Project Blue Book Case File
Vicinity Incirlik AFB, Turkey, December 1958December 1958
Summary
# Summary: Incirlik Air Base Sighting, December 1958
On a December evening in 1958, observers near Incirlik Air Base in Turkey spotted a dull-colored, elongated object moving through the sky. The object had a glow in its rear section, which investigators thought might have been a jet engine exhaust. No other lights were visible on the craft.
The witness first saw the object when it was silhouetted against the lights of the nearby city of Adana, at an altitude of roughly five thousand feet and about a quarter mile away. The object was smaller in apparent size than an F-106 fighter jet, and the observer could not see any tail or wing surfaces. The craft moved from Adana toward Incirlik Air Base, then suddenly climbed rapidly and disappeared from sight.
According to the case file, the maneuvers described were characteristic of an aircraft. The Air Force concluded the sighting probably involved a conventional plane, though the file lists the official evaluation as "unknown." The case file does not indicate radar confirmation or other corroborating evidence was obtained.
The full case file, consisting of 10 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.
Reported location
Vicinity Incirlik AFB, Turkey, December 1958
Date of incident
December 1958
State / country
? / XX
Page count
10 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 34