Springfield, OhioNovember 1957

Unidentified

Summary

On a misty morning in Springfield, Ohio, two police officers saw an unusual light streak across the sky in early November 1957. The sighting lasted only about ten seconds, but it sparked an investigation by the U.S. Air Force into what residents had witnessed.

Sergeant Edward J. Glenn and Patrolman Keith I. Rutherford were driving south on Wittenberg Avenue around 4:50 a.m. when they noticed a glowing light with what they described as a "frosty blue color" moving across the sky near Jack's Corner. The light appeared to travel eastward and reminded them of a search-light beam, though they felt the light was far too large and wide to be a searchlight. They reported no sound accompanying the object. The light seemed to brighten as it moved farther away before disappearing from view in about ten seconds.

Around the same time, at least two motorists in downtown Springfield reported that their car engines suddenly stopped running, including one motorist and a taxi driver at an intersection. These electrical failures occurred at the same time the officers saw the light, though the drivers did not observe any light in the sky themselves.

The Air Force sent Major Cooper and Captain Matsuo from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to investigate. Their report concluded that the light likely came from a ground source. The investigators noted that the area was hilly and that car headlights shining upward through misty, foggy conditions typically produce the peculiar blue, frosty color described by witnesses. They also observed that several factories with open chimneys and heat sources were located less than a mile away in the direction the observers were facing. Weather conditions at the time were poor, with rain, mist, low clouds, and visibility so bad that the ceiling was nearly zero.

The investigators treated an allegation that a city hall janitor's ignition system went out at the same time the officers saw the light as likely stemming from the power of suggestion rather than fact.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 26 scanned pages.

Reported location

Springfield, Ohio

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

OH / US

Page count

26 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 29

be » » - . ze AE PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD SR Ee - % b 1. DATE ; 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS EE i a j ) : . O Wos Bolloon i 5 November 1957 Springfield, Ohio 0 Probably Balloon E 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Gh A pan J core 3 Te f O Wos Aircroft 4 ’ PARE 1 718-0 RI IEE VF 2 1a . i Loceol . B:Ground- Visual O Ground-Rodor 0 Probably Aircraft : 3 CE - 63/09507 0 AirVisvol O Air-Intercept Rodor O Possibly Aircraft ah 5. PHOTOS ; « SOURCE O Was Astronomicol E QO Yes : O Probably Astronomical ; : 2 © Ne Civilian O Possibly Astronomical 3 7. LENGTH OF. OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE OX Other __ Ground T3 ahi 4 o pod Dato for Evaluation E. - : O Unknown rly y _ 6 - 10 seconds one ok Bi basc bin rr 2% ¥ 110. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS : ue Object, shape of cigar, 130 to 200 ft Light observed was from an unde -- b long, glowing a light haze blue, termined, but probably ground p appeared to be headed in a SE direc- source. : ; tion, the farther 8 it was it appeared ; to be brighter, seemed to melt into ths : : 2 clouds. The light had a peculiar frost; : : 1 vlue color at the northern terminus & 3 an extreme brilliance at the southern i Si ei No sound, : oR ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) i p 4 + 39 j ; . . ; [) ( ; : OR dd . [N . ; pr yl . : Hes WN aE d “ek HTH ‘ A : RE rR ARE Ts a3 RTL ET ROE Saal ses ed ditty Bali ds acnedtianaien a e le da seid SR BR 3 a ie X A p i rd i / ; . i ei