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DOW-UAP-D017 — UAP Reported at Sandia Base, 1948-1950

File
DOW-UAP-D017
Agency
Department of War
Incident date
1948-1950
Location
New Mexico
Released in
Release 02 (2026-05-22)
File type
PDF

Topics: Nuclear sites & Los Alamos

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.

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TL;DR

116 pages later, they still hadn't decided if the orbs needed a parking permit.

  • DOW-UAP-D017, Department of War PDF, covers 1948‑1950 UAP sightings at Sandia Base, New Mexico.
  • Documents 209 sightings of green orbs, discs, fireballs maneuvering, disappearing, exploding, plus copper‑powder residue analyses.
  • No official conclusion in the file

AI summary

This document is a security inspection report from the 1100th USAF Special Report Group, dated 7 April 1949, at Campbell Air Force Base in Kentucky. It details security measures taken at Sandia Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including changes to gate operations, inspection ports, and alert plans. It also mentions the status of radio communication with the military police and efforts to address erosion. The report concludes that most security deficiencies were resolved, and the monthly report of action taken is requested to be discontinued.

Full text

Page 1

HEt\DQUARTEP..S • DETACHMENT D
1100TH USAF SPECUL REPORTING GROUP
Campbell Mr Force Base
Camp Campbell. Kentucky
7 April 1949

~?>'2.>,,
SUBJECT:

Security :E:nspection

TOt

Commanding General
Sandia Base
Albuquerque, New Mexico

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1. Reference is made to secret letter. your headquarters. dated
1 April 1949• Subjects Security Inspection.
2. a. Guard Orders have been amended directing that the elec­
tric gate be closed between 1700 hours until 0700 hours the following
day.
b. Looks have repl~ced the bolts in all inspection access
gates in the outer fence.
c.

Inspection ports on both bridges are now pr ovided with

locks .

'

d. The final draft of our alert plan has been reviewed and
will be published and distributed for study to operating personnel.
It is desired to point out that the alert plan is incomplete . !.
stockpile custodian has not been assigned here; his part in the alert
plan has been outlined only. Furthermore, since the 11th Airborne
Division is not in place yet, only temporary arrangements for defense
have been made. Final form of the overall alert plan will be sub­
mitted to your headquarters for approval as soon as conditions will
allow. ·1n the interim period. it is felt that the temporary alert
plan we have prepared is adequate. A copy of this pl an will be dis­
patched to your headquarters in the near future.
e.

!11 jeep radios are now installed in jeeps.

r. ~lthough not entirely satisfactory. radio oom.munioation
with the Camp Campbell Military Police has been in effect for sometime and was in effect at the time of the Security inspection. .Pe~­
manent arrangements for radio communication with Camp Campbell Military
Police are de l ayed panding the arrival of radio frequency crystals
that fit the Milit ary Police net frequency.

Short Ti tle -~-:L~-=-~--=- -~/_f­
NND 58378

SHORT TI~ f f h B I

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SUBJECTs

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7 April 194.9

Security Inspection

g. Pressure has been exerted to get the Pos t 'Ehgineers to
keep the dra.inage system. clear and to take measures to check the ero­
sion. These efforts will be continued but li t tle progress on erosion
control can b e expected until the rains diminish. Ditches have been
filled, dirt moved and replaced, native gras s es planted, but the rains
return too soon and much of the effort invested is therefore wasted.
Plans a.re prepared f or an interim erosin control effort, and a stud;y
is being ma.de to estinate the cost of resloping the cuts in order
that the rainfall mq be drained with less damaging results. Initial
estimates run in the neighborhood of twenty thousand dollars (t20,ooo.oo).
3. With the exception of halting the erosixm, all deficiencies
listed in the security inspection report have been cleared away. It
is therefore requested that the monthly report of action taken re­
quired by cited letter be discontinued.

