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 2 . Contractual p~riod - 1 _Aoril 1950 to_l5 Sen~r..11i_er ..19.5Q. Some nhotoeraphic activity occurred on 27 Anril and 24 Hay , but sil!.lul taneous sightinrs by both cameras were not made , so that no information was gained . On 30 A rust 1950 ·' during: a Bell aircraft mis sile 1aunc11ine; , aerial phenomena wer e observed over Holloman Air Force Base by several individuals ; hovrever , neither L-:nd- Air nor l r oject ner sonncl wer e notified and , therefor e , no results wer e a cquired . On 31 August 1950, the ohenore.ena \·rer e agai n observed • after a V- 2 launching . A1 though film \vas exoended , proper • o;•.;,~ca' so t h£ t arain no ini'or ta tion \-Tastriangulation was not acquired . On 11 September, arranp;ements \vere r:tade by Holloman AFB for 1taj or Gover , Commander 9 Jrd i gh ter Sc uadron at Kirtland AFB , to be on call so that aerial objects might be nursued . This lvould make possible mor e intimate visual observation and photography at close r ange . l1ajor uover was not authorized to shoot at the phenomena . Gene r ally , the results of the si~-znonth con'tractual period may be described as negativ e . A1 thoug l'! the nhotoeraphic theodoli tes fnnctioned continuous.iy , the gr ating caL1eras functioned very little , since the roili tary per sonnel assigned to operate them had been v:ri th- dr awn due to the needs conc er ned with The \,· 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.