Moscow, Summer 1949Circa 1949

Insufficient Data

Summary

In the summer of 1949, a German prisoner of war held in a labor camp near Moscow reported seeing an unusual object in the sky on two separate occasions. Both times, the man was working outdoors when a fellow prisoner suddenly pointed upward and called attention to something strange flying overhead.

The object, according to the witness, consisted of a single vertical rod topped by five spherical items arranged in a square pattern, with one sphere positioned further away from the rod. The witness estimated the rod to be about 10 meters long and 20 centimeters in diameter. The five spheres were roughly three times wider than the rod, or about 90 to 100 centimeters across. Everything appeared to be painted white. The witness noted that the spheres resembled balloons but could not say for certain. He saw no antennae or other attachments coming from any of the spheres.

On both occasions, the object remained stationary for about 10 minutes before suddenly moving away. It stayed in view for only 10 to 15 seconds after it began moving, until buildings blocked the witness's line of sight. He could not remember which direction it traveled. The witness estimated the object's altitude at between 2,000 and 5,000 meters, though he acknowledged his estimate might not be accurate. Russian workers present at the scene were as puzzled as the German prisoners. The witness provided the address of another prisoner held in the same camp who may have witnessed the same object from a different location.

An interviewer noted that a U.S. newspaper had published an article around April 1945 describing a similar object seen by Allied pilots flying near German aircraft during the final months of World War II. The interrogator and an Air Force liaison officer who reviewed the case believed the witness had genuinely observed something and found his statements reliable, noting that he had been serious and straightforward throughout questioning.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 9 pages.

Reported location

Moscow, Summer 1949

Date of incident

Circa 1949

State / country

? / XX

Page count

9 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 6

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 9

View transcribed text

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28935719