---------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================ PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD -- TRANSCRIPTION File: 1952-05-9614241-Saigon-Indo-China.pdf Transcribed by Claude Sonnet 4.6 for GlitchyMatrix.com/bluebook/ ================================================================ FIELD 1 -- DATE: 26 May 1952 [Record card reads "26 May 1952." The AIIR (IR-172-52) gives the date of information as "28 May 1952" and the newspaper article refers throughout to "28 May." The record card date is likely a transcription error; 28 May 1952 is treated as the correct sighting date per the AIIR. See supplemental documents.] FIELD 2 -- LOCATION: Saigon, Indo-China FIELD 3 -- DATE-TIME GROUP: Local 1030 / GMT 0330 [Record card: Local 1030, GMT 0330. Saigon was UTC+7; 1030 local = 0330Z, consistent with record card and newspaper ("10:30 hours" local). AIIR Part II reports "(2) Time sighted was 0230 hours Zulu" -- inconsistent with local 1030; likely a 1-hour transcription error in the AIIR. The newspaper and record card are mutually consistent and treated as correct here.] FIELD 4 -- TYPE OF OBSERVATION: Ground-Visual [X] Ground-Radar [ ] Air-Visual [ ] Air-Intercept Radar [ ] FIELD 5 -- PHOTOS: No FIELD 6 -- SOURCE: Civilian FIELD 7 -- LENGTH OF OBS: 2 Min FIELD 8 -- NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 1 FIELD 9 -- COURSE: [blank] FIELD 10 -- BRIEF SUMMARY: Color: White-Silver Shape: Disk [Minimal data on record card; full description in AIIR.] FIELD 11 -- COMMENTS: [blank] FIELD 12 -- CONCLUSIONS: [ ] Was balloon [ ] Probably balloon [ ] Possibly balloon [ ] Was aircraft [ ] Probably aircraft [ ] Possibly aircraft [ ] Was astronomical [ ] Probably astronomical [ ] Possibly astronomical [ ] Other [ ] Insufficient data for evaluation [X] Unknown Form: ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) [The form was revised 26 September 1952, after the sighting date. This record card was therefore created or updated retroactively following the form revision. Record card present in two copies.] ================================================================ SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS ================================================================ 1. Air Intelligence Information Report, IR-172-52. AF Form 112, Parts I and II. 2 pages total. UNCLASSIFIED (stamp: DOWNGRADED AT 8 YEAR INTERVALS; DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12, DOD DIR 5200.10). Country: INDO-CHINA. From (Agency): OFFICE AIR ATTACHE, SAIGON, INDO-CHINA. Date of Report: 14 June 1952. Date of Information: 28 May 1952. Evaluation: [F?]-2 [partially legible; F = Reliability Cannot Be Judged, 2 = Probably True]. Subject: Reporting of Information on Unidentified Flying Objects. Prepared by: WILLIAM H. HUNTLEY JR., Lt Col., USAF [see redaction flag]. Source: Newspaper, "Le Journal D'Extreme Orient." References: File AFOIN-C/OC-2, 19 December 1951. Part I Summary: "1. Report forwards a newspaper account of an unidentified object seen flying over Saigon on 28 May 1952. This article appeared in the 12 June addition of Le Journal D'Extreme Orient with no reason being given for the two weeks delay in reporting." "2. Personal contact with the individuals mentioned in the article produced no additional details." Approved: WILLIAM H. HUNTLEY JR., Lt Colonel, USAF, Acting Air Attache. 2. AF Form 112 -- Part II, Page 1. From: Office Air Attache, Saigon, Indo-China. Report No.: IR-172-52. Page 1 of 2. [Translated newspaper article, Le Journal D'Extreme Orient. Headlines: "IN THE VIETNAM SKY" / "A FLYING SAUCER WAS SEEN OVER SAIGON"] A flying saucer was observed between ten and eleven A.M. on May twenty-eight in the Saigon sky by a large number of people in the vicinity of the intersection of Rue Lefebvre and Rue Georges Guynemar. Among those who witnessed it were Mr. Raimbauld, Managing Director of the Societe des Corps Gras et Oleagineux, and Mr. Desjardins, Director of the Societe Commerciale des Potasses d'Alsace. It was confirmed by the Meteorological Service that there was no sounding balloon on that morning between ten and eleven A.M. [The article continues, narrated by Mr. Raimbauld]: It was 10:30 hours while a ceremony was being held at the Saigon Port. Several streets were blocked off to let high-ranking personalities pass through the city. Mr. Raimbauld was driving on Rue Guynemar and was attracted by several groups of Chinese and Vietnamese looking at the sky. He stopped and stepped out but heard and saw nothing initially. Continuing slowly on Rue Lefebvre, he encountered more persons watching the sky. A Vietnamese pointed upward: "He pointed to a white disk