/(~4/./?L_
RICHARD TI' KLIN.!!i
Lt Col, USAF
Commanding

NND 58378

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Page 4

10 August 1949

Dr. L1nooln ~
InDtituta of 'Meteoritics
University of New Mexico
Albuqu.erquo , N. :t:.
Doar l.1ncoln:

I a::n lnclos1ng two copies or the report you asked tor, fllld hope
that they oerve their purpose.
\'lo Jiave mado a preliminary ez:eminntion ot tm elghtaon collact1ona
token at nine locatione on my, l!onde.:,• 'l'uesday trip . !lbere was a large
number of coppor- boar1ng pe.rtiolee on one eolleoti on (ll-104L) taken on
Higm1ay 84, seventeen ·m les north ot E1gl:may 66 1 and aoa.ttered occas•
i onal particles throJJ.ghout the series . The collection teken at tho
Blt"lle location imcodi ately' following R- l04L eho'\YD practically no copper.
A 1orge l)art of the n - 104L is of a granular mnterial untamiliar to us , and
, the copper indioat1ona ori,:.inate principal ly 1n l'lhat are e.pparontl'1
aggregations of finely (ona ..meron) granular material of overall sizes
in tho neighborhood of thirty microns. Some cop_per _part! ,lea, hor.ever, appear to be solid nnd o,Paque. The passage of t-, automobiles while
this oollection uas being made is a complicating fe.ctor . It is hard
to aee how they mieht he.Ta been a eourco ot coppor , ho,raver , unlean it
nao a question of stirring up aoI!lo :trom dust on the -pavement.
We intend to do some :1"urther chemi.eal work Tii th theee colloctions ,
but I doubt if muoh nen relevant information 11111 be obtained.
Hy tentative conclusion is that no ~idcspread significant dispersion

or copper- bea't'ine; particles ,vas present in tbe atmoaphere in the rc"ion

covere.:1 at the timo the eollcct1ons wore made. l,o det1nita statel':lcnt
is possible about the one heavy copper collention: i t should be prosumod
to be of local origin until come evidonee to the contrary ic 'found.

~e route at tho collocting trip included Paatura, Santa noaa. , junc­
tion of Routes 66 and 84, ond Las ·Ve.:;aa on J!ondey af'ternoon. On Tuosdey
morning i t included. Las Ve3as , Canonr,1 to , Glorieto. end ecos .

Yours vory truly,

mx,~
o.ttaobments (2)

NND 58378

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R/D- tw
8-10 -49

AN AT'l!EMP? 'ro coU.roT AnBCP.NE PAU'ICLES
A'3SOOIA'l'ED fJI'l'iJ THE FIREBALL OF JULY 24 1 1949
By

• n . Oroztor
and

Ben

x. Seely

HBTHOD

A 'fireball was raportad to have pasaod ovor the general noighborhood of
Socorro, Uew Uexi.00 1 at 8:26 p.m. 1 J'uly 24 1 1949. Impaotment equipment , develop9d
in conneation 1a th the sarosol research pro Ject ot the New Mex1 co School of !lines,
was available, and it was decided to make systematic collections ot airborne me.ter­
- iel. in the hope ot obta1nill8 material that could be associated .-1th the t1reball.
For the present report it is suftio1ent to state that the equipnant processed air
at the rate ot about J4 11tera per minute , the particles being separated f'rom the
air by -impactment against en adhesi'f9-coate~ plate in an air jet. Appro:d!natel.y
ninety per cent of airborne particlee with dianeters greater than one micron are
collected.
Tho adheeive used. on the collecting plates (mcroscope slides) waa a glycerin­
gelatin tlixture w1 th an a.dd1tion or rubeanic aeid (dithiooxamide . ) 'l'lus reagent
was used to enable identifioation of copper or copper compounds; it also enables
identification of nickel and cobalt. After ?C:lking the eollaotions , the slides were
covered with e. Saran til::l, after which thoy were exposed to strong aomonia vapor
for r1:tteon Jninutes to effect partial ao lution or any copp_er or copper oxide parti­
el.Gs.

