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 --- · 1 . Backeround In accordance t-:ri th instructi,ons contained in a classified letter from Chief of Staff , USAF to CG, Al~.1c, subject urLip,ht Phenomena· , on 14 September 191..9 , Lt . Col . Freder ic C. E . Oder of CR.U attended a con- ference at los Alamos, 14 October 191,.9 on the subject of 11Green Firebal.ls' observed in the Northern New Hexico area . Since the phenomena had been observed only in this area and only since 1947, it had caused considerable concern among security agencies in the area . It \vas the conclusion of the scientists present at this mee ting that the information available waR not sufficiently Instrmnental observations - photo- graphic , triangulation, and soectroscopic were considered essential . Dr . L . La Paz of the Denartment of Ueteori tics of Univ . of Ne¥1 J.1exico Has present at the Los Alamos meeting and subsequently \-Tas in- vited to suh~t pr oposals for studying this ohenomena under GRD s pon- sorship . On 2 February 1950, Dr . La Paz advised that due to diffi- cul ties with academic arraneements , he \vas unable to undertake this study. Ducr·ing February 1950, the f requent reports of unexplained aerial phenomena in the vicinity of Holloman ir J. orce Uase and Vaughn, rre'\v 1·1exico nrom~ ted the Commanding Officer of HrJlloman Air J.t~orce Base to initiate a 1")rop,ram to gathor factual data . UNCLASSIFIED •
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.