SHS : { 3. DATE-TIME GROUP A. TYPE OF OBSERVATION QO Possibly Rolloon GE SORA AL ENO IE RR 0): Ground- Visual O Ground-Radar aks Tok Sih hs ! _ wri dns 0 Probably Aircraft RL 7ST a tu NI : i i CMY ef 21107 O Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Rodor O Possibly Aircroft 5. PHOTOS é. SOURCE 00 Was Astronomical O Yas 0) Probobly Astronomical 01 No Military DO Possibly Astronomical N EB DI TT TF TE i Te TY TT SE a b] 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CBIR TT Tc Ra, O Insufficient Dato for Evaluation i ; hs O Unknown : 5 minutes one SE 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Object shaped like a fountain pen, Observer had initial impress3ol | with ends tapering to a dull point, of cloud----disapp=arance and light Bize compared to a 9 inch pencil, Pale reflection giving cause to report, vellow or white color compared to light Disappearance due to dissipation. given by the moon during daylibht. Long Object probably a cloud formation, thin ‘tail, longer and thinner than object and not as bright, Hovered then climbed out of sight in 10-13 seconds, o_o —————— —— (A ine Se $n dre) 2 is ie Ey A Sr PSD CElem ms p ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) - Ea ls cabins iin A OT FR :