DOW-UAP-D161, Air Intelligence Report: Light on Big Diomede Island, USSR, Oct. 1953
- Date
- Oct. 8, 1953 (about 1025Z, as stated); report IR 5004-40-53
- Location
- Southern tip of Big Diomede Island, USSR, seen from Little Diomede Island, Alaska
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- Release 07 (Oct. 23, 2026)
- Type
- document
Summary
The 5004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron reports that a 14-year-old Eskimo on Little Diomede, who had been watching Big Diomede on his own each night, saw a light on the island's southern tip for several seconds, like a large flashlight or spotlight. The squadron member stationed there judged the source "fairly reliable." The preparing officer, Maj. Francis M. Brown, finds the location unusual and raises signaling to the Alaskan coast as a slight possibility, but says "There is no evidence to support a conclusion that this was the purpose of the light."
Note
A ground light, treated as a Cold War border-watch item rather than an aerial object; coords are those given for Big Diomede's tip in the report.