Ridgecrest, CaliforniaSeptember 1960

Unidentified

Summary

A family in Ridgecrest, California, reported seeing an unusual object four separate times on the evening of September 10, 1960, between 9:52 p.m. and 11:02 p.m. The family, which included two children ages 12 and 14, watched the object travel in different directions during each sighting. On two occasions it moved from north to south. On another it traveled south to north. On the fourth sighting it moved east to west. The object made no engine noise, though witnesses heard a swishing sound when it accelerated. All observers agreed the object carried no running lights.

The family disagreed on the object's shape. Two witnesses thought it looked like a saucer. Two others believed it resembled a boomerang. The object appeared to have a light gray color. Visibility was good that evening, though there was light rain between 9:28 p.m. and 9:38 p.m., and frequent lightning occurred throughout the time period.

An Air Force message sent on September 15, 1960, noted that the family requested the sighting not be given any publicity and that no further investigation would be made unless directed. The message concluded by acknowledging that while some natural phenomenon was probably responsible for the sighting, the exact cause was not immediately evident from the available information. The Air Force classified the case as unidentified, meaning it could not be explained as any known aircraft, balloon, astronomical object, or other standard phenomenon.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 12 pages.

Reported location

Ridgecrest, California

Date of incident

September 1960

State / country

CA / US

Page count

12 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 40

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 12

View transcribed text

v
&
:
E ww 0 an PROJECT 10073 RECCRD CARD
E | 1. DATE 2. LOCATION | 2. CONCLUSIONS
3 Si a Cav SAE es 0 Wos Balloon
= 0 Sep ©0 Riqagecrest, Calliiornlia 0 Probably Balloon
Es rr ib
3 ! 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION 0 Pessilly Bellon |
E | 5150-2200 be o QO Was Aircraft
] | Local BEE — 2 I Ground-Yisuol 0 Ground-Redar 0 Probably Aircraft |
E 11 /ACEAL11 707007 : hier :
4 CMT 1/09550-11/07002 0 AirVisuol U Air-Intercept Radar 19 Possibly Aireroft
i | 5. PHOTOS 6. SOURCE AT To 1 Was Astronomical |
: | 0 Yas FIN a 0 Probobly Astronomical |
s&s ! 3 No wivi.iad 0 Possibly Astronomical |
E I FT {
5 | 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 3. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BOM a
| 0 Insufficient Dara for Evaluation
3 | 1-2 sec bk different times one each time | varied |X Unknown Unideatifica |
5 1
# a J EB EF ESN,
10, BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING [1 COMMENTS |
5 |
4 | Object observed 4 times. On 2 sightings it | There ware no other resorts receivad
4 rraveled N-S; 1 S-N; 1 E-W, 2 observers con- concerning unusual obj acts in this
i sider it saucer shaped and 2 are of opinion | fairly 2eavily populated area. It 1
x | 1t was shaped like a boomerang. Object | quite probable that some natural i
= n . g
§ | silent except for a swishing sound when | Paeacmena Was responsibie Lor Tals
Fd | : . «4 pd my Ira - na , ts wrk
§ [ \ccelerating. Appeared to have a light gray | sigatiag. nowever, tas Ase 15 Jot |
2 | » Low. | immediately evident from the provided
| data. Unidentified.
:
 ] i |
I —————————— ———————————————————————————— —————————————————————— —— A ———
i ATIC ORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 32)
#
/
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CR LE ET ET

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28988854