CONFIDENTIAL
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON
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DECLASSIFIED
Authority: NND 90986
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THE INSPECTOR GENERAL USAF
17TH DISTRICT OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, NEW MEXICO
DR/ms
File No: (24-8)-28
25 May 1950
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SUBJECT: Summary of Observations of Aerial Phenomena in the New Mexico Area, December 1948 - May 1950
TO: Brigadier General Joseph F. Carroll
Director of Special Investigations
Headquarters USAF
Washington 25, D. C.
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1. In a liaison meeting with other military and government intelligence and investigative agencies in December 1948, it was determined that the frequency of unexplained aerial phenomena in the New Mexico area was such that an organized plan of reporting these observations should be undertaken. The organization and physical location of units of this District were most suitable for collecting these data, therefore, since December 1948, this District has assumed the responsibility for collecting and reporting basic information with respect to aerial phenomena occurring in this general area. These reports have been distributed to the Air Materiel Command, USAF, in accordance with Air Intelligence Requirements No. 4, and to other interested military and government agencies.
2. There is attached, as a part of this summary, a compilation of aerial phenomena sightings that have occurred mostly in the New Mexico area and have been reported by this District Office subsequent to December 1948. This compilation of sightings is not a complete record of all reported observations, but includes only those in which sufficient information was available to justify their inclusion. The observers of these phenomena include scientists, Special Agents of the Office of Special Investigations (IG) USAF, airline pilots, military pilots, Los Alamos Security Inspectors, military personnel, and many other persons of various occupations whose reliability is not questioned. This compilation sets forth the most important characteristics with respect to each observation and evaluates each sighting into one of three classifications, (1) green fireball phenomenon, (2) disc or variation, and (3) probably meteoric.
3. There is also attached an analysis of the green fireball occurrences in this area made by Dr. Lincoln LaPaz. Dr. LaPaz is the
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CONFIDENTIAL
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*Handwritten annotations:*
- "Flying Discs" (near subject line)
- "INDEXED 87" (near bottom)
- "NOT RECORDED 2 OCT 20 1950" (stamped near bottom)
- "59 OCT 28 1950" (handwritten near bottom left)
- "10-" (handwritten near bottom left)
- "3" (handwritten near right margin)
- "54" (handwritten near bottom right)
- "Dissly" (handwritten near bottom right)
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*Blue box note (top right corner):*
This image contains all the information on the document.