What did the declassified documents reveal?

COLD OPEN. This is a reading of document number one nine five eight dash ten dash seven two zero one three two eight dash Florida South Carolina Area, a United States government record dated October twenty, nineteen fifty‑eight. The file appears in the public archive of The Black Vault and is notable for containing multiple contemporaneous reports of unidentified flying objects observed over the Charleston, South Carolina region. PROVENANCE. The document was uploaded to The Black Vault on the archive page titled “1958‑10‑7201328‑Fla‑S‑C‑‑Ga‑Area,” accessible at https://archive.org/download/1958-10-7201328-Fla-S-C--Ga-Area/1958-10-7201328-Fla-S-C--Ga-Areadjvu.txt. The material was released under a Freedom of Information Act request; the specific case number is not listed in the archive entry. The declassification authority is indicated on the pages as “UNCLASSIFIED,” suggesting the records have been cleared for public release. THE DOCUMENT. Project one hundred seventy‑three record card, item I. Date: two C, Qct obex lfu?2 three. Date‑time group: location local GMT minus two; twenty‑seven f greater than five Z I one one a. Type of observation: visual, air‑visual, ground‑radar, air‑intercept radar. Photos: yes. Source: M i one one one a r y k C t v ilia n. Length of observation: one to three seconds. Number of objects: one. Brief summary of sighting: “White ball of fire, about the size of a dime with orange tail about the length of a lead pencil. Object appeared to burn out, then reappeared before disappearing completely.” Another observer described the object as “glowing red, about the size of a basketball with a blue streak tail.” Course: unknown. Conclusions: Balloon – probable; Balloon – possible; Aircraft – probable; Aircraft – possible; Astronomical – probable; Astronomical – possible; Other – insufficient data for evaluation; Unknown – insufficient data. Comments: Description of a meteor and time duration. ATJC Form three two nine (revision twenty‑six September nineteen‑two). District Intelligence Office, Sixth Naval District, United States Naval Base Charleston, South Carolina. Memorandum, code 00103‑6, from the District Intelligence Officer to the Office of Special Investigations, Charleston Air Force Base. Subject: Unidentified Flying Object, reporting of. The memorandum states: “An unidentified flying object, spherical in shape with long ‘tail,’ was sighted at seventeen hundred six Z on twenty October nineteen fifty‑three by one observer aboard the AIT‑12 docked at Pier U, U.S. Harbor, Charleston, South Carolina. This information was furnished to the District Intelligence Office, Sixth Naval District, thirty October nineteen fifty‑three by telephone and later by personal interview.” The observer, identified only as H. R. J. Alston, a shipyard worker, is described as “apparently reliable.” The memo continues: “The object was first sighted about thirty degrees above the horizon traveling downward at an angle of about zero point six…

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.

Declassified CIA File

◆ BLUF — The short version

COLD OPEN. This is a reading of document number one nine five eight dash ten dash seven two zero one three two eight dash Florida South Carolina Area, a United States government record dated October twenty, nineteen fifty‑eight.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Declassified CIA File about?: COLD OPEN. This is a reading of document number one nine five eight dash ten dash seven two zero one three two eight dash Florida South Carolina Area, a United States government record dated October twenty, nineteen fifty‑eight.
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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