R ESULT S

'?he first oolleotion was made at 10: 00 a . m., .ruly 25, about thirteen and oneThe air wan te.lcen about twelve teet above
ground lovel, on t he Ol!!'.IJ>UO ar the School ot Uines. Tho first run was i'or three min- ,
utes , ll['COosaing cbout 102 liters of air . Sevoro.l large particles wero :round in it
that gave J)ositiva co pe.r teats. In at least ono or these the copper reaction was
aeen petore t he cn::mx>ni c tro~ont , indicating the presence 9f at least a trace of a
aoluble copper co~pound. The sizes of particles aoon in tho first oollections ranged
up to over one hundred microns in the largest dimension: the largest particles gave
tho impression o~ bein.g f'r8gl:lents or a so:i:ievm.at f'ibrous material, lli th the smaller
he.lf houra after the fireball was seen.

~~
NND 58378

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Page 2
dbension oi" ,the o-rder o~ twnty or thirty .:nicrono. There were no Br:lall partielee,
that 1e, no particles 11'1 th n iruuiml1!11 di?DeXUiion below 15 microns . ,
J'ollmring tho :f'lrat colleotion, ,a dditional oolleotions 1f8re nade , tindor aimi•

1ar conditions. over a period of elght daya .

The aooco.pann,ng table su:n:iarisea the colld1 t1ons and copper counts ror all
tbese collections , including tho first ono described above.
nU!!lbor of the ru.ru,
wero tor periods lor.,;or tfum three minutes , but °'he oouhts have , 1n 'tbeee cases ,
been reduced to the threo-:nnuta equivalent. Olio eolleetion showing oevora.l large
copper indications , tekon J"u~ 25, ia omm:1ttnd fron the to.blo because it was
damaged in courae ot a teai for radioaotivity by exx,osure of a nmlear track plate
(vrith negative reoultn) end a det"inita count oOllld not be made .

The counts are exhibited in tbreo size claeRiflcations, end attention is
directed to tlie :ta.at that particles in the smallest s!ze croup (l to l5 microns)
e::-e practically absent trom the early oollectlona, mil& in the later collectiow,,
particles 1n the largest (.30 mioron.o) 8Ii.d middle (15 to 30 microna} groups have
become cp;i te esoarce. At the same tine, the counto have beccte quite large in tile

:.s:ncllest aizo group.

SIONIFICA~CE

OF

RESULTS

If 1 t were possible to SflY that particles giving a copper test are generally
very rare in eollectione near groimd leTel in this locaJ.lty, the above facts t'.Ould
bo highly s!gni1'1cant. It l1appens , however , that collections have been :-:,ode at
Socorro over only- a short period, and not .muoh e.tten1i1on has been given to !denti­
fica.tion ot copper coJ:lJ)ounds. ::aowever, after the copper indieetions had been round
in the present sories of: collectio•,s, some collections were round on file that hod
been made on plain glycertn- 3aui.tin on july .1,, 1949 . -These r.are oovered ,nth the
Sarun fi-lm and rubeanic eoid C!Jld an::.on1a were appliod by d1 tfusion through tho ·ttlm.
A few copper indications were found, al!nost all the i:e.rtioles being in the 30 micron
size group. Some other co11ection.s were made early 1n ~uly tbo.t will be e::lt8!ninod
tor· 'lopper when they are treed !"roe other tests . lil add1 t1on, oce~ional colloot1ons
will be examined. tor copper in the futll!'e , and 1t may be possible eventually to add
so:neth1ng to tho information now presented.

COllCLUSION6

REGARDING

COPPER

In view Qt the above fa.eta , it i,eem:, very hazardous to draw any: definite con­
clusion associating ~he coppe~- bearioo perticlos collected with the fireball or 1uly
24. Th.are a till is, hwoTer , a residuum or poasitdlity ot such associations men 1 t
is conoidored th c.t partic!.ss ot 1h c smallest s1 ze group did not appear in largo
numbera until some 35 hours at'ter the po.esege of tl;le fireball .

NND 58378

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....

