Tyndal AFB, FloridaDecember 1960

Between December 16 and 20, 1960, military personnel at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida reported seeing a bright, moving object in the night sky on multiple occasions. The witnesses described it as resembling a star but significantly brighter than any celestial body visible that evening. The object appeared slightly elliptical in shape and was roughly the size of a grapefruit or baseball.

The sightings occurred over several nights between roughly 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time. On December 16, an observer first spotted the object at 6:35 p.m. moving from northwest to southeast across the sky at a very high altitude. The object traveled in a jerky, stop-and-start pattern and appeared to weave slightly as it moved, somewhat resembling the letter Z. A telescope was used to get a closer look, and observers noted the object had a sparkling quality, like a Christmas sparkler being waved back and forth. Similar sightings were reported on December 17, 18, and 19. The object remained visible for between 10 and 15 minutes on each occasion. Several witnesses, including military personnel and their families, observed the phenomenon. Base weather station staff also noticed it on at least one evening.

The Air Force's official evaluation, as recorded on the case summary sheet, listed the sighting as "Probably Balloon" or "Possibly Balloon." The file notes that if winds were blowing toward the southeast, a weather balloon released from a nearby airport or weather station would follow roughly the same path as the observed object. However, the OCR quality on several pages of this file is poor, and some details in the weather analysis section are difficult to read with certainty.

The complete case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below and consists of 9 pages.