Project Blue Book Case File
Tampa, FloridaNovember 1957
Summary
On November 6, 1957, witnesses at Tampa, Florida, reported one object in the sky around 9:15 p.m. The witnesses were civilians, including several family members and neighbors. One witness was called into the yard by his mother to see it. The sighting was a ground visual observation that lasted about two to four minutes.
The object first appeared as an orange ball, then took on a rocket shape and looked exceptionally long. Witnesses described tail fins, a tubular fuselage, and swept stubby wings just ahead of the middle. The front third had one large light and several small lights. The rear had one red and one green light on the tail fins. It made a loud hum like a jet engine but deeper in tone. It held a steady course from west to east, passing almost directly overhead, then faded into the distance. The sky was clear.
This case is part of Project 10073, the Air Force's official record for unidentified flying object reports. The senior director thought it was possibly a jet fighter. The Air Force concluded the object was aircraft, describing it as an F-100 jet fighter.
Reported location
Tampa, Florida
Date of incident
November 1957
State / country
FL / US
Page count
5 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unidentified
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 30