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 f1 ve 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 part1olea 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 previouslycome 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~ct i on of J"ul.y 26, three qui te 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 cw ld, 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 ,­
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.

ever.

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. Provision
NND 58378

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could easily be made ror quickly nountins this equi~ent in an airplane cap&ble ot
o.s~enaing above the 40 ,000- toot l evsl, wllieh couli teke otr soon otter an event ot
the J'uly 24th kind, and fly a pattern that would ineludo n itl:. reasonable certainty
sO"C!e or the nateriol originating at the neteor u-ajectory. A g_uiek approximate
deteroination of the tTejeetory wo11ld be required , of course, Wld 1f winds aloft
wore or considerable strength 1 t muld b& nocaseary to make due allowance tor ttlc:t:1
1n planning the :f lie}lt.

UOT

ADDED <l-l AWUS1' 10 1 1949 :

Ao this report ,1aa being 1'1n1shea, an ntte:ipt naa :oade c.t on. airplane oollection
1'ollOm.ng the event o~ uzust 6 . The oolloetins eguiPmQnt ,1as installod in a B- 25
from Kirtland Field nnd on the o.f'to:::-noon or .~ugust 8 , a flight wao ,u1e l!.«lich a was

hoped m18ht intercept somo of t he meteoritic material.

An Interval or 41 hours had pussed before the take-oft , and the :ma:dnu.n alt1•
tudo roached waa 2.3,000 i"eet. A rough attenpt was :!lade to include air tho.t wae
under the trajoctory, but distanl'}eo or sevoral hundred miles nore involved. A few
oopI,>o:..~ ind:!cations were obtained, but they seemed definitely to be associated mth
material of surface oricin. l,o nickel or cobalt indications were ~ound. AD. 0lcJ1or­
ate stud.7, which m.tq require more upper a ir data than ls available, should be oude
before 1 t is decided metber or not the t'lieht di a aotue.1ly include air that 8hould

have borne FOrticles trcm tho etoor trajectory.

NND 58378

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e

'1'0:

Colonel Doyle Rees

FROU:

Lincoln 1ePas

SUDJ"EnTs

Momaloua J.uminous Phenomona.

Au,..i:rust 17, 1949

Sixth Report {attempts to colleci volatili­

sation woduots trom ~en fireballs)

(1)
In an earlier repori it has boen pointed out ihat in spite ot eir SDd
ground searoha 1n early February elong tlle nll detem.1nad earth-trace ot the
green nreball ot 1949, ianue.ry 30th no :tregmenta of this ti:roball were recovered.
'l'here re::iatnod the _poso1t1li ty "that tbia fireball had been so ooopletely
Tolatilizod during tl1sht that oaly tine dnat !'ram it filtered down thru the
atmosph&re. S1noe, fo::- several reasons, 1 t eeerced ~ore probable that a uoh dust
would consist chiefly or copper or a copper alloy rattier than ot the ferro•
magnetic aubstanoes found for ordintn-7 metoorites . the oethodo habitually enployed
by metooritic1ots fo1" the c olleetion at •come duat• ( separation ot the dust
trom the air by uBO or eleetroI:Ja.Gllets or permanent magnets) muld not be appropri­
ate tor use in conj]_eet ion with tho s;reon i'ireballo. It was there.tore decided to
cn11nt th~ aid ot Dr. illiwn Orozier , \-d':l.o waa knownto 1'.ave developed a novel
1mpactu~.•.; duat collector f'or UDe o_n the ABrosol Projoct or tho li'ew l!enoo School
of' l!ines. (Tho 'Wr1 ter hed bean elo.:sely aasooiated, in 1943-44, with Dr. Orosier
at Km1 JJenco Proving Grounds mile .orking on saboted. and prorlm11;y fuoed shells
and kne\7 ·that ho hrsi aat1sf'e.ctory clearance.) Dr. OrozJ.er not onJ.y agreed to partio1pnte in a cround- 1.ovel search ~or dust pos~lbly put doun by the f'irebe.ll of' ~anuary ,30th, but mede the valuablll sugeeation that dust oollect1oll.6 be made on plene

