Documents / Report
This U.S. Department of War release compiles 1949 records tied to Sandia Base, New Mexico. It includes a Sandia Base security inspection reply and a W. D. Crozier letter to Lincoln LaPaz. It also contains Crozier and Seely's report on collecting airborne copper particles after the July 24, 1949 fireball near Socorro, which they judged negative or inconclusive. LaPaz's sixth report on green fireballs disputes parts of that finding, and a Fourth Army report describes unusual lights around the Q Area at Camp Hood, Texas, in 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.
“Cooper”3 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
## SECRET ## SECRET from green fireballs, then the fireballs are not conventional meteorites. Copper is one of the rarest of the elements found in meteorites (See G.P. Merrill, Memoirs National Academy of Science, vol. 14 (1925), Table facing p. 27; and Harrison Brown, Journal of Geology, vol. 56 (March 1948,) Table 1, p. 87.) In fact, I know of no case in which even the tiniest particle of copper has been reported in a dust collection supposedly of meteoritic origin. In view of present concern in regard to the true nature of the green fireballs, nothing could exceed in importance attainment of a definite conclusion in regard to the origin of the copper particles detected in the subfinal regions of the fireballs of July 24th and August 6th. ## (6) The writer therefore wishes to make the following recommendations: [6.1] That arrangements be made for dust collections on airplane flights at altitudes of 40,000 ft. or more through the region of the atmosphere lying beneath the real paths of green fireballs as soon as possible after the occurrence of such fireball incidents. Such arrangements presuppose a well coordinated observing network permitting the speediest possible determination of the location of the real paths in the atmosphere. (Dr. Crozier and Mr. Seely have both agreed to cooperate in carrying out dust collection at the highest altitudes attainable. In Dr. Crozier's opinion, a B-36 or B-50 should be made available for such work.) [6.2] That ground-level dust collections be made along the well determined earth-trace of the green fireball of January 30th, using the portable impactment equipment already rigged up by Dr. Crozier and Mr. Seely and used in the ground searches of July 27th and August 8-9th. If copper particles can be recovered along this earth-trace but do not appear in collections made 50 miles or so away from the trace, the result would be of much significance if not indeed decisive.
Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 116 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.