Documents / Report
This U.S. Department of War file combines security and green fireball records connected to Sandia Base, New Mexico, from 1949. It holds a 7 April 1949 security inspection reply from Detachment D, 1100th USAF Special Reporting Group, at Camp Campbell. It also holds Dr. Crozier's report on airborne copper particles collected after the July 24, 1949 Socorro fireball and Lincoln LaPaz's sixth report on luminous phenomena, both judged negative or inconclusive. The last part is an interim report on unusual lights seen by security personnel at Camp Hood, Texas, on 6 to 8 March 1949.
From the source: Release of 2026-05-22 Incident: 1948-1950, New Mexico. This file contains 116 pages of documentation from the Armed Forces Special Weapons Program (AFSWP) – the direct, post-World War II successor to the Manhattan Project – and from the U.S. Air Force – relating to a series of sightings and investigations in Sandia, New Mexico, from 1948-1950. This file contains 209 sightings of “green orbs,” “discs,” and “fireballs” reported near the military base. Witnesses reported unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) maneuvering, flying out of sight, disappearing, or exploding. The documents also include the results of contemporary investigations into residual copper powder found in some areas where sightings were reported. A few of these investigations became the basis for Project Grudge, which collected reports of unidentified flying objects from various other military installations – also included in this collection.
• ' e Au,..i:rust 17, 1949
'1'0: Colonel Doyle Rees
FROU: Lincoln 1ePas
SUDJ"EnTs Momaloua J.uminous Phenomona. Sixth Report {attempts to colleci volatili
sation woduots trom ~en fireballs)
(1) In an earlier repori it has boen pointed out ihat in spite ot eir SDd
ground searoha 1n early February elong tlle nll detem.1nad earth-trace ot the
green nreball ot 1949, ianue.ry 30th no :tregmenta of this ti:roball were recovered.
'l'here re::iatnod the _poso1t1lity "that tbia fireball had been so ooopletely
Tolatilizod during tl1sht that oaly tine dnat !'ram it filtered down thru the
atmosph&re. S1noe, fo::- several reasons, 1t eeerced ~ore probable that a uoh dust
would consist chiefly or copper or a copper alloy rattier than ot the ferro- •
magnetic aubstanoes found for ordintn-7 metoorites . the oethodo habitually enployed
by metooritic1ots fo1" the c olleetion at •come duat• ( separation ot the dust
trom the air by uBO or eleetroI:Ja.Gllets or permanent magnets) muld not be appropri
ate tor use in conj]_eet ion with tho s;reon i'ireballo. It was there.tore decided to
cn11nt th~ aid ot Dr. illiwn Orozier , \-d':l.o waa knownto 1'.ave developed a novel
1mpactu~.•.; duat collector f'or UDe o_n the ABrosol Projoct or tho li'ew l!enoo School
of' l!ines. (Tho 'Wr1ter hed bean elo.:sely aasooiated, in 1943-44, with Dr. Orosier
at Km1 JJenco Proving Grounds mile .orking on saboted. and prorlm11;y fuoed shells
and kne\7 ·that ho hrsi aat1sf'e.ctory clearance.) Dr. OrozJ.er not onJ.y agreed to partio1-
pnte in a cround- 1.ovel search ~or dust pos~lbly put doun by the f'irebe.ll of' ~an-
uary ,30th, but mede the valuablll sugeeation that dust oollect1oll.6 be made on plene
flights routod bti.ek and rorth at high altitudes through the air benoath green
t'1reball paths as soon as possible after t"ireball tall. ln this manner eonta:ni-
nation ot ttle aust colleetioll8 by tar1·eatr1al particles '10Uld be reduced to a
minimum. No ir:mediate application Wat:J made ot Dr. Orozter• o dust collection
teohniquee • in pa1-t because ot th a m-1ter' a re11urn to fUll ttme ncade.!.11.c work at
the m~ on Febru,47 8~h and in ;part baoause o~ Dr. Crozier's other ;rooec.rch
e.cti'Vities and the interrUJ.)tion11 in Reoearch and Develop:iont D1v1 B1on work i.nei-
dent to the A.E. O. ' a tek1ns o'Ter the ilbuqunque quarters or the Division.
(2) When it m,.s determ.i?l9d th.at the green 11reball of J\lly 24.tll liod descended
1n. the im»diate vicinity o~ Soco:L"ro, it was decided to ask Dr. Cro--'1er to attempt
colleotio:ns even though he and bis start were then eneaeod in tbe tinal stages ot
mov1na from Albuquerque to their new quarters on the Campus ot the New 1-l&xieo
School of 1!1.nes, A long distance ¢all to Dr, Orozier on J'uly 26th brough.t the
weleorna news that be he.d been alerted by an appeal for observations issued by the
Insti tu~ of !!otaorittos on tho evening at July 2,th end ha.d al.rood7 made du3t
collections on the campus at Socorro on the morning ot J'tily 25. These collectiono ,
to Dr. Crosier's en.dent surprise, nre found to oontcin not only the tlrst coppe~
particles he hod 'found.in air duet col1-eot1ono bu't these I>~ticles were or unusuallt
large ai!Be - up to lOO microns in maximum dimeneiorut. On roceipt or this exciting
tn:to:ro.ation , a party 11u 61apatched t"ram 17th Diotrict o. ~.I. Bdq_e. to confer with
Dr. Crozier ond to~makc e field search tor the i'irobcll ot :Tu.ly 24.tb. This part~
conBisted at Uajor Charles L. Phillipa (courteously ma.de avaiJ.able tor 'the trip by
Colon.el Harold ~ Gunn, C.o. ot Kirtland Field) Hr. })aul Tatt of the li. S . ,eather
Bureau in Albuquerque , S/A la.ck .Bolino nnd the underaigued. A conterenoe rtth Dr.
Crozier end er. &,n Seely ma held on the School of w.nee cam;pua in Socorro bet\lOonNND 58378 Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 116 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.