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.
“Socorro, New Mexico”4 pages
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dimension of the order of twenty or thirty microns. There were no small particles that is, no particles with a maximum dimension below 15 microns. Following the first collection, additional collections were made, under similar conditions, over a period of eight days. The accompanying table summarizes the conditions and copper counts for all these collections, including the first one described above. A number of the runs were for periods longer than three minutes, but the counts have, in these cases, been reduced to the three-minute equivalent. One collection showing several large copper indications, taken July 25, is omitted from the table because it was damaged in course of a test for radioactivity by exposure of a nuclear track plate (with negative results) and a definite count could not be made. The counts are exhibited in three size classifications, and attention is directed to the fact that particles in the smallest size group (1 to 15 microns) are practically absent from the early collections, while in the later collections, particles in the largest (30 microns) and middle (15 to 30 microns) groups have become quite scarce. At the same time, the counts have become quite large in the smallest size group. ## SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS If it were possible to say that particles giving a copper test are generally very rare in collections near ground level in this locality, the above facts would be highly significant. It happens, however, that collections have been made at Socorro over only a short period, and not much attention has been given to identification of copper compounds. However, after the copper indications had been found in the present series of collections, some collections were found on file that had been made on plain glycerin-gelatin on July 14, 1949. These were covered with the Saran film and rubeanic acid and ammonia were applied by diffusion through the film. A few copper indications were found, almost all the particles being in the 30 micron size group. Some other collections were made early in July that will be examined for copper when they are freed from other tests. In addition, occasional collections will be examined for copper in the future, and it may be possible eventually to add something to the information now presented. ## CONCLUSIONS REGARDING COPPER In view of the above facts, it seems very hazardous to draw any definite conclusion associating the copper-bearing particles collected with the fireball of July 24. There still is, however, a residuum of possibility of such associations when it is considered that particles of the smallest size group did not appear in large numbers until some 35 hours after the passage of the fireball.
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.