What did the declassified documents reveal?

COLD OPEN This is a reading of Project One Zero Zero Seven Three Record Card I, dated twenty‑nine February nineteen fifty‑six, filed by the United States Air Force. The card records an unidentified aerial observation near South Newton, Iowa, and is notable for its early Cold War documentation of a “round, pea‑sized” object that was observed by civilian witnesses. The source is the Black Vault archive entry at archive.org. PROVENANCE The record was released to the public through a Freedom of Information Act request. The declassification authority listed the document as “Information Only” and it was made available on the Black Vault website on the date of upload. No specific FOIA case number is cited in the archive entry, but the release complies with standard U.S. government declassification procedures. THE DOCUMENT PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVEN THREE RECORD CARD I. DATE: TWENTY‑NINE FEBRUARY NINETEEN FIFTY‑SIX. TIME: LOCAL GMT FIVE. PHOTOS: ZERO ONE ZERO TWO THREE ZERO ZULU MARCH ONE. BRIEF SUMMARY OF OBSERVATION: Round, size of a pea, moving to various colors. LOCATION: SOUTH NEWTON, IOWA. TYPE OF OBSERVATION: JDXF TOMND – Visual. SOURCE: Civilian. NUMBER OF OBJECTS: ONE – Ground Rodcr O Aif lnt rc pf Rodof. COURSE: Unknown. CONCLUSIONS: □ Balloon – Probable. □ Balloon – Possibly. □ Balloon – Probable. □ Air‑craft – Probably Air‑craft. □ Air‑craft – Possibly Air‑craft. □ Astronomical – Probable. □ Astronomical – Possibly. OTHER: Insufficient data for evaluation. COMMENTS: Color white, shape unspecified. Positional data not included. No evaluation due to insufficient data. [Four lines redacted under exemption B1] CASE: Information Only. Date: Six February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Salmon River, California. CASE: Information Only. Date: Six February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Somers Point, New Jersey. A COUPLE DRIFTING SHORE‑BOUND OBSERVERS reported that on the night of February six they watched a saucer descend over their car for nearly half an hour while driving near Somers Point, New Jersey. The witnesses said that at one time the object was so close above them that a good rifle could hit it. They described the shape as round, though at an angle it appeared “bean‑shaped.” The object stood still, then slowly rose, accelerated, and at one point moved “faster than a jet.” The witnesses believed it was made of metal, and at times a glow surrounded it. CASE: Information Only. Date: Twelve February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Noel, Missouri. CASE: Information Only. Date: Thirteen February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Clearwater, Florida. CASE: Information Only. Date: Fifteen February Nineteen fifty‑6. Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. CASE: Information Only. Date: Sixteen February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Santa Barbara, California. CASE: Information Only. Date: Twenty February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Fairfax, Oklahoma. CASE: Information Only. Date: Twenty‑five February Nineteen fifty‑six. Location: Chula Vista…

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.

1956 02 7340665 Southnewton Iowa

◆ BLUF — The short version

COLD OPEN This is a reading of Project One Zero Zero Seven Three Record Card I, dated twenty‑nine February nineteen fifty‑six, filed by the United States Air Force. The card records an unidentified aerial observation near South Newton, Iowa, and is notable for its early Cold War documentation of a “round, pea‑sized” object that was observed by civilian witnesses.

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/1956-02-7340665-SouthNewton-Iowa

↯ Dispatch — press play3:04

0:003:04

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

Source document: https://archive.org/details/1956-02-7340665-SouthNewton-Iowa

Questions about this case

What was 1956 02 7340665 Southnewton Iowa about?: COLD OPEN This is a reading of Project One Zero Zero Seven Three Record Card I, dated twenty‑nine February nineteen fifty‑six, filed by the United States Air Force. The card records an unidentified aerial observation near South Newton, Iowa, and is notable for its early Cold War documentation of a “round, pea‑sized” object that was observed by civilian witnesses.
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.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

CIA

More from CIA

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

1956 02 7340665 Southnewton Iowa

Questions about this case

Related cases

1958 08 8863849 Roswell Newmexico

1958 08 8862955 Nearbeebeetown Iowa

1958 08 8861179 Concord California

1958 08 8860447 Troyhill Newjersey

1958 12 7203290 Wales Alaska

More from CIA

1958 08 8863849 Roswell Newmexico

1958 08 8862955 Nearbeebeetown Iowa

1958 08 8861179 Concord California

1958 08 8860447 Troyhill Newjersey

1958 12 7203290 Wales Alaska

Questions about this case

Related cases

1958 08 8863849 Roswell Newmexico

1958 08 8862955 Nearbeebeetown Iowa

1958 08 8861179 Concord California

1958 08 8860447 Troyhill Newjersey

1958 12 7203290 Wales Alaska

More from CIA

1958 08 8863849 Roswell Newmexico

1958 08 8862955 Nearbeebeetown Iowa

1958 08 8861179 Concord California

1958 08 8860447 Troyhill Newjersey

1958 12 7203290 Wales Alaska

Get the next declassified case in your inbox