Yucca Valley, CaliforniaOctober 1958

Unidentified

Summary

On 25 October 1958, a man brought a roll of 8 mm film to the Pentagon claiming it showed proof of unidentified flying objects. The film consisted of six frames shot at Yucca Valley, California. The photographer did not provide the Air Force with details about the exact location, date, or type of camera used for the film.

The Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) enlarged the portions of film showing the supposed UFO and examined the photographs closely, including under a microscope. The object in the film appeared to be stationary. The photographer captured the object for approximately six seconds, determined by counting the frames where the object was visible and calculating the camera's frame rate.

The ATIC's analysis concluded that the object was a reflection of some kind. The investigators also noted that the photographer seemed unwilling to obtain closer, more detailed photographs of the object. The ATIC suggested that this reluctance was likely because photos taken at closer range would not have held up under inspection. Without access to additional information or better photographs, the ATIC was unable to determine exactly what the object was.

In its final evaluation, the ATIC concluded this was a photograph of a reflection, possibly arranged intentionally by the photographer. On 5 January 1959, the Air Force returned the film to the man with a letter explaining the findings. The Air Force marked this case unidentified, though the file indicates strong suspicion of a hoax. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 9 pages.

Reported location

Yucca Valley, California

Date of incident

October 1958

State / country

CA / US

Page count

9 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 34

: i :E 3 i 3 13 5 : : gE 3 | § 3 | | | - | (3 | PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD +. fi i 3 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS : OD Was Balloon DR 25 October 1958 Yucca Valley, California o Rrobotly policed 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION RATER Ye ossibly Bolloon i : Loco oo ——————————— XX Ground- Visual O Ground-Rador a Nataly Avera ; ! ATG TOBY ra) iT O Air Visual O Air-Intercept Radar D Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTOS 6. SOURCE O Was Astronomical h XXYes ; DO Probably Astronomicol <0 No Civilian DO Possibly Astronomical : 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BX other Reflection j : O Insufficient Dota for Evaluation i PASE TTR 0 Unknown | 6 seconds one | __stationary § io. BRIEF SUMMARY CE SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Mr, C——— brought a film The object was stationary. 1 strip of six frames to the pentagon Total duration about six secondg with a claim that the photo represente Photo analysis indicate that the j proof of UFO's, No information as to object ‘photographed was a | 8 the location or date of sighting or reflection. The report indicated 1 camera used, The strip was sent to a possible hoax on the part of 3 photo for analysis. Mr . EE I 8 | 4 CC. : CA I EE 1 ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) | J yew 1 8 | | a C. | |