DOW-UAP-D177, Unresolved UAP Report, Catalina Island, 1955

Department of WarPDFIncident ReportUNCLASSIFIEDLight redactionPURSUE Release 7

3/10

niche or mildly interesting

UAP Insight significance score

Location: Catalina Island, California
Incident date: 3/15/55
Duration: approximately 2 seconds
Witnesses: Single witness
Released: October 23, 2026

UAP Characteristics

● SphereColor change

Evidence Types

VisualTestimony

Government Programs Referenced

Project 10073Project Blue Book

Official Conclusion

Probable meteor (Possibly Astronomical per the 4602d AISS index card); no further investigation deemed worthwhile.

Official Description

The file contains a report by Paul J. Carr of Avalon, California, who reported observing a bright orange object, approximately the size of a nickel held at arm’s length, on the evening of March 15, 1955. The provisional assessment associated with the report includes a comment from the preparing officer that the sighting is possibly astronomical, and that the incident did not warrant further investigation.

Key Findings

→A single civilian witness, Paul J. Carr of Avalon, reported one round, very bright object that changed from orange to red.
→The object appeared about the size of a nickel at arm's length and fell straight down, fading out of sight in roughly 2 seconds.
→Observation was ground-visual at night with clear, dry, cool weather and unrestricted visibility; no photos or radar data.
→Captain Clifford E. Brant, USAF Intelligence Officer, concluded the flight path and brief duration suggest a probable meteor.
→The 4602d AISS index card marked it 'Possibly Astronomical' and deemed further investigation not worthwhile due to the brevity of the sighting.

UAP Insight Analysis— AI generated, not official

File on a 15 March 1955 civilian ground-visual sighting at Avalon, Catalina Island, California, consisting of a Project 10073 record card, a UFOB index card, and a teletype report from the 670th ACW Squadron to ADC, ATIC and USAF Intelligence. A single witness (Paul J. Carr) saw one round, very bright object change from orange to red and fall straight down in about 2 seconds. It was assessed as a probable meteor and not investigated further.

Analyst Notes

Single-witness, 2-second ground-visual observation with no photos, radar or other sensor corroboration. Officers assessed it as a probable meteor/possibly astronomical, and the file's flight path and color change are consistent with a meteor. Some obscured text and tape on the teletype pages.

Extracted Entities

People

Paul J. CarrClifford E. Brant

Agencies & Organizations

670th ACW Squadron (ACWRON)27th Air Defense Command (27th AD DEF)Air Defense Command (ADC)Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC)HQ USAF Directorate of Intelligence4602d AISS

Locations

Avalon, Catalina Island, CaliforniaSan Pedro, CaliforniaNorton AFB, CaliforniaEnt AFB, ColoradoWright-Patterson AFB, OhioWashington 25, DC

Aircraft & Objects

Round object, orange changing to red, very bright, size of a nickel at arm's length, fell straight down

Dates

15 March 195516 March 1955

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AI analysis by claude-sonnet-5-5 · October 23, 2026