A US Air Force crew in Morocco was monitoring a radar screen. In the Mediterranean Sea area, an unidentified signature appeared. It changed shape several times, then faded away.
The incident was documented in a 1953 US Air Force intelligence report. The signature was not only unusual; it transformed before the crew's eyes. Air Force personnel suggested several explanations, including birds and ship radar.
From One Signature to Three Shapes
The report describes an event in French North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea area. Crew members operating a radar system reported a signature they could not identify. Radar is a system that detects objects using radio waves, and the signature appeared on its screen.
Initially, it looked like the letter V. Then its shape changed to a W, and finally to an M. The crew observed it for several minutes. Then the signature faded and disappeared from the screen. The report does not describe what happened to it afterward.
Three Possible Explanations
Air Force electronics personnel investigated what might have created the signature. They suggested it was caused by an atmospheric phenomenon affecting radio waves. Another possibility was interference from a ship's radar.
They also raised the possibility that the radar picked up flocks of geese or storks flying in the area. The report states that the electronics personnel believed one of these explanations was the most plausible. It does not say which one they preferred, or how they arrived at that assessment.
What Remains Unknown
It is unknown what created the signature or what caused it to change shape. The report does not explain how an atmospheric phenomenon could have created the described shapes, nor does it choose between the proposed explanations.
The crew saw a signature that transformed from a V to a W and then to an M, until it faded. A few minutes later, the screen no longer showed it.
