Project Blue Book Case File
Portland, OregonJuly 1958
Summary
On July 24, 1958, a civilian in Portland, Oregon, reported an unidentified flying object at about 9:30 p.m. (0529Z, July 25). The witness, a school custodian's helper, happened to look up and saw nine objects in a V formation. He described them as shaped like inverted shallow bowls, about the size of a Piper Cub aircraft, and light gray. Each object had two rims, one on top and one about halfway down. The objects descended, broke formation, reformed, then made a sharp turn, increased speed, and disappeared in 3 to 4 seconds. The sighting lasted about 20 to 25 seconds.
Weather was clear with a temperature inversion at 9,000 feet. Investigators found the flight path matched an air traffic airway running into and out of Portland from the north. A local commander recalled a flight of Air Defense Command planes in formation that night. The Air Force conclusion on the Project 10073 record card was aircraft. Project 10073 was the Air Force's official record for unidentified flying object reports.
Reported location
Portland, Oregon
Date of incident
July 1958
State / country
OR / US
Page count
5 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 33