t*t<OJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 12. C\lMCLUS.ONI ~c._ llllft IUIII .. AIY Oft IIOMTINO . I I. COIIUI\INTI 5~ape was cil"Cular. Color wa s brownish-blac~ :urati on not reported. . !:ale surroundi:1gs.. Sp~ed was high. 1tjJ,-Ai ' :lata to evaluate. I liolent motion, starting and stopping. AT1C POJtM Ut (lt&Y 21 la::P U) UNCLASSIFIED dlec::-e~nclee ln th~ !>ho~s h11e Leen fo~rl:! n.nd th~ P)ho4.,:. -:-o!ipht:r ir. \JCin~ roir.tcrlo!"'ltc-! b;~ t.~e o.s.I. Onft act.'lol o!" t.~,~ht of ~.e peo~le in .._h .. ~t ~c~ !!:-ea 1.:~ tr.!:.t ti:c caus': th~7 c<Jul~ see idnrs flr;-:->inr. l ~ i~ v e r i ""~e~i. >: .i\~ ~ :;o:1c of tl.e hoW'f::?ur other ot.Joc t-o. ':'h~ c~llq:e nrc: .. ~ss:>rr c o ~ot bclit.ve-.the t:-... ':J .:-.--tb: objfc-.[; '.l"!rC" oec~'sional fl1rht o: ;,ird!:i tur:..t pas~ low o:er a cit:,. o:: ~ cl<.;nr n !i. t c.ut. j~ is hir.hlr doubtM 1!" the] vo\C : co:1tinue to do this fo:-:Jeveral n1 ;hto. 1".1- f.l'atory birds U5ual:7 try to ~:H~? h'l.l&:/ froa cl tie c. The Federal ~il:! Life G Wr r.~en \lflS v1s1 ted and r..: ~:-.ourh he va!J r.ot ram111.ue vi th the i.."leiden t he :!:>ubt.e'! if the ~bJ<:ets vcr~ birds. He 6 ta ~d that th~f couli hav'! been, ho.., r. ':i-.e met lii:~l;t su~:--~ct, if it i s a bird, ie a meober or the ?lover fa!".il;r whie!-1 has a pure w~ ~ ::r:ast, but unless there vas a ,.uclden 1."'\nux or the bircs into the Lub'tllc;. ~en, t~: ranc vardon doubted it there ~o~d be en h ot thcee bircs to r~e as cany flirh~ as vere observed. Ir the photos a:o a~then~l-:, the o!)j ccts ver;, ~rob: : -!.y arc not ducks becacse an experienced nhoto,rra,hc:-fron the Lub~.oc~ AvC!Ulche !:e\13;-'a~er atte::nt.c-1 to r.et ~hotoe or d~ci::: \!Si!".C tn~h Dtitu.I"al l~r.~ and Oash, but The 1Jrrestly,3tion or this incident is contin\.d.nr. =~ is pJ"f'>b:tly ~ nost llft1(\ae incident in the his~ry of ?r~jcct. ~rud~e 1z: tt:: t :_.._ \InS ob:~rv~c! ISO ~ taee b,y a ac1 t1flcally ~reined r.r~P of obcervc~:. rhese ?CO~lc are cont1nu1ne to 3 t tea;:~ to arrive n t a solut1o!'l !'or thP. p t1P.na. They he.d or<""~lously loct 1n~rest a!'ter severn! \.'eck& o! ob!:erv~ o~! bec..:. e the:; ~11PVed that the o~!ec~ vas s~:c nev Air Foree aircruf~ or Dis~ile. The photorrarhs ~r~ now at the Pho~rra;->hic !.ccon:'la!!!~anee Lbbo:e..tory at \.Tight Air .Jevelopment Cen~r for ana.lynle. UNCLASSIFIED fairly precise for:nacion. The first f r ame, Lo.4, was not plotted because of extre~e blurrir.g, but frame s 5, 7 a nd S were plotced as c r.arts I, II and I I I respeccively. Chart IV is a com?osite of' C harts I , II a nd III. In i t c~e spoLs from ~ne previ ous char ts, ~r.at aupear re la~i~cly fixed in the f orma tion, are shown a s hL-a.vy black ink spots. 'l'he relatively moving spol:;s are shovin i n light p e ncil--the first position of chese shifting s pot s is ligr.t r ed, as in Chart I; the second posi~ion, s paced b e tween the h eavy spocs, is in black pencil, a s from Chart II; and che final p osition is shown in light green. 