Alamogordo News
ABORSED OTERO COUNTY ADVERTISER JAN. 1, 1915. ABORSED ALAMOGORDO CLOUDCROFTER AUG. 27, 1952
VOLUME 36 NUMBER 36
ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1952
SUBSCRIPTION: $2.00 Per Year
---
FANTASY OF “FLYING DISC” IS EXPLAINED HERE
---
Young Democratic N Started In C County
Members of the executive committee and the central committee of the Otero County Democratic party met at the courthouse Monday afternoon to organize a Young Democratic Organization for Otero County. The nucleus of the organization, the selection of the officers, was accomplished by the parent organization, and are as follows:
Alma D. Walker, Alamogordo, president; Ray Sowell, Pinon, first vice president; Mrs. Cleo Duda, Tulome, second vice president; Harry Hitt, Cloudcroft, third vice president; Chilo Sanchez, Alamogordo, fourth vice president; Miss Evelina Nunes, secretary; Harold O’Dell, Alamogordo, treasurer; Billy Duda, sergeant-at-arms.
The group was organized under the direction of Ingram B. Pickett, state organizer, and Verner Clayton, county Democratic chairman.
A membership drive, contest, social activities, and other functions are planned for the new organization, Mr. Pickett said. The state conference of Young Democrats will be held in Albuquerque August 16.
---
M. P. Killed By Accidental Shot
Sgt. Louis Steiger, 24, military policeman assigned to the Alamogordo Army Air Base, was accidentally killed Wednesday afternoon, just before six o’clock, by the accidental discharge of a firearm held by another military policeman, according to an announcement on Thursday morning by Lt. Schlick of the base’s legal department. Details of the shooting are being withheld, Lt. Schlick said, pending two separate investigations which are now under way.
Sgt. of Sgt. Steiger and an military policeman whose identity is withheld, who received a minor flesh wound in the leg from the same discharge of the weapon, were taken to Wm. Beaumont Hospital in El Paso.
Nearest relation of Sgt. Steiger have been notified, Lt. Schlick announced. His home was in Brevard, Pa.
Further details of the accident will be released following the investigation, it was announced.
---
Cloudcroft Host To Golf Tourney
Local talent at Cloudcroft will be out behind John Parker in the hope of defending their home course at the Lodge against all comers in the annual tournament which opens July 17.
Playing on the famous, highest in the world golf course, the qualifiers will conclude play on Thursday, July 17, and tournament play will begin.
Many unknown golfers are drifting in this week rehearsing for the tournament with some big favorites on hand for practice rounds.
Tulome, Ariz., will have about a half-dozen golfers on hand and Odessa, Texas, has about the same number of entries. El Paso will send the largest and strongest contingent, it was stated.
The greens and fairways were pronounced in good order for the tournament play.
---
AAF Weather Experts Forecast For V-2 Firings
A small but efficient weather station has been installed at the White Sands Guided Missile Firing Grounds by the Air Weather Service of the Army Air Forces.
The weather station is unlike other stations in that the technicians at White Sands are particularly interested in meteorological conditions of the upper air regions rather than weather close to the earth’s surface which effect normal air traffic.
For this reason the weather technicians use the latest in radar equipment. Large 2,000 gram mercury balloons carry delicate instruments to about 100,000 feet with ground radio receivers, direction-finding equipment, and paravellance radar units correlate weather conditions at extreme heights.
One of the major projects at White Sands is the series of captured German V-2 rocket firings in which leading scientists of major research organizations place various types of recording instruments in the warheads of the rockets in science’s efforts to solve some of the mysteries of the upper atmosphere.
The importance of weather forecasting for these rocket firings is vital to the success of the V-2 program.
Four complete forecasts ranging from 72 to 6 hours before each V-2 firing are required to insure the success of the program. The forecasts have the following purpose: The 72-hour forecast is for the necessary planning and set-up of
---
News Men Watch Army Radar Crew Launch “Disc”
Local “flying discs,” and possibly those throughout the nation, summed down to balloon-piloted observation radar targets located from the Alamogordo Army Air Base and related bases throughout the nation.
Those observed over Otero county were located from the north area of the local air base under the direction of Major W. D. Pritchard of the Watson Laboratories AMC experimental group for long range radar detection, or from the other White Sands Proving Ground and related groups.
On invitation of Major Pritchard, members of the Alamogordo News staff took pictures of the balloons and trailing reflectors covered with reflectors covered with tinfoil as they were prepared to be sent aloft and after their release on Wednesday, July 9 at 1 p.m.