flights routod bti.ek and rorth at high altitudes through the air benoath green
t'1reball paths as soon as possible after t"ireball tall. ln this manner eonta:nination ot ttle aust colleetioll8 by tar1·eatr1al particles '10Uld be reduced to a
minimum. No ir:mediate application Wat:J made ot Dr. Orozter• o dust collection
teohniquee • in pa1-t because ot th a m-1ter' a re11urn to fUll ttme ncade.!.11.c work at
the m~ on Febru,47 8~h and in ;part baoause o~ Dr. Crozier's other ;rooec.rch
e.cti'Vities and the interrUJ.)tion11 in Reoearch and Develop:iont D1v1 B1on work i.neident to the A.E. O. ' a tek1ns o'Ter the ilbuqunque quarters or the Division.
(2)
When it m,.s determ.i?l9d th.at the green 11reball of J\lly 24.tll liod descended
1n. the im»diate vicinity o~ Soco:L"ro, it was decided to ask Dr. Cro--'1er to attempt
colleotio:ns even though he and bis start were then eneaeod in tbe tinal stages ot
mov1na from Albuquerque to their new quarters on the Campus ot the New 1-l&xieo
School of 1!1.nes, A long distance ¢all to Dr, Orozier on J'uly 26th brough.t the
weleorna news that be he.d been alerted by an appeal for observations issued by the
Insti tu~ of !!otaorittos on tho evening at July 2,th end ha.d al.rood7 made du3t
collections on the campus at Socorro on the morning ot J'tily 25. These collectiono ,
to Dr. Crosier's en.dent surprise, nre found to oontcin not only the tlrst coppe~
particles he hod 'found.in air duet col1-eot1ono bu't these I>~ticles were or unusuallt
large ai!Be - up to lOO microns in maximum dimeneiorut. On roceipt or this exciting
tn:to:ro.ation , a party 11u 61apatched t"ram 17th Diotrict o. ~.I. Bdq_e. to confer with
Dr. Crozier ond to~makc e field search tor the i'irobcll ot :Tu.ly 24.tb. This part~
conBisted at Uajor Charles L. Phillipa (courteously ma.de avaiJ.able tor 'the trip by
Colon.el Harold ~ Gunn, C.o. ot Kirtland Field) Hr. })aul Tatt of the li. S . ,eather
Bureau in Albuquerque , S/A la.ck .Bolino nnd the underaigued. A conterenoe rtth Dr.
Crozier end er. &,n Seely ma held on the School of w.nee cam;pua in Socorro bet\lOon

NND 58378

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10: 00 - 12:00 A. J.1. on .Tul.y 26th. At this eonterenoe it beceme ep:parent that
Dr. Crozier wao 1nolln ed to attribute the unuauall7 large copper fragcenta
collected on .Tuly 25 at 10,00 A..l!. (-.bich because ot their size could not h&vo
been blown "fer, tar by aurtace 111.nds•) to particles blO\l'D. off the root or out
ot the a uttere ot t he Aseaying Building on the Campus . In answer to e. queation
from the writer , Dr. Crozier replied that he would oone1der this pose1b1llty
ruled out it copper pm-tioles ob.owed up in colloctiono cade in t.he open oouum
at considerable distance• trCX!l the Campus . It wao tharotoro recom?;.ended th~
such oolleotions be made @d Dr. Crosier and t•.r. Seely rigged up a atonge
battery combination and B!llall D.O. J!!.Otor driven 1DlJ)aotmont collector- 11h1ch were
loaded into the o.s .t. etat't car and driven out through San Antonio , Carthage ,
and B1ngbom, No •enco (this route passing, in ~ . Taf't' o opinion, throueh the
region where pnrti~les tran tile tireball ot 1ul7 24th woo ld most probably have
been oarr1ed by the Tery light win.do provatlins in the reg ion ainee the ino1dent.) Four ot tho collections mode on th io trip W81"$ examined on tho eveniDg
ot 1u.l.)- 26th by
• Ben Seely an4 all were found to contain copper particles
1nd1stineu1chable trom :those colleotod. in Socorro at about the omne time.

