DOW-UAP-D156, Air Intelligence Information Report, Guam, 1956

Official Conclusion

Unidentified Flying Object cannot be readily explained unless the lighted weather balloon malfunctioned and remained at relatively low altitude.

Official Description

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (AIIR), a standardized U.S. Air Force reporting form used to record raw information of potential intelligence value for later analysis. The form served as a primary vehicle for U.S. Air Force field intelligence collection throughout the early Cold War, until defense-wide reporting standards were established in the early 1960s. This AIIR records a December 31, 1956, incident in the vicinity of Guam in which the pilot of a U.S. Air Force F-86D aircraft reported observing an unidentified aerial blinking light. The report notes that a lighted weather balloon had been launched before the sighting and states that, if the balloon had malfunctioned and remained at a relatively low altitude, it could possibly explain the reported object. It also indicates that the preparing officer did not regard the balloon explanation as sufficient unless that condition applied. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.

Key Findings

• →F-86D pilot (1st Lt Ted Brunson, 41st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron) reported a round, dime-sized blinking white light at 1610Z on 31 Dec 1956 over the Guam radio range holding pattern at about 26,000 ft MSL.
• →The pilot reported the object turned with his aircraft, could not be closed with even in afterburner, climbed from 20,000 to 30,000 ft, and circled the interceptor twice over about 10 minutes before he broke off for low fuel.
• →A lighted weather balloon launched at 1432Z by the U.S. Weather Bureau at the U.S. Navy Communications Station was last tracked 5 miles west at 20,000 ft at 1500Z, with a slower-than-normal ascent rate.
• →The preparing officer stated a normally ascending balloon would have been much higher than the sighting altitude; a malfunctioning balloon that leveled off or descended could possibly explain it.
• →The pilot, questioned again, rejected the balloon explanation because the object maneuvered with the F-86D and accelerated past his aircraft; no other air traffic was known, verified by checks of all fields and control stations.

Extracted Entities