5 According t o che microscopic examinations, s pot brightness range could be ex presse d as v1eak, average, and bright , correspondin~ t o faint, ave rage, or heavy s pot densities. The taint spot s in ~he movinG row are under- scored, while the bright spo~s are circled. Only \:.nose spec s in ~he fixed r ow that are alike in all three negative s are indicated in the same way. 6. T'nere is 1;he appE-arance of two extra spot;s, outside Ghe rcrrular r ows. One spot is ~o in all t h r e e c~arts, w~ile the s~ot sh0\1S only faintly in ti:.e :.o.7 neza c i ve a:;!d V/O.S missed in ploc ir.5 Chart II; it appears in 90sition at che l~rt end of ~he movirtg row in C~art III. COI.CLUSICNS 7 There is relative ~ovemer.t within the f ormation of spoGs, so tha L they are 110~ liz ! t s on a fixe d ob j ect. rhe r elative motio!l i s such tha-v it. 8.!JY)t~rs unlikely at Ghey are co-planar and !>hoto~raphed f rom different angles. Furthermore , i~ i s unlil{ely chuc ~he moving spots are in any kind of stralght line . 8 . The angul a r size of cht; i'or 1acion , a t che c amera lens, is v ery neo.r l y the s ame in all cases . The f ormation _is, ho\7ever, sli[;ht l y 1[1re;~r in Chart II, or Prame 7, t~an i n ~he o chers. The angul a r size correspond s t o a n object size of 310 30 f t , seen by t~c camera l mile away. The ac-:ual size of cl.e f' ormaci on rnay oo ca.lculate d f rom ... ~s ra ~o, l cnc accua s"'a uce rom cn e camera can be d"'t~. r . .1ine d . rhis ir:w.g o size is a ccual l y 0.12", forme d by a 2 " focal l er;:;-ch l e n s in vhe camera used . cn e image size in Fr ame g is about 2% less t han in Frome 7 , s u3ge s c i ng c~at the ob j ects are r eceding from r.hc camera, tr..e a spec c of ~he " V" formation doe s t1o t corresp on d t o a horizor1ca l " V", t ravelling paralle l "CO ch e e a r t h ' s s u rface unlezs ac an e nor mou s alt i t u de . Such mo c i on a t conve nt i onal alcitudos woul d r equire -che " V" t o flatten, eventually becoming a ~t:raight line , but the "V" in Fr ame 8 is a sli:;'--cly s~aller 8.n gle t han in Frame 7 1 0 . The orientation of the " V" for~a"Gicn is the same on all nega tives. If t h e formation did act ually pass directly ove r the camera s t a t i on, all ohotographs were take n e ither before or after, but It is obvious that the image woul d b e inverted on two successive negatives if they were taken on an approaching ur.d then a r e ceding slant ungle. 11. The patGer n of s~ot briGhtness is s uch a s t o prove conclusively cha-c all 3 frames--5, 7 and S--wt..re exposed t o :he s ame obj ect J atccr n of suo.Js . Ilo:Fc v er, the re la~ive positions of t hese spot s v aries, a s described 12. In the e vent chac further assis~a~ce is reques ted of :~his Laboracory, e xpos ure tes!: s s h ou l d .Je ::tadc unde r idencic a l condi cions c o dctcr~ine che s pot r.ature rtquired ~o pr odu.ce t,he obs rved densit i es, a nd ~o dc-cc r mine the a"':lount or camera blur p roduced by a n experie nce d phoco- grapher in "pan:-ting", t o cr ack a mov i ng cart:ct at n ie:ht . Project E..r_gineer llJB.BOCX, 'l:mB On the or 25 .AUS'l't 1951, 31 J\uguat 1951, and 1 September 1951, tligbt.s or un1denti1"1e4 obJeeta vere ob.erved over Lu'bboc.k, Texaa; in aocae instance a there vere oenxal tl.!gbta per eteo1%l8 '!be dHcr1pt1on ot the obJeeta varied to B01DO eX'Unt, but it is generell7 egreed that it \r.\S a v or u ohn:ped set or Ugbt ... like o b jf!