Project Blue Book Case File
Norwood, OhioJune 1953
Summary
On June 7, 1953, a resident of Norwood, Ohio, observed a small, sharply defined object in the sky for about ten to fifteen minutes during daylight hours. The object traveled first toward the west, then toward the north, and passed directly over the observer's location before disappearing into cumulus clouds (puffy white clouds). The sighting occurred roughly one hour after a weather balloon had been released in the area.
A contract astrophysicist who witnessed the event thought he saw a small cloud. However, the primary observer disagreed and did not believe the object was a balloon. The case file notes that balloons typically do not remain visible for as long as this object was observed, particularly when moving in distinct directions rather than drifting with the wind.
The Air Force concluded the sighting was a balloon observation. The case file indicates that because balloons do not usually stay visible for a full hour and this object moved deliberately in different directions, the Air Force still classified the sighting as a balloon, though it is unclear whether this conclusion fully addressed the observer's skepticism.
The full case file, consisting of ten pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.
Reported location
Norwood, Ohio
Date of incident
June 1953
State / country
OH / US
Page count
10 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 18