The same group observed the flight of the balloons and trailing observation reflectors for approx. ninety one hour until one balloon burst over the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains, south of Alamogordo, and the consequent descent of the device, known by rumor as the “flying disc” of this area, until it grounded about 300 feet from highway 70 southwest of Alamogordo.
In flight the reflectors and their towing balloons climbed by magic in the mid-day hot air currents and at times oscillated and appeared to the eye-sight as of various shapes with the reflectors losing their identity as they changed.
The towing balloons, however, remained identified throughout the seven to ten-mile flight and were observed by motor-operated tracking lights, field-glass and radar contact with the reflectors.
Major Pritchard, who issued the invitation to the press group to visit and view the widely-discussed and reported ascent of the corner reflector device, explained the object was study and training of officers and enlisted men of the army in observing and tracking of objects above than airplanes by eye and radar device.
The corner reflectors being periodically released for this purpose, he explained, and had been for the past fifteen months from this local headquarters of the AMC under the Watson Laboratories group, who have headquarters at Red Bank, New Jersey.
Major Pritchard and his fellow officers, Major C. M. Mangum, Captain L. H. Dyard and Lt. B. W. Seigel, he explained, “had not realized that our balloon and corner reflector radar experimental device was in any way related to the widely-discussed ‘flying disc’ that
he further explained the general use of the radar equipment at the base was tracking of rockets fired from the mother-base at the White Sands Proving Grounds.
Some of the balloons, of the type used in the Alamogordo News representatives Wednesday, the commanding officer said, were used to carry at times devices that it was necessary for the group to recover and then were marked to their destination by B-17’s and other aircraft if they soared out of range of the radar equipment.
The brass has been some to say, explained, up to 60 miles, while some of the balloon-towed groups have gone as far as Colorado.
Within the past week several groups of Otero county residents have observed from one to four “flying discs” in flight, with their descriptions varying according to height of observation, speed of flight and oscillation of the corner reflectors, termed as all of these and other atmospheric changes alter the look of the objects.
These corner reflectors when packed before attaching to the towing balloons, are about 60 inches across and are a perfect triangle.
The balloons of devices with strings attached by a string to the center of this triangle and it then opens into a paper covered by tinfoil with six triangles pointed at the top and braced by strings of wood which says present to the radar, and to observing groups one flat shiny surface no matter at which angle viewed.
It is very light and is towed by a synthetic rubber balloon made of neoprene which is baked an hour before use so as to increase its life and resistance to atmospheric conditions.
At times a balloon bursts soon after ascent with the reflector then falling to the earth and at other times the air currents force the balloons down with their burdens.
The balloons the about four feet in diameter and light colored.
Comparison of the local corner reflector training device with stories of those recovered near Corpus recently and picked up at other points the last several months held a striking similarity.
Experiments, the experimental group from the proving grounds said, showed the early morning hours of from five to six to be the most successful to gain the 30 to 60-thousand feet altitudes attained by the device. They also explained the ordinary flight course of these experiments was from the base to the Sacramento Mountains north of Alamogordo and thence along the “mountain range on north.
Others have, the group said, scored
---
Seventy Youngsters Out For Classes
Seventy youngsters of Alamogordo responded to the call for free swimming lessons this week to make this the most popular of summer recreational sports under the school-community center sponsored activities.
The softball league play continued hot and fast with the teams trimming the Rotary juniors 15 to 13 and the Alamo teens dropping their game with the junior Mens Store nine, 10 to 7. These 4 teams play every Monday night.
Another “ten-agers” party will be held at the Alamogordo Community Center Friday evening with an orchestra lined up for the dancing.
Final activities of the Community Center program for this week will be the Center benefit on July 12, Saturday night, with Manny Duran’s orchestra furnishing the music.
---
Race Fans May See Top Quarter Nags In Matches Sunday
A matched race of two top quarter horses of this section, to be run here Sunday, June 13, has grown out of the last day meet which ended last Sunday at Hollywood Park, N.M.
For a stake of $1000, $800 posted by the two owners, Hunting Girl, under the registered ownership of O. C. Mathews of Silver City will handle along the 200 yard course in an effort to beat Punkin, Lloyd Churkett’s sprinter, in the finish.
Punkin has been out in pasture, and is reputedly not in top condition, while Hunting Girl has just completed the ten days of intensive training at Ruidoso. Ordinarily, the favors in wagers would go to Punkin, but we doubt, Migh, be anyone’s race.
