Mojave Desert, CaliforniaOctober 1954

Unidentified

Summary

In early October 1954, a man 15 miles southwest of Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, California found strips of silvery colored metal scattered on the ground. Most of the objects were about one-half inch long and one-sixteenth inch wide. The man believed these were a new type of radar chaff. He had been rabbit hunting about five weeks earlier on the edge of the Mojave Desert when he and a friend came across many tiny objects scattered on top of the sand. These objects had a silvery color and when crumbled lost their metallic appearance, resembling asbestos fiber. The objects covered a large area and were miles away from a populated town. The Air Force concluded the objects were chaff.

Reported location

Mojave Desert, California

Date of incident

October 1954

State / country

CA / US

Page count

2 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 21

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 2

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD

1. DATE - TIME GROUP
Early Oct 54

2. LOCATION
Mojave Desert, California

3. SOURCE
MILITARY

10. CONCLUSION
CHAFF

4. NUMBER OF OBJECTS
MULTIPLE

5. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION
- - -

11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
Man 15 mi SW of Edwards found strips of silvery colored metal which could be crumbled in the hand. Most of the objs were about 1/2 long and 1/16th inch wide. Believed them to be new type of radar chaff.

6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
GROUND VISUAL

COMMENTS:

Description indicates chaff. Samples not forwarded. Information supplied in letter.

7. COURSE
FOUND ON G ROUND

8. PHOTOS
□ Yes
□ No

9. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
XB Yes NOT RECEIVED
□ No

FORM
FTD SEP 63 0-329 (TDE) Previous editions of this form may be used.

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28959762