Richland, WashingtonJuly 1953

On July 15, 1953, a man in Richland, Washington reported spotting an unusual object in the sky while entertaining guests from Portland. The witness was an engineer with professional training in observation, and he had set up a telescope to look at targets and small birds at high altitude. At about 1430 hours (2:30 p.m.), he noticed a bright, shimmering speck at an extremely high altitude, estimated at around 50,000 feet or perhaps lower. The object hovered in the northern sky relative to Richland.

The witness attempted to view the object through his 50-power telescope but struggled to locate it in the small viewing field. While searching, he spotted another similar speck nearby. Briefly convinced the objects were birds, he resumed his search. After about three minutes, he managed to bring the original object under observation and held it in view continuously for about two minutes.

At first glance, the object appeared to resemble a helicopter with its rotor stationary, but the witness was convinced he had never seen anything like it. The object seemed to have internal structures visible through a transparent body, surrounded by a thin vaporous ring or cloud. It occupied roughly one-fortieth of the telescope's field of view, making it either very small or very high in altitude. As the witness examined the object more closely, it abruptly moved at incredible speed toward the east and disappeared on the horizon in about ten seconds. The object's rapid motion could only be observed with the naked eye.

The witness, who worked for the General Electric Company on projects related to atomic energy expansion in Richland, submitted his report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 16, 1953. The FBI forwarded the matter to the Atomic Energy Commission's Security Division, as well as to the Army and Air Force. The witness indicated his professional standing as an engineer and marksman, and stated he was willing to provide further information if needed. Thirteen years later, in 1966, he resent copies of his original correspondence to Project Blue Book, noting that he had never received a reply and hoping that the passage of time might warrant additional investigation.

The case was officially evaluated as unidentified. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 20 pages from microfilm T1206, Roll 19.