What did the declassified documents reveal?

1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama, released through The Black Vault, is a declassified document detailing a UFO sighting in Gadsden, Alabama, on January 13, 1953. This report is notable for its firsthand account of a mass sighting involving multiple witnesses, including the Civilian Air Defense Director and the manager of the Gadsden Airport. The document was released through The Black Vault, an online archive of declassified government documents, and is available in its entirety at archive.org. The canonical PDF can be found at the same URL. This document is a declassified Air Intelligence Information Report, dated January 15, 1953. It is classified as UNCLASSIFIED, but contains information affecting national defense, as stated in the Espionage Act of 1917, as amended. DATE • TIME ORIGIN: January 5: 3. SOURCE: Valrod, Civilian Air Defense Director of Gadsden, Alabama. NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 1. LOCATION: Wild (illegible). CONCLUSION: [four lines redacted under exemption B1]. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: 11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS: 5-10 lines. 6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION: Ground-Visual. 7. COURSE OF OBJECT: Object appeared to be drifting with the winds and finally beyond the horizon. There was no air traffic in the location at the time. According to the report, on January 13, 1953, approximately twenty citizens of Gadsden, Alabama, witnessed an unidentified flying object. Among the witnesses were the Civilian Air Defense Director and the manager of the Gadsden Airport, who sighted the object while taking daily weather observations. The object was seen traveling from one horizon to the other, estimated to be at an altitude of eight or nine thousand feet. The witnesses described the object as a bright, glowing, multicolored mass, but the relative size and shape were not ascertainable. There were no sounds nor were there any signs of an exhaust, such as vapor trails. The weather was clear, with visibility of twelve to fifteen miles, and moderate winds. The report concludes that there was no existing meteorological conditions that would cause such a sighting. Only one object was seen, and there is no known existing physical evidence, such as photographs. The report is classified as UNCLASSIFIED, but contains information affecting national defense, as stated in the Espionage Act of 1917, as amended. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. Storyflo.com. Document available at archive.org/1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama.

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

1953 01 9544140 Gadsden Alabama

◆ BLUF — The short version

1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama, released through The Black Vault, is a declassified document detailing a UFO sighting in Gadsden, Alabama, on January 13, 1953. This report is notable for its firsthand account of a mass sighting involving multiple witnesses, including the Civilian Air Defense Director and the manager of the Gadsden Airport.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source documenthttps://archive.org/details/1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama

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Episode notes

Source document: https://archive.org/details/1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama

Questions about this case

What was 1953 01 9544140 Gadsden Alabama about?: 1953-01-9544140-Gadsden-Alabama, released through The Black Vault, is a declassified document detailing a UFO sighting in Gadsden, Alabama, on January 13, 1953. This report is notable for its firsthand account of a mass sighting involving multiple witnesses, including the Civilian Air Defense Director and the manager of the Gadsden Airport.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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1953 01 9544140 Gadsden Alabama

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