CIA-UAP-006: Sighting of Unconventional Aircraft near Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, 1955

Source file: CIA-UAP-006_Sighting_of_Unconventional_Aircraft.pdf Originating agency: Central Intelligence Agency (Information Report) Report number: 00-B-30220 Case reference: OO/C-Case 19074 Classification: SECRET (Approved for Release 2026); distribution marked NOFORN, NO DISSEM ABROAD, LIMITED Country: USSR Place acquired: Azerbaijan SSR Date of information: 4 October 1955 Date distributed: 15 November 1955 Page count: 2 (all read) VIRIN: 260508-O-D0360-1083 PURSUE Release: 3

Summary

This is a two-page CIA Information Report, numbered 00-B-30220, distributed 15 November 1955, marked SECRET. It records the eyewitness testimony of a US national, 41 years old, identified as a publicity and advertising vice president of a large US corporation, educated in political science (Phi Beta Kappa), who had no technical training or experience in aviation matters. He was visiting the USSR as a tourist at the invitation of a senior Soviet official.

On the evening of 4 October 1955, the source and three other US nationals were traveling by train from Baku to Tiflis when they observed, from a window, a triangular aircraft being launched from a large airfield between the train tracks and the Caspian Sea coast, approximately 50 to 65 miles south of Baku. The aircraft had an equilateral-triangle shape with a squat profile, comparable in size to a US jet fighter, with lights on each of its three corners. It was launched in a missile-like ejection procedure, made three to seven spirals in the air, then climbed steeply at approximately 45 degrees to high altitude, tracked throughout by a searchlight. A companion reported a second launch in rapid succession. When observers attempted to continue watching, an MVD officer who had boarded the train at departure ordered the train steward to draw the window blinds.

Research Article

The source and circumstances

The source is described in precise terms: a US national, 41 years old, a vice president of a large US corporation in publicity and advertising, educated in political science (Phi Beta Kappa) with extensive lecturing on current affairs, and explicitly without technical training or experience in aviation. He was traveling in the USSR as a tourist at the invitation of a senior Soviet official — a noteworthy detail suggesting authorized, high-level access to Soviet territory.

The observation occurred on 4 October 1955, the date of departure from Baku. The source boarded a Baku-to-Tiflis train at 16:30 in the company of three other US nationals. The train moved slowly, making every stop, at an estimated overall speed of 20 mph. Exactly two hours and forty minutes out of Baku, the chain of observations began.

The initial sighting and group reaction

A companion from the adjacent train compartment entered the source's compartment and said, "Did you see that out there? I just saw a flying saucer." The source and his compartment companion were about to dismiss the claim — "we were about to laugh it off" — when the companion pointed out of the window again and the group collectively witnessed the sight.

Description of the aircraft

On the left-hand side of the train, between the train and the Caspian Sea coast, was a large airfield. The evening was dark but clear. A huge searchlight on the field itself illuminated a triangular object on the ground. The source estimated it was not more than two miles from the railroad. (A collector's comment notes the source initially estimated five miles but revised to two on further reflection.)

The object's characteristics as reported: "The size of the object was comparable to that of a US jet fighter, with a squat shape and in the form of an equilateral triangle. There were three lights on the object, one on each point of the triangle, presumably two wing lights and a tail light."

The launch sequence: "As we watched, it was ejected from its launching site, making not less than three and not more than seven fast spirals in the air, after which it climbed extremely fast at about a 45 degree angle. We watched it climb and saw it reach a high altitude; the searchlight followed it all the way."

The source's emphasis on the launch character

The source explicitly characterized what he saw: "I wish to emphasize that this was no ordinary take-off but a launching procedure more like a missile ejection." This detail — an unambiguous distinction between a conventional aircraft takeoff and a projectile-like launch — is the source's most emphatic assertion. His companion from the next compartment also reported having witnessed a second launch in rapid succession before alerting the source's group.

The MVD intervention

The observation was cut short by Soviet security. "While the four of us were still watching the object ascending, the steward came in and pulled down the blinds. When I began to protest, the steward pointed toward the rear of the car and shook his head, indicating to me that the MVD man who had boarded the train at the moment of departure had ordered the blinds drawn."

The presence of an MVD officer on the train from the moment of departure, and his immediate response to the observation, suggests a pre-established security protocol for this section of the line — consistent with the proximity of a sensitive military installation.

The Baku-Tiflis route and location

The source estimated the train was between 50 and 65 miles south of Baku at the time of the sighting, with the Caspian Sea still visible. The sighting occurred 2 hours 40 minutes out of Baku at approximately 20 mph, placing it roughly 53 miles south of Baku, near the Azerbaijani coast of the Caspian. The airfield was described as large and to the left of the train (the Caspian Sea side), between the track and the water.

A final detail adds context: the US party had wished to travel this route by air but was told by INTOURIST in Baku that there were no flights between Baku and Tiflis. In Tiflis, INTOURIST staff were surprised the party had not flown and stated there were several flights a day — suggesting INTOURIST had deliberately directed the group to ground transport, perhaps to avoid overflights of the sensitive area.

Significance

This report is notable for several reasons. The witness is a credentialed, educated American with no aviation background who describes a triangular craft with a missile-like launch profile from a Soviet military airfield in 1955 — two years before Sputnik and at the height of the Cold War's aeronautical intelligence effort. The triangular equilateral shape with corner lights, the spiral launch, the steep 45-degree climb, the searchlight tracking, and the immediate MVD response collectively describe an unusual and apparently operational aircraft or weapons-test event. Whether the craft was a Soviet advanced aircraft program, a missile test, or something else entirely, it was clearly considered sensitive enough to warrant immediate suppression of foreign civilian observation.

The report is marked NOFORN (No Foreign Nationals) and LIMITED, with distribution confined to CIA, AEC, FBI, and the intelligence components of State and Defense — indicating the CIA treated the account as genuine and sensitive.

Key People

Locations

Incidents

Notable Quotes

"On the lefthand side of the train, between the train and the Caspian Sea coast, was a large air field. The evening was dark but clear. A huge searchlight, on the field itself, shone on a triangular object on the ground which I would say was probably not more than two miles distant from the railroad." — page 1

"The size of the object was comparable to that of a US jet fighter, with a squat shape and in the form of an equilateral triangle. There were three lights on the object, one on each point of the triangle, presumably two wing lights and a tail light. As we watched, it was ejected from its launching site, making not less than three and not more than seven fast spirals in the air, after which it climbed extremely fast at about a 45 degree angle." — page 1

"I wish to emphasize that this was no ordinary take-off but a launching procedure more like a missile ejection." — page 1

"While the four of us were still watching the object ascending, the steward came in and pulled down the blinds. When I began to protest, the steward pointed toward the rear of the car and shook his head, indicating to me that the MVD man who had boarded the train at the moment of departure had ordered the blinds drawn." — page 1