UAP Reported at Sandia Base, 1948-1950

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.

Number	Date	Time	Number of Observers	*Reliability of Observers	General Area of Occurrence	Apparent Direction of Flight	Apparent Altitude	Course Horizontal to Vertical	Color	Train or Trail	Duration of Observation	Sound	Shape	Apparent Size	Apparent Speed	Handler of Disappearance	**Evaluation
44	1949/27 Mar	1813	1	R	Tucumcari, New Mexico	E to W	Close to 45° above horizon Bright orange	None	15 mts	None	Long & narrow Faded out of sight in distance	(2)
45	27 Mar	1800	1	Unk	Tucumcari, New Mexico	E to W	60° above horizon Orange fire	None	15 mts	None	Like kite tail	About size of C-47 at 10,000 ft. Disappeared behind hills	(2)
46	31 Mar	2150	1	R	Camp Hood, Texas	SW	Est. 2,000' Fire red to white	Yes None	Spherical	App. size of basketball (3)
47	5 Apr	2200	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	S to N	App. 300' above S slope of Fejarito Mt.	Arc	Green w/red after glow 1/2-1 sec	None Tremendous speed	Disappeared behind mountain	(1)
48	6 Apr	1205	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	SE	About 15,000' Between dk & lt green 3-5 secs	None Very fast (1)
49	7 Apr	0135	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	W	About 200 yds fr top of hill Green App 45 secs	None Moved very slowly (1)(2)
50	7 Apr	0100	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	S to N Green 5 secs	None Moving slowly (1)