The map shown here was part of a government report attempting to correlate balloon launches with sightings of "UFO's". There are several things to note in the visual. Note the direction of movements of the balloons said to have been launched between July10, 11, 12, 22, 25 and Sept. 1, 1952. This time frame is very notable: the notorious weather inversion of Washington D.C. that conveniently occurred on two subsequent weekends falls between July 12 and 29, 1952. Also notable was the July 2 Tremonton, Utah film of UFO's, a sighting by a HWY Patrol Officer SSE of Norman, OK of three disc's at about 8 p.m. July 5, 1952. A sighting by Canadian air crew in Korean airspace. A "visual" at Annapolis, Maryland that appears to contradict the weather inversion theory. Plus others ...
The 1961 Project Blue Book file that contained this map did not clearly associate the launches with specific sightings. A downside to the files is that once a report was labeled "solved" it disappeared from the files as if it had never existed. It did not matter if the label was accurate, either, as several of the files deemed natural phenomena, airplanes, balloons, that were known to be removed were duplicated in other sources and the first-hand testimonies and troubling 'do not fit the narrative' statements were still there to raise questions.
Often the records have these highly technical looking bits of evidence used, apparently, to convince politicians, upper administration, etc., that science proved it all benign. The map, without a corresponding list of reports (in total), actually proves nothing. From day one, it has been acknowledged that some sightings referred to known and natural objects misidentified or not understood. That was the starting point and by continuing to hone in on those identifiables the data could, and was, slanted to present a false narrative.
1952 Balloon Tracks Map (found in an October 1962 PBB file)
There are nine trails designated on this map.
January 8, 1 day
January 10, Southwest region, 2 days aloft and then lost
January 25, 1952 in the far Pacific NW, balloon aloft for 5 hrs.
July 1, Canada, north of Idaho, 5 days
July 10, El Paso area of Texas, east -west, 12 hours
July 11, off the coast of Georgia, north then west, 4 days
July 12, Wyoming to west, 10 days aloft
July 22, Michigan - Nebraska region, 2 days
Sept 1, Gulf Coast (TX, LA), 3 days
The maps lines appear to overlap and connect to other lines in odd ways the map does not clarify. The lack of directional information is also a problem.
In numerous other sources a listing of events for 1952 can be constructed.
Jan. 20 - Spokane, Washington, Two USAF personnel observed a large blue-white sphere of light going from the east to the west, high and very, very fast, flight was smooth and silent, left a blue tinged trail.
March - Missouri and Japan. A TWA flight from Chicago to Kansas City was over Kirkville, MO a silvery metallic object pacing them at about 1500 feet at 2:30 p.m. Pilots assumed balloon and changed course and flight movements to prove it was just a balloon. Object did not respond as a balloon. March 29, Pilot of a F-4 Thunderjet over Japan saw a small silvery metallic object that did not behave normally.
June 24 - Wonson, Korea. Pilots first thought the orange glowing round object was a meteor. Then they noted it did not respond to gravity but stayed level in flight. The crew of the B-29 watched amazed as the object slowed down, stopped, hovered. As it hovered the orange fireball turned green. It then reversed and shot off over the horizon. That same day over Arizona another (or same?) object was reported with nearly the same descriptions of action and appearance.
July 2 - The famous Tremonton films taken in Utah. These films had continued to puzzle experts since the first days they were being examined. Several objects were captured on a film at an outdoor ball game. Also caught in the film - and serving to provide great comparisons - were a couple of jets. Some early debunking shared only that section of the film and ignored the UFO's captured.
July 10 - Miami, OK. Above a B.F. Goodrich rubber planet employees observed a round object with a central rim that rotated and had smoke escaping from it as they took a break at the plant. It then rose and zipped off leaving witnesses convinced they had seen proof that UFO's were real.
July 13 - Beginning in Indianapolis, Indiana and spreading out over several other cities, strange objects were traced on radar.
July 14 - Indiana. TWA pilots Nash and Fortenberry were flying out of Virginia when too observed a strange silvery object making odd and un-natural moves in their skies.
July 19, 29 - Washington D.C. and surrounding regions reports of both pilots and radar operators of unknown objects. From this will emerge a popular explanation for UFO's that the AF will use repeatedly. "Temperature Inversions" are a rare weather condition that can impact a specific area or region if temperature, moisture, and other factors all converge in the right manner. It can produce a condition similar to a mirage. In 1965, a temperature inversion was used to try and explain the vast sightings up and down the central United States. A temperature inversion was in place in localized areas but by 1965 the quality of local radar operators, weather forecasters, and others with applicable expertise had risen greatly from the level of public knowledge and awareness under Project Sign. They quickly spot up to wag fingers at what were clearly grasping attempts to explain away the unexplainable.
July 24 - Sierra Nevada's (Calif to Nevada)
Sept. 13 - North Atlantic (air and sea)
Sept. 10 - Yorkshire, England. While meteor watching a silvery disc was seen by witnesses.
Sept 20- U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt, crew witnessed a silvery disc fly over the carrier.
Sept 21-24 - Sea (several US navy ships). One or more shiny spheres moving fast, chased and observed over a wide area by more than one crew.
Dec. 6 - Gulf of Mexico (TX and LA coastline regions) Numerous blips on a onboard radar for a plane coming into the land of the Gulf near LA. Moving very fast they divided and group and regrouped. None could explain the mystery blips. Radar will be blamed for many "false positives" and even after the "corrections" are made in the coming years, the radar experts, will show time and again that their scopes captured something they could not define.
In my research into sightings in Oklahoma from 1947 to 1969, I found that most objects sighted made a North or south trajectory, a next group was NW. That last group could be explained by the jet stream heading NW over the region. The straight north and straight south could - could - be explained in many cases as aircraft heading along an almost straight line from Texas SAC bases, to stops in Oklahoma and into Kansas and Nebraska. Not all sightings could be explained that way due to other factors in the reports (the object was stationary, broke apart with the parts flying off in opposite directions, and moving against prevailing winds).
Tracking reports related the dates of these launchings might help to clarify some reported events that might remain in the file.
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