which came out of a cloud. It was something absolutely round, white- silver in color, and brilliant as metal shining in sun light. The object was moving towards another cloud. It could be seen clearly in the very blue sky but it did not make any noise." On size: "I who have seen a B-29 estimate that the circumference was as big as that of a B-29 fuselage and its altitude was 3,000 meters." Observer initially considered a weather balloon, but noted clouds were stationary while the object was not; "The object was moving in a straight line at a very great speed." Second witness (friend Desjardins): "The object we saw was round and smooth. For several seconds it could be distinctly observed and during this time it did not leave a trail and did not seem to be surrounded by a halo. It was moving at about the speed of a jet aircraft or a meteor. It moved in a perfectly straight line and was about the size of a small metal chip 2 or 3 centimeters in diameter [angular size estimate]." Service Meteorologique confirmation: A weather balloon was released at 8:00 A.M. on the 28th and 50 minutes later reached 15,675 meters altitude and burst. Sky that day was perfectly blue with only a few clouds, no wind. [Balloon therefore not present during the 10:00-11:00 A.M. observation window.] 3. AF Form 112 -- Part II, Page 2. [COMMENTS BY REPORTING OFFICER -- Lt Col Huntley Jr.] "The above is the first reported sighting of flying saucers in Indo-China known to this office. From all indications the newspaper account seems factual in all reported details although this office has been unable to locate additional observers, especially military or air force personnel to verify the story. The HQ passed the area at approximately 10:15 hours but did not observe the object either then or later while waiting outside of the Saigon Port approximately 1/8 mile away." Additional details: (1) Only one object reported seen. (2) Time sighted: 0230 hours Zulu [discrepancy noted -- see Field 3 above]. Duration: approximately 2 mins. (3) Observations were visual from the ground without optical equipment. (4) Location: intersection of Rue Lavebure [Lefebvre] and Rue George Guynemar (10 deg 45 min 11 sec N, 106 deg 41 min 58 sec E), Saigon. Object observed to the south at estimated altitude of 7,000-8,000 feet and at a 45-degree angle with the vertical. (5) Reliability and experience of quoted observer: unknown. (6) Weather and wind conditions as indicated. (7) No unusual meteorological activity at time. (8) No physical evidence or photographs available. (9) No interception or anti-aircraft firing attempted. Speed calculation (handwritten by Huntley): [Based on estimated altitude and traversal geometry:] (5000 + 8000) / (Time) 120 = 133[+] /sec 15/22 x 133 = approximately 90 mph [estimated speed]. REDACTION FLAG -- UNREDACTED NAMES: - Lt Col. William H. Huntley Jr., USAF: Acting Air Attache, Saigon; prepared and signed both pages of the AIIR. Official investigative capacity. - Mr. Raimbauld: primary civilian witness; identified by surname and professional title (Managing Director, Societe des Corps Gras et Oleagineux) in the translated newspaper article reproduced in the AIIR. Name appeared in public newspaper in 1952. - Mr. Desjardins: secondary civilian witness; surname and title (Director, Societe Commerciale des Potasses d'Alsace) appear in translated newspaper text. Name appeared in public newspaper in 1952. Both civilian names are from a published French-language newspaper. Review before deployment regardless. ================================================================ SEARCH INDEX TERMS ================================================================ Saigon Indo-China Vietnam 1952 May 1950s civilian French colonial Indochina-War Le-Journal-Extreme-Orient newspaper-source disk white-silver round straight-line no-sound no-trail no-halo B-29 size-comparison 3000-meters 7000-8000-feet balloon-eliminated Service-Meteorologique ceremony Saigon-Port ceremony Office-Air-Attache Acting-Air-Attache William-Huntley Rue-Lefebvre Rue-Georges-Guynemar coordinates 10N 106E 90-mph speed-calculation unknown first-Indo-China multiple-witnesses civilian-businessmen AFOIN ================================================================ ================================================================ CASE ANALYSIS -- Claude Sonnet 4.6 ================================================================ THE OFFICIAL CONCLUSION ----------------------- The record card classifies this UNKNOWN -- neither UNIDENTIFIED (which typically implies some positive anomalous features) nor INSUFFICIENT DATA (which would acknowledge too thin a file to evaluate), but UNKNOWN, which fits: the evidence base is entirely a newspaper account the Air Attaché could not independently verify. The AIIR evaluation of [F]-2 (reliability cannot be judged / probably true) reflects appropriate epistemic humility about a story the reporter found "factual in all reported details" but could not confirm through additional military or air force observers. WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS ----------------------- On the morning of 28 May 1952, at approximately 10:30 AM local time in Saigon, a white-silver circular disk was observed by multiple Vietnamese and Chinese bystanders and at minimum two named French businessmen in the area of Rue Lefebvre and Rue Georges Guynemar. The object appeared to the south at approximately 45-degree elevation, estimated altitude 7,000-8,000 feet (per the Air Attaché's analysis) or 3,000 meters (per the primary witness). It moved in a straight line at high speed, made no sound, left no trail, and disappeared into or behind a cloud after approximately two minutes. The Service Meteorologique confirmed that the single weather balloon released that morning had burst at 15,675 meters altitude by 8:50 AM -- more than 90 minutes before the sighting and at an altitude far higher than reported. No wind was recorded at ground level that day. The Air Attaché's headquarters vehicle passed the area at approximately 10:15 AM but the occupants did not observe the object. The report was based on an article in Le Journal D'Extreme Orient dated June 12, 1952 -- published two weeks after the event with no explanation for the delay. Lt Col. Huntley personally contacted the named witnesses but obtained nothing beyond what the article contained. POINTS OF INTEREST / WHAT GIVES ME PAUSE ----------------------------------------- This is explicitly flagged as the first known UFO sighting reported from Indo-China to US Air Force intelligence. That context matters: the French-American intelligence relationship in Saigon in 1952 was still developing, the First Indochina War was ongoing, and American personnel in the city had limited independent access to verify civilian accounts. Huntley's report is methodically honest about these constraints. The two named witnesses were not random pedestrians. Raimbauld held a managing director position at a French commercial firm; Desjardins was a company director. Both were prominent enough to be specifically named in a Saigon French-language newspaper -- a publication read by the colonial administrative class. The B-29 size comparison is noteworthy: Raimbauld explicitly invoked his prior knowledge of military aircraft as the basis for his estimate. Whether that estimate was accurate is unknowable, but it suggests an effort at empirical reasoning rather than mere speculation. The balloon elimination is the most analytically solid element of the case. The Meteorological Service verification that no balloon was present during the observation window removes what would otherwise be the most obvious conventional candidate. The sighting occurred during a public ceremony at the Saigon Port with "high-ranking personalities" transiting the city -- streets were blocked, people were outdoors in the public areas, and attention was heightened. This is an unusual social context for a mass sighting: a large number of people were already outside, alert, and looking around them when the object appeared. The broad agreement among those multiple observers, though unindividuated in the article, lends some weight to the account. BOTTOM LINE ----------- UNKNOWN is the right classification. The case rests entirely on a newspaper article, verified independently only by the balloon elimination. The Air Attaché's handling is professional: he pursued it, found what he could, and submitted an honest accounting of the limits. The object's description -- round, silver-white, straight- line flight, no sound, no trail -- matches the generic description of most reported disk sightings of the era and offers no distinctive features that would advance analysis further. What makes the case historically notable is its geography and timing: the first official US intelligence report of a flying saucer sighting in Southeast Asia, filed from a war zone, sourced from a colonial newspaper, during a summer that produced hundreds of similar reports across the United States and Europe. ================================================================ https://glitchymatrix.com/bluebook/ GlitchyMatrix Project Blue Book Archive All 10,808 declassified USAF UFO case files, 1945-1969 ================================================================ ----------------------------------------------------------------