Among the others at the local stable, ready to dash at a word from their owners, are D. H. Crumbly’s big Sandy, W. J. Culbertson’s “Tuxy,” W. J. Harris’ “Wiggy Baby,” and Woody Kirkpatrick’s “Windy.”
The owners at Sunday will probably have a chance to cast a coin to the hat to make up the track expense of running the race.
---
‘Sid Searcy Night’ To Be All-Star Softball Classic
Alamogordo residents will play a softball game on July 16 under the lights dedicated to the late Sid Searcy, during his lifetime an ardent fan and faithful official of softball play here, with the all-stars from the local league against the Gilliam Enterprise team of El Paso.
The El Paso team will be fielded stronger than the local nine at the pre-game tossing but the faithful of Otero County will be on hand in droves for this game and in back of their county-wide nine.
This will probably be the hardest played game of the season under
---
Quimby Looks Over Workshop Systems To Get Start Here
Dr. Neal P. Quimby, superintendent of the New Mexico School for Blind, left Sunday for eastern points, and this week is observing operations of a workshop for blind persons in Baltimore, Md. He will also visit Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other cities making observations of workshops there.
Dr. Quimby is making his survey with the view of designing a workshop for blind to be built in Alamogordo. His observations will be used in making recommendations to architects in designing the building, and in setting up teaching methods, and providing equipment for the workshop here.
The regents of the N. M. School for Blind have negotiated with A. O. and Fulton Robinson for five lots in Block B, on Pennsylvania Ave., as a site for the workshop. The institution will be a branch of the N. M. School for Blind, and will be built and equipped at an estimated initial cost of $60,000.
Blind persons to be trained in the workshop here which is expected to be completed either this year or early next year, will number 100, and will be certified clients of the State Department of Public Welfare, or of any other state or national agency giving assistance to blind persons. Trainees of the Veterans Administration may receive training here.
At the present time, over 200 blind adults in the state are receiving assistance from the State Department of Public Welfare, on the basis of need. These persons will be given an opportunity to make themselves self sustaining in whole or in part, through training in the workshop.
In addition to these, Dr. Quimby has announced, from information gathered by the School, some 2 veterans of the last war are now blind and in need of training, and the thought of some 30 to 40 more is threatened because of prison camp diseases.
---
C. of C. Report
The scheduled meeting of the Otero County Fair Finance committee for Tuesday night has been postponed until Friday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Town office.
The C. of C. is asking the cooperation of all of the C. of C’s in this area to assist by writing letters to Enterprise Studios and Narr-Iturmen Production Co. in an effort to get the premier of “They Paved the Perry” shown in Alamogordo.
The first known response to this request has come from Chris P. Pave, manager of the El Paso C of C. He has written a very strong letter along this line to the Enterprise Studios in which he assures the officials there that Alamogordo is a “natural” as the location for showing the premier, that the people of Alamogordo will comprise in every way to make the premier a success, and that they will provide the greatest cooperation from the people of El Paso and a
---
Above is a small section of the radar experimental equipment and personnel of the Watson Laboratories, AMC, which is attached to the White Sands Proving Ground Guided Missile Project, tracking a “flying disc” or corner reflector as the army knows him in flight by radar, photographing of the flight, charting and projecting upon a screen its progress. Arrow at the right shows the movie camera recording of the flight as detected by radar apparatus and arrow on left is pointing to a screen upon which seven seconds later the picture of the flight is shown. (Army Air Forces photo.)
---
Launching of the the corner reflector radar experimental device is about to take place in the above picture. This is undoubtedly the device reported far and wide as the “flying disc.” It is, in the above picture as snapped by a member of the Alamogordo News staff, shown to be a two-balloons carried pair of commonly used radar reflector paper triangles covered with tinfoil and held rigidly by small wooden strips. Each of these corner reflectors is held to the other and the two separating balloons by twine. On the edges of the board frames of each “flying disc” is stapled a slip of typed paper bearing the words, “Property of Army Material Command Watson Laboratories, Army Air Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. (Alamogordo News photo.)
---
Above (reading left to right) Major C. W. Mangum, Lt. B. W. Seigel Major W. D. Pritchard, and Capt. L. H. Dyard, of Watson Laboratories Army Material Command long range radar detection project at the Army Air Base also miles south of Alamogordo. These are the officers in charge of the station and Major Pritchard the one who briefed members of the Alamogordo News staff to view the launching of a corner reflector Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Army Air Forces photo.)