DOW-UAP-D160, Air Intelligence Information Report, Morocco, 1953
WAR.gov / Department of War PURSUE Release 07
An Air Intelligence Information Report of December 23, 1953, from the U.S. Air Force’s 316th Air Division (Defense), prepared by Major Edward O. Wittmer, on unidentified radar returns that Detachment 2 of the 737th AC&W Squadron, an aircraft control and warning radar unit, tracked over northern French Morocco and the Mediterranean on December 16, 1953.
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Short overview
An Air Intelligence Information Report of December 23, 1953, from the U.S. Air Force’s 316th Air Division (Defense), prepared by Major Edward O. Wittmer, on unidentified radar returns that Detachment 2 of the 737th AC&W Squadron, an aircraft control and warning radar unit, tracked over northern French Morocco and the Mediterranean on December 16, 1953.
Why this is interesting
The AFR 200-2 questionnaire describes returns on a TPS-1D radar at 1754Z that kept changing shape between a series of V’s, W’s and M’s, roughly two or three degrees wide, numbering from one to twelve depending on the sweep and lined up on an azimuth of 250 degrees at 20 to 40 miles. They stayed comparatively stationary and faded out after several minutes; because the height finder was out, no elevation angle was available. The weather was overcast with nine-tenths cloud cover. Radar maintenance personnel at the site offered no cause, but electronics specialists at the division named three candidates: anomalous propagation (radar beams bent by atmospheric layering), ship-borne jamming of the detachment’s radar, or geese or storks in flight. The summary concludes that one of these was the logical explanation; the form rates the report A-1.
Background
This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (AIIR), a standardized U.S. Air Force reporting form used to record raw information of potential intelligence value for later analysis. The form served as a primary vehicle for U.S. Air Force field intelligence collection throughout the early Cold War, until defense-wide reporting standards were established in the early 1960s. This AIIR records a December 16, 1953, incident in northern French Morocco and the Mediterranean Sea area in which personnel of Detachment 2, 737th AC&W Squadron reported an unidentified radar return. The report states that the return varied in shape between “V,” “W,” and “M” configurations and faded after several minutes of observation. It further states that electronics personnel in the 316th Air Division believed the return might have been caused by anomalous propagation, ship-borne radar jamming, or geese or storks in flight, and concludes that one of those possibilities was the most likely explanation for the return. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics. AARO Comment: The 737th AC&W Squadron was a U.S. Air Force radar unit stationed in Saidia, Morocco, where it supported airborne early warning and air defense surveillance in coordination with French military forces.