-

(3) Pull detail.a on the mathod.e ot collection enployod by D:t-, Crozier end
Mr. Seel.T and on lata:r examinations of ~e dust l)Eµ'ticles collected af'ter the
graen tueballs or both J'ul.7 24th Cl1.4 August 6th are given 1n Dr, Crozier••
i-aport (R/D - tw, 8-10-49) copie11 of whieh are hereto appended. Dr; Crozier ' s
tenta\1ve oonolusion trar:i study' ot the collections mal.e, not only in eonneotion
with the incident o~ .July 24th, but also that o't Aucuat &tb, ts that •the reBUlte
ot the prosont inveot1gaUon should be regarded as negative or inconclusive,•
From anelys1a or hie r~ort (R/D - tw • 8- 10-49) end trom. several phone conYer­
satlona with Dr. Crozier, i t io th e writer• belief' that Dr. Crozier was led to
the abow conolwsion by the tollowing taote listed below 1n docreaelng arder or
iq,ortance, md aooa:;ipanied by er! tioel OODn8ntat
'

(.3.1)
'l'he d1scoverz by tests t:iade on or about k p t l of ., a few
oo
r indications~ 1n dust collected at Socorro on J
14 l.949 i . e. ten
dgre betore the men fireball 1nc1den, ot J'uly 24th. Dr. Croz er baa 1n1"omed
the writer that tbs oolleotion ot July 14th wns ·care:t'lllly wrapped up end could
not have becom conte?!linated by copped dWlt '1h1oh blew 1n through the open win­
dows ot the n .D. &J>. Building at Socorro attar the 1no1dent ot July 24th. I!o'7tner , there remains the poss1b111 ty- that an 'Qllol:eerved or unreported green t ire-­
ball occurring in the Sooorro neighborhood ehortly before 1uly 14th put down
the copper dust round 1n t.be July 14th colleottaa. To one tccn1l1ar with tb.c
al.!nost uninhabited country, around Soeorro md t.he tact that green tireballe aa
bright as the halt mon occurring at timea as favorable tor observation u '1 :))
- 8:30 P . u . have gone alriost unreported , 1 t aecms quite likely that a green
:t"ireball that tell arter midnight or during the daytime or while most or the
s1.7 was overcast tlis bt go entirely unroported.)
(:3.?.)
The d1aore ane between the co.!!ll>uted an! observed rates of
J.escent ot .er,· tine copper particles.
A.9 Dr. Crozier notes , such d!screpon­
c1e• are Wl.deratandable •it eome dor.nward motion had taken place in part of the
air involved.• Preo1sely wch dovm":18.rd tl.Otion oocurred in tha air near tho real
paths ot the f'lreballs of 1uly 24th and 111-rost Gtb tor ttleoa to.Us were nenrly
Tertioal. ll'urtbonloro tho best obaervatiOllB ot tho endpoints of these tireballa
ple.ee 1hat ~ .T'117 :?4th at a bight ot ltl- l2 miles and that ot A!Jeust 6th at 5-6
milsB. 'l'he downward directed bill1st1o head wave therefore coald Yery easily have
carried Dr. Orozier'a 145 hour particloe to m thin 10 ,000 teat of the earth at

