================================================================ PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD -- TRANSCRIPTION File: 1960-04-7812199-Shelby-Montana.pdf Transcribed by Claude Sonnet 4.6 for GlitchyMatrix.com/bluebook/ ================================================================ FIELD 1 -- DATE: 25 April 1960 FIELD 2 -- LOCATION: Shelby, Montana FIELD 3 -- DATE-TIME GROUP: Local [blank] / GMT Varied FIELD 4 -- TYPE OF OBSERVATION: Ground-Visual [X] Ground-Radar [ ] Air-Visual [ ] Air-Intercept Radar [ ] FIELD 5 -- PHOTOS: Yes [X] (both Yes and No marks present on form; confirmed Yes by supplemental documents) FIELD 6 -- SOURCE: Civilian FIELD 7 -- LENGTH OF OBS: Varied FIELD 8 -- NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 3-5 FIELD 9 -- COURSE: Varied FIELD 10 -- BRIEF SUMMARY: Witness reported five sightings of about the same objects. Took pictures and forwarded them, however the photos had no information upon which to form conclusion as to the nature of the objects. Objects always appeared in trail formation with a light shining down. Moved at varying speeds and appeared for a duration of 20-30 minutes each sighting. [Handwritten addition:] See: Film 7-3745-431 [Handwritten annotation at bottom of form:] (Photos in Physical Specimen File) FIELD 11 -- COMMENTS: From the information available no conclusion can be reached. Case listed as unidentified. FIELD 12 -- CONCLUSIONS: [ ] Was balloon [ ] Probably balloon [ ] Possibly balloon [ ] Was aircraft [ ] Probably aircraft [ ] Possibly aircraft [ ] Was astronomical [ ] Probably astronomical [ ] Possibly astronomical [ ] Other [X] Insufficient data for evaluation [X] Unknown UNIDENTIFIED [Note: Both "Insufficient data" and "Unknown" appear checked; "UNIDENTIFIED" is written in next to Unknown.] Form: ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) Supplemental documents present: - Handwritten letter from observer, multiple pages, initiating the report. Addressed to "U.S. Army Air Intelligence, Commanding Officer, Pentagon Blgd, Washington, D.C." Return address: Box [REDACTED], Shelby, Montana. [FLAG: Envelope image appears to show witness name "Prudence m. Clark" in the return address. Name appears unredacted on the envelope scan. Body of all other documents has witness name fully redacted.] - Supplement to AF Form 112, USAF, Report No. 1. Air Intelligence Information Report. Date of Report: 21 June 1960. Date of Information: 5 June 1960 (personal interview). Preparing Officer: Capt. Jessie B. Williams. Reference: AFR 200-2, dtd 2 Feb 60. Subject: UFOB. - UFO Analysis Sheet. Date: 25 Apr 60. Location: Shelby, Montana. Hour local: Varied. Hour Z Time Group: Unknown. Source reliability: Probably good. Conclusion: Unidentified. - Joint Messageform (DD Form 173, 1 May 55), UNCLASSIFIED, FROM: ATIC, TO: Cut Bank AF Station, Montana (RJWZGUF). Message reference AFCIN-4E2 5-162 4E [approximate]. Dated: 23 MAY 1960, 1030 hours. Drafted by: Sgt James O. Bolieu [signature]. Typed by: Nicholas Post, Asst Deputy, Science and Components. Content: ATIC requesting personal contact with witness and forwarding of exposed film IAW AFR 200-2 pars 15 and 19a. - Memo Routing Slip (DD Form 95): "Message sent to Cut Bank AFB, Montana requesting an investigation, 23 May 1960." - Request for Photoanalysis, dated 28 June 1960. From: Richard R. Shoop, Colonel, USAF, AFCIN-4E2. To: AFCIN-4D4a. Attachments: routing slip with 3 photos and color slide; AI Information Report with movie film. - Film cover page: "SHELBY, MT / 25 APR 60 / CASE INCLUDES FILM IN SEPARATE FOLDER." Film File # 1003551. [Note: Movie film housed separately from this microfilm record. Not available for review in this eval.] ================================================================ SEARCH INDEX TERMS ================================================================ Shelby Montana Toole County 1960 April night civilian housewife ranch hand two observers multi-sighting repeat sightings 1957 1960 circular grapefruit trail formation white light downward red glow hovering low altitude 50 100 feet very high speed acceleration ground-visual 20 30 minutes movie film 8mm photographs physical evidence photoanalysis photographic evidence UNIDENTIFIED unidentified Capt Jessie Williams Colonel Richard Shoop AFCIN-4E2 Cut Bank AFB Malmstrom Great Falls Shelby Montana radar station film specimen file 1003551 multiple sightings recurring ================================================================ CASE ANALYSIS -- Claude Sonnet 4.6 ================================================================ THE OFFICIAL CONCLUSION ----------------------- The USAF classified this case UNIDENTIFIED, with both the "Insufficient data for evaluation" and "Unknown/Unidentified" boxes checked on the ATIC card -- an unusual dual marking suggesting genuine uncertainty rather than a pro forma default. The UFO Analysis Sheet systematically ruled out satellite, astronomical phenomena, radar returns, natural phenomena, and aircraft or balloons before arriving at "Unidentified" under "Other." Source reliability was rated "Probably good." Most telling is the comment by the investigating officer, Captain Jessie B. Williams, who personally interviewed the witness and wrote: "From the information Mrs. [REDACTED] gave me, I have no idea what it could have been. There seems to be no logical explanation and the number of sightings, length of observations and close proximity to objects lends a certain amount of weight to her story." That is a candid admission from the officer who handled the case firsthand. WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS ----------------------- A civilian woman -- a housewife living approximately eight miles west of Shelby, Montana -- wrote to ATIC in the spring of 1960 