Unalakleet, AlaskaJanuary 1951

Unidentified

Summary

Between January 22 and 26, 1951, civilians near Unalakleet, Alaska, reported orange lights low on the horizon. The report is part of Project 10073, the Air Force's official record for unidentified flying object reports.

Six witnesses, including a church missionary, described orange flares about 15 to 20 miles distant, just above the horizon at about 270 degrees from Unalakleet. The lights were visible for about 10 minutes before disappearing and did not reappear. Witnesses thought they saw flares on six different nights. Special investigators interviewed the witnesses and considered the information not too reliable. They flew aerial reconnaissance up to 20 miles from Unalakleet but found nothing unusual.

The Air Force listed its conclusion as insufficient for evaluation. Investigators suggested possible causes including a reflection from the sun beyond the horizon, a flare, or a searchlight from a submarine. The file also includes a separate radar report from Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, on January 24.

Reported location

Unalakleet, Alaska

Date of incident

January 1951

State / country

AK / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 8

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

| PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
DATE ( 2. LOCATION TT |'2. CONCLUSIONS
a Probably Bul
23 = 26 Jan ARERRNEENE J TT aE TT Ta robably Bolioon
NE 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Vey Sa.
BE atin Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar - a rg AN
omt._varied 0 Air-Visuai O Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Aircraft :
S. PHOTOS Ea ME CAE 0 Wos Astronomical
O Yes Q Probobly Astronomical
No 6 Civilians OD Possibly Astronomical
5 ; b 9. COURSE Cg eA a
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS ib & R IR Other —— oo ory
: 10 Minutes 1 230 degrees D Unknown
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 3 11. COMMENTS ha
Orange in color and would disappear after 10 | Inusfficient/for evaluation. Possible
nmin & would not reappear, 0SI agents made that the phenomens wis reflection from
interrogation of individuals, Opinficn of OSI | the sun beyond the horizon. Possible
agents that info was not too reliable, Agents | flare. Possible searchlight from
flew SSW of Unalakleet, sighted nothing submarine,
unusual. Individuals thought they saw flares
on six different nights.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) Si

/ 3

Use ← → keys to navigate · scans hosted by the U.S. National Archives

Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28938986