Versailles, MissouriJune 1963

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of June 24, 1963, a farmer near Versailles, Missouri saw an unusual object in the sky. The man, age 47, observed a round white object that appeared as a moving light, starting at about 60 degrees above the horizon (roughly halfway between the ground and straight overhead). He watched it through binoculars during the twilight hours, when some daylight remained in the sky.

The object behaved in an erratic way. It would grow bright, then dim again. As it moved, it sped up, slowed down, and followed a zigzag path. The farmer saw the object for about 20 minutes before it disappeared behind trees to the north. He sent a letter about his sighting to the 340 Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base on June 26, 1963, and later provided additional details in a phone call.

An Air Force intelligence officer reviewed the weather conditions reported by Whiteman AFB and considered the evidence. The weather was clear and mild that evening. The officer noted that a weather balloon (a balloon launched to measure conditions in the upper atmosphere) equipped with a light could account for the 20-minute duration of the sighting, the zigzag flight path, and the way the brightness changed. As the instrument package swung beneath the balloon, a light attached to it would grow bright and dim in a way matching what the farmer described. The Air Force concluded the object was probably a balloon.

The full case file, consisting of 16 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Versailles, Missouri

Date of incident

June 1963

State / country

MO / US

Page count

16 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 48

3 PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 4 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS | : : Was Balloon ; | | 2h June 1963 Versailles, Missouri Probably Balloon | 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION —|D Possibly Balloon Lae TO ete & Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Rodar = Lae a WSR : 1 GMT 25/0240Z O Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Aircraft \ ] 5. PHOTOS . SOURCE O Was Astronomical L O Yes O Probably Astronomical ; % No | Civilian O Possibly Astronomical H I ; 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE 0, O0thefe 3 20 minutes one zig Zag,Variable a {haul nent Dota for Evaluation | 4 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS | j Round white object would get bright and then Description of the sighting indicat dim. Appeared as a light. Initial observatign & balloon observation. Flight and a is at 60 deg elevation at estimated altituae essential data conform with this Fo above 60,000 ft. Object in sight for 20 minutes analysis. iN 4 during which time it would speed up and slow : 1 down and followed a zig-zag path over the horizon | 1 (behind trees) to the North. Observed through : 9 Binoculars at dusk, some daylight remaining. 4 Information received by letter and subsequent 2 telephone call. : 1 ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) | i ; |