West Indies vicinity, June 1960June 1960

In the early morning hours of June 25, 1960, multiple ships and aircraft in the West Indies reported seeing a bright, fast-moving object traveling from west to east. Seven independent observers reported the object, which appeared yellow and fairly brilliant, brighter than Mars. The sighting lasted between three and five minutes. As the object turned toward the south, witnesses said it seemed to climb at extremely fast speed before disappearing. No sound was heard, and observers could not make out a clear shape or size, though some noted a halo around it.

The reports came from scattered locations across the Caribbean. An Eastern Airlines DC-6 en route from San Juan to New York saw what appeared to be two rockets, with one surrounded by a halo. A ship near the Bahamas observed the object at about 18 degrees altitude, watching it move from bearing 272 degrees to bearing 120 degrees as it rose higher. Other vessels and weather stations also filed reports, describing the object's movement and brightness.

The Air Force quickly investigated by contacting Cape Canaveral, the launch site for military missiles. Officials determined that a Titan missile had been launched at 00052 (12:52 a.m.), and its trajectory closely matched the course and timing reported by the various observers. The Air Force concluded the sighting was consistent with a missile launch, though the case file itself lists the evaluation as unknown rather than as a confirmed missile identification.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, containing 14 pages of reports and messages.