Project Blue Book Case File
Poiteres, France, January 1960January 1960
Summary
On January 20, 1960, an aircraft flying near Poitiers, France observed what the pilot initially described as a missile or rocket. The object appeared approximately one and a half miles east of a radio beacon and was first spotted heading east at around 0326 (3:26 a.m.) GMT. The pilot watched it move from east-southeast to west-northwest while apparently climbing. The object had a bright propulsion flame that shut off almost directly overhead.
The sighting was reported to an Air Force Command Post and reached the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Air Force officers quickly considered conventional explanations. Major Cypert, who monitored the report, suggested the pilot had probably seen an F-100 or F-101 fighter jet climbing to altitude with its afterburner engaged. These jets were known to produce exactly the kind of bright flame and trajectory the pilot described. No photographs or radar confirmation of the sighting appear in the file.
The Air Force's evaluation conclusion on the case record card indicates the sighting was "probably balloon," though the detailed investigation notes point toward a military aircraft as the more likely explanation. The file contains fourteen pages as held by the National Archives.
Reported location
Poiteres, France, January 1960
Date of incident
January 1960
State / country
? / XX
Page count
14 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 37