DOW-UAP-D178

Unresolved UAP Report, Catalina Island, 1953

Agency: Department of War
Format: Document, 5 pages
Incident date: 11/16/53
Place: Catalina Island, California
Released: Release 07, October 23, 2026
Source: war.gov
Topics: Discs & saucers, Project Blue Book, Unresolved UAP reports

Description from war.gov

The file contains a report of a round, purplish-white object above Catalina Island on November 16, 1953. The report describes the object as remaining stationary, then moving northwest toward Los Angeles over approximately 10 minutes on a level flight path. The report characterizes the observer as fairly reliable due to his association with military jet aircraft activities while stationed at Long Beach Air Force Base, Los Angeles, CA. The report refers to an assessment by local astronomers that Jupiter provided a possible explanation.

Page 1

1. DATE • TIME GROUP 16 Noverber 53 16/13052 2. LOCATION 3. SOURCE Catalina, Califomia Military 4. NUMBER OF OBJECTS One 5. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 10 Minutes 6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Ground -Vi sua 1 7. COURSE 10. CONCLUSION Astronomical (JUPITER) Movement of object does not coincide with winds aloft. Astrononer at Griffis Park observatory evaluted observation as possibly T. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS , CAROM. Round purplish white object appeared to be stationary in first sighting over Catalina and noved IM toward Los Angeles on a level horizontal path. Source stated that the skies were clear. No irratic maneuvers were observed. Nov 15, Jupiter 2 ms, 38 min., 45 deg elevation in West. NW 8. PHOTOS • Yes Xi No 9. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE • Yes 25XNo FORM FTD SEP 63 0-329 (TDE) Previous editions of this form may be used. DECLASSIFIED Authority: NND 923007

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Page 3

TALINA, /Wither RAB 84 WPGO 99 YDC® 75 171109.53 1953 NOV 11 542 Action 07: 54 16 T.) ATLAL 2 atia 7 р. чів XYB233 JWZ C267 BX 71 BWD A290 BWDK292 UNCLASSIFIED RR JEDEN JEDWP JEPHQ JEPQW 444 DE BWDKW 09 R 171939Z EM HQ COMDR 234 7TH AFRTC LBEACH MUNI APRT CALIF TO JEDEN/COMDR ADC ENT AFB COLORADO SPRINGS COLO JEDWP/ COMDR ATIC WRIGHT PATTERSON AFB OHIO JEPHQ/DIRECTOR INT HQ USAF WASH 25 D C JEPQW/COMDR CONTINENTAL AIR COMMAND MITCHEL AFB N Y AF GRNC 0239 UFOB (1) (A) ROUND SAUCER SHAPE (B) SIZE OF A PEA (C) COLOR OF OBJECT WAS PURPLISH WHITE ON FIRST SIGHTING AND FADED TO A WHITEST COLOR REMAINING SO UNTIL ITS DISAPPERANCE (D) ONE (1) (E) NEGATIVE (F) NEGATIVE (G) NEGATIVE. (HE NEGATIVE

Page 4

PAGE TWOXBJW 09 (I) OBJECT APPERED TO BE STATIONERY IN FIRST SIGHTING. OVER CATALINA AND MOVED NORTH-WEST TOWARD LOS ANGELES WHERE IT DISAPPERED FROM VIEW (2) (A) CASUAL GLANCE AT SKY (B) 45 DEGREES ANGLE OF ELEVATION,; ODEGREES AZIMUTH (C) 45 DEGREE ANGLE OF ELEVATION AZIMUTH UNKNOWN (D) OBJECT FLIGHT PATH APPERED TO BE STRAIGHT AND LEVEL (E) LICHT FADED FROM VIEW (F) TEN (18 ) MINUTES (з). (A) GROUND VISUAL (B) NEGATIVE (C) NEGATIVE (4) (A) 160505-1 60 515 (B) NIGHT CLEAR (5) TENTH (16 TH) AND GAFFEY SAN PERDO CALIFORNIA (6) (A) NEGATIVE

Page 5

PAGE THREE BWDKW ®9 KB) T/SGT ROBERT J CURRIE 39 POSTOFFICE BOX 294 SAN PERDO 720 HARBOR HILL LOMIPA CALIF AIR FORCE CLERK UNKNOWN (7) (A) CLEAR (B) NW AT 8K 250 AT 10K, 270 AT 14K, 280 AT 12K, 260 AT 28K, 200 AT 50 K UNKNOWN (C) CLEAR (D) TEN (10 ) MILES (E) NONE 276-7 (F) N/A (8) ASTRONOMERS AT GRIFFIES PARK OBSERVATORY AVER AT OBJECTS SUCH AS THESE ARE POSSIBLY PLANETS WHICH APPEAR MORE CLEARLY AFTER RAIN FALL (9) NONE (16 ) NONE (11) NEGATIVE (12) WITNESS APPEARED FAIRLY RELIABLE DUE TO ASSOCIATION WITH JET AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY WHILE STATIONED AT LONG BEACH AIR FORCE BASE ASTRONOMERS OBSERVATION MAY ACCOUNT FOR THE APPERANCE OF THE SUBJECT 17/2000 Z NOV BWDKW UNCLASSIFIED DOWNGRADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS: DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEARS. DOD DIR 5200.10

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Machine summary

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Anthropic) on October 23, 2026, from the record's text and war.gov's description. It is not part of the record and can contain errors; check it against the document.

DOW-UAP-D178 is a 1953 U.S. Air Force UFO report on a sighting over Catalina Island, California, on November 16, 1953. It consists of a Project Blue Book-style summary form (FTD Form 0-329) and a teletype message from the commander of the 234th (7th AFRTC) at Long Beach Municipal Airport to Air Defense Command, ATIC at Wright-Patterson, Air Force Intelligence at HQ USAF, and Continental Air Command. A military witness, a T/Sgt serving as an Air Force clerk, reported one round, saucer-shaped, pea-sized object, purplish white and fading to white. He saw it from San Pedro at about 45 degrees elevation under clear night skies. It appeared stationary over Catalina, then moved northwest toward Los Angeles on a straight, level path over about 10 minutes before fading from view. No photos or physical evidence were recorded.

The report rates the witness fairly reliable because of his association with jet aircraft activity at Long Beach. Astronomers at Griffith Park Observatory suggested the object may have been a planet, and the form concludes "Astronomical (Jupiter)." The form also notes that the object's movement does not coincide with winds aloft, which complicates that explanation. The record appears largely unredacted apart from OCR damage, and the witness's personal details remain visible. It is a routine example of early 1950s UFO reporting through military channels.

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