Incident #225 Sighting Report — Near Vaughn, New Mexico, November 1948

This document is a summary of information regarding Incident #225, involving sightings of an unconventional aerial object near Vaughn, New Mexico, in late 1947 and November 1948. The primary witness, a Colonel in the New Mexico Military District, reported observing a ball of light, approximately one foot in diameter, descending vertically. The object was described as bright white, resembling a 'miniature sun,' and would burst into a spray of reddish color at an altitude of 100-200 feet before reaching the ground. The witness reported these events occurred around 2200 hours on 3 or 4 November 1948 and again on 23 November 1948. The witness did not report the incidents immediately, believing they were related to Air Force exercises. The document includes correspondence between the Fourth Army, the Air Weather Service, and the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. An evaluation of the incident notes that while the sightings could be explained as astronomical phenomena, the weight of evidence suggests they were man-made devices used in scientific experiments common to that region. The report also notes that the description differs from the 'New Mexico green flashes' often reported in the area. The document includes an incident index from the Project Grudge report, where Incident #225 is categorized under 'Evidence offered suggests no explanation' in the non-astronomical section, though the summary of information itself leans toward a man-made explanation.