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the time of fall . Sinea we cannot assume co mplete stagnation ot the air rnu,ees
1n the Sooor1"o neiBhborhood tor 145 hours . it must be supposed that such air
motions aa occurred were approximately compeuating and resulted in the return
ot Dr. Crozier ' s tiny •r1ve-.:u.cron particles" to the Socorro neighborhood in
a.p_pro:d.mo.tely 145 hrurs. Only a detailed otudy ot air .ll!4SS c.otiol!a ror the
time interval i~lTod can settle this point. )
(.3 •.3)
The lo
continued Q: ea.ranee of co r particles (however • -as
Dr. Crozier emphasizea, S'::l8ller end smaller 1n size . 1n the Sotjorro collection.s.
(Preoisely sueh a decrease 1n particle size hao repeatedly been observed in
connection w1 th duat oolleotions believed to be ot metoori tic or.lgi n and is attri b- ~
uted to the slower e.nd slower rate ot descent of the particles as their average Bize
decreases. Thuo , L. Rudaux's ros'Qlta strongly indicate 'that particles :from the •
01aoob1nid shower ot 1933, Oltober 9, filtered down in anallor md Sll18.ller sizes
tar 100 hours or more. Fm-ther.m.ore , tor the green fireballs ot J'Uly 24th and
August 6th, U,.o nearly ver:t1eal real paths extended from alt111udtts of lDO mile&
or more down almost to ground level an4 therofore optimum conditions for long
continued intall of duet particles wre approached in these fallo. ) •

(3. 4)
!'allure or the airplane collection ot August 8th to detect ~
bor ne co ner
rticles def1n1tel not ot terrestrial or1~1n. (How&Ter, the
airplane eolleotiona vero all made at great distanoee hundreds of ailea) rrom
the Vaughn region in -r.-hir.h tho fireball of Auzust 6th i"ell; and, ea Dr. Crozier
points out , at the mo:.nent 1t can not be determined "whether or not tho :tlight
d1d aotuall,7 include air that should have borne partialee .f'ro:n rmteor tre.jei:,tory. w
In this connection the results a1luded to in para.:,"'!'aph 4 , belcnT• may be or
considerabl e aigniticonce.)
(4) At the ttmo the airplane eolleotion of :uguet &th was plamied the writer
reoamnended not only tha.t the t'l1ght traverse the area fram Vaughn northward to
Raton and · then NW- ward into the Durango, Colorado re~ion (a reconimandation based
on advice received trom l!r. Po.ul Taft of tbO u.u. eathor Buroan) but aleo tb.a~
.s1mu1taneoualy a ground search 1th the portable i npaotmcnt dust collectin,z oq_u1p­
ment rigged up on J"uly 27th be run i'roa Va\l8hll through Future. to Santa Rosa.
Tlle latter po.rt or thin reoomre~mdation was rollowed by Dr. Crozier l'Zho reported
on the results obtained in hia letter to me under date or August 10 . copieo ot
which are hereto attached. Dr. Crosier' s letter makes clear that ground collec­
tions in the subt1nal regions or tho fireballs of both ~ s t 6th ond J\lly 24th
resulted in the dotootion or unu.eual. aggregations otcoppor particles, .lppe.rently
the copper IX1rticle aggregate o'btai.ne4 in collectioA R - l04L, m.thin the subtinal
resion ot the August 6th tall was the only such a~egate rou:id in Dr. Crozier' s
lenghty ground search or quet S-9. 111 aeema :particularly oi('Uificant to th&
writer tbat Dr. Crozier auapoets that tho copper dust :round 1n this particular
eolleot1ou R- 1Q4L ntsy have been stirred up troa tbe pavemnt on Illgln'lq 84 --a likely oatol:dent airfaca for dust put down by tbe green f.'lreball of. August 6th,
in view or the information giYen me by Ur. T8:f't in regard to tba wind direction
pre•aillng dtn"ing the hours !mediately following t llie incident.

