THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT

1952: Presque Isle, Maine, the Theodolite-Tracked Orange Object

In the early hours of October 11, 1952, weather observers at Presque Isle Air Force Base and Limestone Air Force Base in northern Maine tracked a circular orange object ringed with four green lights, taking theodolite sightings at one-minute intervals for five minutes. The Air Technical Intelligence Center wrote back that this was the first time such triangulation had been achieved.

The Blue Book card concluded it was probably a balloon. An ATIC memo ran the numbers on whether a high-altitude research balloon released from Minneapolis on October 9 could have drifted there. The file does not say it did, and the case remains one of the best-measured of the period.

Date: October 10–11, 1952

Sighting Time: Evening of October 10 (about 10 p.m. as logged) or about 0500Z October 11 (the message OCR is poor)

Day/Night: Night

Location: Presque Isle AFB and Limestone AFB, Aroostook County, Maine

Urban or Rural: Rural

No. of Entity(‘s): None reported

Entity Type: Not applicable

Entity Description: Not applicable

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light)

Duration: At least five minutes of theodolite tracking

No. of Object(s): 1

Shape of Object(s): Circular

Size of Object(s): Not recorded

Color of Object(s): Orange, with four green lights

Distance to Object(s): Triangulated from two stations; the figure is not legible

Height & Speed: The memo works with an object speed of about 27 mph, consistent with a drifting balloon

Number of Witnesses: 5 (as logged), weather observers at two bases

Special Features/Characteristics: First triangulation by theodolite in the Blue Book program; sightings taken at one-minute intervals for five minutes; the object was sighted immediately after a balloon release

Case Status: Evaluated by Blue Book as Probably Balloon; the card raises “Moby Dick” upper-atmosphere research balloons

Source: Blue Book file (priority message from the Air Defense Wing at Presque Isle; ATIC letter commending the observers; Presque Isle record card; ATIC memo of October 20, 1952)

Summary/Description: Weather observers at Presque Isle and Limestone AFBs tracked a circular orange object with four green lights by theodolite on October 10–11, 1952. ATIC called it the first triangulation of its kind, and Blue Book evaluated it as Probably Balloon.

Related Cases: Other early October reports on the October 1st–10th page

DETAILED REPORT

The Air Defense Wing’s message to ATIC reported a circular orange object with four green lights seen by observers at the Presque Isle AFB weather station, with theodolite sightings taken at one-minute periods for five minutes. The Limestone AFB weather station reported its own readings a short time later. The message time is badly degraded in the scan.

ATIC’s reply commended the Presque Isle organization and the observers “for the excellent forethought in obtaining theodolite measurements,” and said this was the first time such triangulation had been effected. It asked each observer at both bases to complete the standard questionnaire and asked whether any contractor’s upper-air research balloon was in that area at the time.

An ATIC memo of October 20 then tested the balloon idea. It notes an upper-air research balloon released from Minneapolis on October 9 that was about 25 miles west of Toronto and traveling east. At the object’s measured speed of about 27 mph, the memo reckons the balloon would have covered roughly 500-odd miles of the roughly 600 air miles from Toronto, and says the shortfall could be explained by altitude fluctuations or faster air streams.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

Presque Isle 1952: A Rare Measured Case

• First triangulation: ATIC singled the observers out because two stations took simultaneous angles, something almost no Blue Book case had.
• The balloon test: The memo’s speed and drift figures roughly fit the Minneapolis balloon but are not exact, and no contractor confirmed the launch was in the area.
• Conflicting live details: An earlier listing gave four objects identified as the planet Jupiter; the file describes one circular orange object with four green lights.
• Time: The 10 p.m. on October 10 comes from the earlier listing; the message gives an early-morning Zulu time on October 11 that I could not read with confidence.

Presque Isle matters less for what it was than for how it was recorded: two stations, one-minute theodolite readings and an intelligence center that checked the arithmetic of its own balloon explanation.

“This is the first time such triangulation has been effected.”

— ATIC letter to the Presque Isle commander, October 1952 (Blue Book file; OCR of a typed copy)