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.
.... Attention is called particularly to the l arao !lumber ot small particles in one at the 145-l/2-ho-.ir collootione. The actual nl.I!lber in the colle'ltion was 140 , tor the r ive-oinute run. l.!ost of these l'lere in the size range of' tTJO to f1ve microns • and the principal difficulty in assoctattnc them 111 th the fireball is that a five micron par\1cle cannot tall J!lUOh more tho.n l0 ,000 foot in 145. 5 hom-s. These part1- olea could have ccr:ie down from a greater height only it' sol:!& downward motion hfld tc.k:en place in port of the a1r 1nvolvet. It s hould be oant ioned. that collections were t aken during t be at'ternoon of Ju13' 27, at several pointa eouth end east ot Socorro , tbs fartb.eot being near Binche:a. These oolleotions ocntainod pcrtiole~ giving copper indications , the :particles being i n tho •a;?¥!) range ot sizes as those collected in Socorro at about the &a.":le ti'C'.b. It is perhaps noteworthy that the cop_per- boari ng particles 1n all these collec tlona were of opaque material. I.oat ot the co:;,per minerals tbat h uve previously- come to our attention 1n collection• rrom the air have been oolored material, blue , green, red, or yellow. C OBALT AND NICKEL TESTS In the 2 t00 J.l• coll~cti on of J"ul.y 26, three quite re:::iarkable particles were found that save very strong coba1t indications . The particles were apparently por :reot spheres (at l east thoy were pori'eetly circul.ar in cross section), twelve mic ro!ls in diameter. The reaction with rube anie e.eid , after at!nOnia trentmant , pi•o dueed a dense yellow-ten halo, eixty microns 1n diameter. The color v.ao not quite so clear es with pure cobalt: the e.ppearance sU;;gestin.g e. high-cobalt com,vosition with so~ metal. prosont. Such particles are quite uniqne i n the axporionce or the present. , It' these particles wore of meteoritic orictn they cwld, in tho absence of verticul oir IJOV«llSnt , have f'al:len a d1stO!loo of the oi·der ot 20, 000 feet 1n an i nterval or 41. 5 houra . Two particlse giT1ns nickel indication.swore round. ~a is quite nomvl , llo , ever. It anything, the number is smaller than x::ight have been expected in material of aurt'aoe ori<;in. The collections ware not given acid treatnent: additional nickel indieations might h &Te been 'i'ound it t his had been done. A oUOGEB TION hile the r&aul.ta o!' the present investiga:Uou ahould be recarded as negatt-vo or, inoonolusive, it i s desired to call attention to the faet that a coan.s ia at hand that obould r..al:a .PQAsiblo a definite demonetration of tho presence or absonoe ot cop per :particl es asaod.ated with events or the July 24th type . rartlo l.e collectlon equipment , operating on the s .:mie principle as that used in the i:resont inTestigat1on, and der;igned tor airple::ie installation, is on hand and 1te suco&esful operation has been dooonstrated in numeroll s sligh:ta. ProvisionNND 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.