Report of Investigation: Sighting of Unidentified Fast Moving Flame at Lowry AF Base, 18 January 1950

This report details a series of observations of an unidentified fast-moving flame or light made by multiple United States Air Force pilots on the evening of 18 January 1950 in the vicinity of Denver, Colorado. The investigation was initiated following a telephonic report by 1st Lt. Arthur P. Webb, who, while flying a T-6 aircraft, observed a long, cylindrical, white-reddish flame moving at a high rate of speed. Several other pilots, including 1st Lt. Douglas R. Drysdale, Captain H. F. Daniel, 1st Lt. Robert P. Romberg, Captain John W. Kreitz, Major Lyndall J. Avery, Captain John L. Ehlinger, and 1st Lt. Clinton C. Legg, reported similar sightings while flying various aircraft in the region. The witnesses described the object as having a high speed, maintaining a straight course, and appearing in colors ranging from white-reddish to light blue with orange tinges. Estimates of the object's size, altitude, and duration of visibility varied significantly among the observers. The investigation included a check with the Denver Bomb Plot, Detachment A, 3903d Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron, which confirmed that their radar was not operational during the time of the sightings. Furthermore, inquiries with Base Operations and the Flight Service Section at Lowry Air Force Base failed to reveal any record of experimental aircraft in the area. The report notes that weather conditions were clear with unlimited visibility, though some slight electrical disturbance was observed along the horizon. Based on the plotted course of the object, investigators suggested it would have passed over the vicinity of Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The document concludes with a handwritten annotation identifying the object as an 'Astro (Meteor)'.