reporting five sightings of the same objects over a period beginning approximately October 1957, with four additional sightings in the ninety days preceding her letter. The final documented sighting was April 25, 1960. Her own letter states six occasions, while the ATIC forms record five -- a minor discrepancy possibly reflecting the initial letter (6) versus the formal interview count (5). The observer was not alone. A ranch hand, age 52, who lived at the same address at the time of the sightings, corroborated the observations. The objects as described in detail in the AF Form 112 supplement: - Shape: circular - Apparent size: a grapefruit held at arm's length (estimated actual diameter approximately 10 feet) - Number: three in the first sighting, five in each subsequent sighting, always in perfect trail formation - Illumination: strong white light shining downward, red glow apparently from within - Altitude: appeared to be only 50 to 100 feet above ground - Motion: would stand perfectly still for periods of several minutes, then move off at approximately walking speed, then accelerate out of sight at very high speed - Flight path: definite straight line with sharp trail turns - Duration: 20 to 30 minutes per sighting - Disappearance: gradually dimmed with distance; on one occasion disappeared into clouds - Time of occurrence: between 0200Z and 0500Z (nighttime) - First sighting: ten degrees above horizon, southeast of house; subsequent sightings always low on horizon from varying directions Weather was completely clear for most sightings; one had a low overcast (into which the objects disappeared on that occasion). The observer had 8mm movie film from the final two sightings and submitted it to ATIC along with still photographs and a color slide. ATIC routed the physical evidence to Cut Bank AF Station for pickup, formally requested photoanalysis through Colonel Richard R. Shoop of AFCIN-4E2 on 28 June 1960, and a case film folder (File # 1003551) was created and housed separately from the main case record. The outcome of the photoanalysis is not present in this document package. POINTS OF INTEREST / WHAT GIVES ME PAUSE ----------------------------------------- The physical evidence is the crux of this case. Still photographs, a color slide, and 8mm movie footage from a civilian witness in 1960 are extraordinary. The ATIC card notation "Photos in Physical Specimen File" and the separate film folder (File # 1003551, noted as containing film in a separate folder) confirm the materials were collected and examined. But the only result documented here is that the photos "had no information upon which to form conclusion as to nature of objects." No photoanalysis conclusion is present in this file. Whether the analysis was completed, inconclusive, or simply went unfiled with the case record is unknown from the available documents. The object behavior is unusual in combination. Hovering perfectly still at 50-100 feet altitude for minutes at a time, then walking speed, then very high speed -- this is not a profile that maps onto conventional aircraft, weather balloons, or natural phenomena. Formation flight in a perfect trail with no individual variation over multiple separate sightings spanning years is also unusual. The geographic context deserves attention. Shelby, Montana is approximately 80 miles north of Great Falls and Malmstrom AFB, a major ICBM installation. Cut Bank Air Force Station -- which ATIC specifically contacted for on-site investigation -- was a radar picket station in the area. The witness herself mentions Great Falls Air Base and another base she describes as "close" in her letter. Whether the proximity to Malmstrom and Cut Bank is relevant is unknown, but it situates this sighting in a region of considerable strategic military sensitivity. The multi-year recurrence pattern is also notable. The first sighting was October 1957 -- Sputnik month -- with a gap and then four more sightings in early 1960. A witness fabricating a single report rarely produces a three-year sighting history with consistent object descriptions. The corroborating witness (the ranch hand) adds weight. The ATIC message to Cut Bank uses "Miss" while the intelligence report says "Mrs." -- a minor discrepancy that may reflect a clerical assumption corrected by the interview. The envelope of the original letter appears to show the witness name unredacted in the return address (flagged separately above). BOTTOM LINE ----------- This is a well-documented UNIDENTIFIED and one of the more substantive cases in the archive. The combination of: multiple repeat sightings over years; a corroborating adult witness; physical evidence in the form of film and photographs; an investigating officer who personally interviewed the witness and could not explain what she reported; and a formal photoanalysis request from a Colonel at AFCIN -- all of this places the case in a different category from thin single-witness files. The missing piece is the photoanalysis result. Film File # 1003551 exists somewhere in the original NARA archive. If the photoanalysis found anything in the 8mm footage or the still photographs, that result is not in this case folder and has never been surfaced in this eval. What can be said from the documents in hand: the USAF investigated seriously, the investigator found the witness credible, every conventional category was ruled out, and no explanation was developed. Captain Williams said it plainly: "I have no idea what it could have been." Neither does this analysis. ================================================================ https://glitchymatrix.com/bluebook/ GlitchyMatrix Project Blue Book Archive All 10,808 declassified USAF UFO case files, 1945-1969 ================================================================