(5)8 In apito or the critical ac:mnenta m.ede in porezraphs 3 mid 4 above , the
writer hes no quarrel with Dr. Crozier•• oonclu.aion that the resulta ao far
obtained in the investigation of volatilization product~ possible put down by
the green 1."1.roball.e are negative or at best 1neonolU81ve. ,However, I do wiah to
stress noat emphatically that 1:r :tuture more detailed ,,ork shon that the nuzcer­
oue copper part1oles tound by nr. Crozier and Mr. Seely .!I!!. indud floating don
~

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t'rom green fl.reballis, then the fireballs are not conventional .tSteorites.. Col)l)er
is one or tbs rarosl or the elements tount\ 1n.nie'teor1 tea (See G.P . Uerrill•
Memoirs National Aoade:my o~ Science 1 vol. 14 (1925) • Table f aci ~ P• 27; and
Harr1aon Brown, Journal ot Geology, vol. 66 (March 1948, ) 'l'able 1 , p . 8'1 . ) In
:taot, I know or no case 1n Which el'en the t1riieet particle o:r co;pper hes been
reported in a dust collection eup:poeedly ot i:,eteoritic or1;;1n. In view ot present
oonoorn in regard to tbe true nature o~ the green :t 1reballs, nothing could exceed
in i t1port0Me attailll:llent ot a. definite cor..-iluston in regm-d to the origin o:t tl:le
0OJ'per particl&s detected in the eub:tinal regions of the firobulls or July 24th
and .(i.ugust 6th.
.
(6) The writer therefore wishes to make the :rollow1ng reco11:1?1endationa ,

.

(6. 1) That e.rraneements be made tor dust collections on airplane 'flights
at altitudes or 40, 000 tt. or oore through ~he regton ot the atcloaphera lying
beneath the real puthil ot green fireballs as soon as possible after the occurrence
ot s~h fireball 1nc1denta. Such arrangements preeupposo a wll coordinated
observing network pertlitt1ng t:te epeed1eet possible determination ot the looation
or the real pathl"I in the atnosphere. (Dr. Crozier and Mr. $eely have both agreed
to cooperate in carrying out dust colleotion at the htghest altitudes attainabla.
In Dr . Crozier ' s opinion, a B- 36 or
50 should be made available tar such work. )
(6. 2) 5:!lat crOUJ1d- level dust oollect1ons be made along tho well deter­
mined earth- traee or the green fireball of 1anuary 30th, using the portable impaet­
.ment equiptBnt al.reo.dy rigged up by nr . Crozier and ur. Seely and used in the e;round
searches ot J'uly 27th and ~ust 8• 9th. I:r copper particles can be recovered
along this carth..tro.ee but do no, appear in colleotions made 50 miles or eo et1ey
trm the trace , the z,eault -=,ul.d be ot much signiticmoe if not indeed deeisivo.

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HEADQUARTERS. SANDIA BASE

' 1'

r

0 I

'f /

ALBUQUERQUE. NEW !'?.~{98 1 \.,..

SBOP/4 3 3 3 , I L -

Tl·H..,
OF
NO, ---1---

REFER TO FILE NO.

SUBJECT:

Board to Inspect Special u1eapons Facilities
at Strategic Air Command Stations

TO:

Commanding General
Strategic Air Comm.and
Offutt Air Force Base
Omaha , Nebraska

\
1 . Reference is made to Top Secret letter, your
Headquarters, subject: • "Special Weapons Training Facilities
at Strat egic Air Command Sta tions," dated 29 November 1949,
Short Title: B- 3000, which proposed an inspection tour of
Strategic Air Command stations to determine adequacy of
station plans for Special Weapons training facilities and
recommend a priority and time schedule for Special Weapons
Unit assignment to Strategic Air Command stations .

\

2 . This Headquarters concurs in the basic objectives
of the proposed board and its general plan of action . Capt .
Barnes will represent the Plans and Operations Division of
this Headquarters and Lt . Col. Olson, Commanding Officer of
the 515th Aviation Squadron, will represent the 8460th
Special Weapons Group . I t is not possible at this time to
comply with your suggestion that the 8460th Special Weapons
Group be represented by the Commanding Officer of the Special
Weapons Unit scheduled for assignment to the station being
inspected .
3. It is recommended that the work of this board be

Text continues in the original file (116 pages).

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Story: Do UFOs watch our nukes? Green fireballs over the A-bomb labs, a secret meeting with Edward Teller, and Roswell

Same location: New Mexico

Same period: 1948

Same release: Release 02

Same agency: Department of War