Documents / Report
This Black Vault copy of Air Force records centers on the Project Twinkle Final Report, which Louis Elterman of the Geophysics Research Division wrote on 27 November 1951. Project Twinkle investigated green fireballs and other light phenomena in New Mexico using Askania cameras run by Land-Air at Vaughn and Holloman AFB. Elterman found the results essentially negative, with most sightings put down to aircraft, balloons, birds, clouds and meteors. He recommended no further spending. The file also includes the 1949 and 1950 correspondence that set up the project and 1952 memos about declassifying it.
• • • UNCLASSIFIED Extract of Letter from AFCRL, dated 15 September l950, Subject: Status of Project Twi.nkle TO: Commanding General Air Materiel Command Attn: MCREEP-4 Major J. H. Kodis Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio "If no fire balls are observed in the next six month period, it is reconnnended that the project be d)scontinued. In a phenomenon as sporad.ic as the :t'iJ.'"C balls appear to be, it is felt that at least one year is required in order to establish '"hether their occurrence is or is not a seasonal phenomenon. 4. There is considerable doubt in the minds of some of the project personnel that this is a natural phenomenon. As long as a- --c: reasonable doubt exists, 1t is not wise to d).scontinue entirely the observations. Dr . Whipple s suggestion that these may be moon reflections on small clouds cannot be discounted . That fire balls have been observed in the past cannot be di.scounted due to the re- liability of' several witnesses. It may be considered significant that fire balls have ceased abruptly as soon as a systematic \vatch vras set up. At present it does not appear likely that the next six months of observations will yield any more information than the first six months, but it is felt that even oegati ve inf6rmati.on may be significant . 5. It is requested that a six month extension of the Land Air contract be negotiated. It is also requested that the spectrographic equipment abando~ed by Holloman Air Force Base due to lack of personnel be turned over to Land Air for operation in the next six month period. At the conclusion of the six month extension, an evaluation of the observations will be accomplished by this Directorate and reconunenda- tions as to the future conduct of this project will be forwarded to your cOimnand . " RADED AT 3 YEAR INTERVALS~ DO~~LASSIFIED AFTER 12 YE.ABS. :~ DOD DIR 6200.10 ClASS/FlED - •
Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 34 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.