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.

Summary of Sightings of Unknown Aerial Phenomena, 17th District OSI (cont)

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	Manner of Disappearance	**Evaluation
140	1949/14 Oct	2021	2	R	Albuquerque, New Mexico	N to S Horizontal	Red orange	Yes	10 secs	None	Round	1/3-1/4 size of moon Broke into 2 pieces & disappeared	(1)(3)
141	14 Oct	1410/1415	1	Unk	Los Alamos, New Mexico	S to N Front-green & silver Rear-Pale blue	Yes	3-4 secs	None 1/8 size of full moon	500 mph or more (1)
142	21 Oct	2130	1	Unk	Roswell, New Mexico	SE to NW	30° above horizon Very bright white	None	20-30 mts	None Unknown (2)
143	22 Oct	0228	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	NW to SE	On horizon Bright green 2 secs	None 4 times size of a flare	150 mph	Disappeared behind a hill	(1)
144	22 Oct	0220	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	Vertical	50-100 ft. Green 1 sec	None	Like flare	Small Went out	(1)
145	16 Nov	1950	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	Disappeared to N 2 objects bluish green None Stationary but disappeared with speed of meteor	Disappeared from view	(1)
146	19 Nov	2152	1	R	Los Alamos, New Mexico	Vertical Green then yellow 2 secs	None (1)