(:t.a. :tr !tn Lll t&!U.r j:;botogropher, turned vver })botograpba to the ).1r Fozee vhich he elaiM are or tliO of the illgbta. Lisaar~nt among the wi-tneaaea ia on the 1:\IIDber ot ligbta 1n the arran~ zit and 'Whether it woa .. V" or ''U" shaped. 'lbe flight path vaa fna Iii:to S\1 or N-s. Th~ obje~t ::sppeared brighter than s and bed a yellow or blue tint. In moat cases no r.o1ae vaa reported, but a tf!V vitneaaea stated tbe7 heard a "vboosb .. MaD7 vi reported ineldent, but the moat technically ccapetent observers vera prollal~ Protnaor , Bee4 or Petro~ EDgineering, Protneor ot CbE11ieal , and Dr Professor or Ceolog, all ot Te.xaa Tech. In addition to be1ng the moat c001petent, these vi t. .. nea ... were ..ooa the tiret. to see the obJect and vieved it ou subeequeot occ:aalona under coDtz-olled c For tbeir 1n1t.1al aigbting the proteaaora were gat:MJed toptber diaeuaain& aatl"'Olaa7 on the evening ot 25 f.u.-t. 1951. At 2110 tbey happened to o'baene tbe f'irat tlisbt ot the objeet, \l"bieh tbe;y deacribed aa a J1Jng)t~-clrele ot llpt.a. A aecONJ obJect paaaed over three minutes later. '!he vitneaa .. eatimated the angular veloc1t;y to be 30 per second. ~rina subse- quent obeert.1ona the proteuora coat1rMd their eatirMte or the velocity by usin8 :prot.ractoN and atop vatchea. Atte.pta vere alao made to get an es te ot the elewtion 'ty vieving the object troaa sevel'ftl locations at the saae time e.nd ualns trigonometric aetboda, and alJio by ualna clouda ot know height. These attempts wre not cona14eted suceeeatul. In 1959 Dr J Allen ~ contacted one ot the professors nt Tcx:ls Tech regard11:l8 this cnae. Tbla protn.or intotad Dr H3Jlek that be had conducted an extensive study ot the Lubbock aicbt1 and deten.tned that tbey vere det1n1 tel)' birds. '!be f.ir Foree coDcluaioo ia birda, vith street 1igbta retlectln8 tx1:u thea, vere the proMble cauM ot th1a a Tbe anaular yelocity or 3o0 per second rather high ror birda durlns 11181 ator7 fi1ghta (approxiw.ltel.y 6o MM! at. 168 feet altitude). It ia probable that the anplar veloclt7 ~ leaa. In all 1ntanees the \11 were located in an axea W.re their eyea were probably dark ada:pted, tbe~fore l'IRking the objeeta appear brlpter. ~.{r , \lbeD t.ald DIJ hie picture. had to do SO by "panning'' his car.aera ( Bvill81ns v1th the o'bject's motion). P,nn1ns is quite difficult and the relative~ high degree of sueeeaa or tbia pbotograpber ia fUrther 1~d1~at1on that the angular velocity of the objeet ~ r.ot aa high as estimated. ~e kind or blrda respoMlble ror this sighting is not lmow, but it is highly probable that tbe;y \/ere dueu or plovers. Since plovers do not usuall)' fly in 1.~or ~t1ons or :10nt than six or sewn, duck:J become the t201"8 probable. The r act thnt th13 \.-'C!S l3te su'ller, and that the obJects cons1stentl:r t'lcv to the aouth tends to subatsnt.l3t.e the conclusion that the objects of this sighting .rere c1grntor-J b1rd3. tt;51 s~ lfl . Di'J?!~SSJFIED PARAPHASE NOT REQU\RED. SEE CR'tPTOCENTER BEFORE OEClASSIF'tlNG ~ .I \I..., rl ((~ ?> /~H DE 1\IR t:-t" r::or DT J'C . iii\ J &S t..nlFQB 003 ?P JED\:iP DE JUFOw 1111 INFORMATiO~l COPY 1-~i: DIST CC"! R 23F.D OSI D!ST<IG) US~.F CAf.S'iE:LL r~-;~ rT'.i lii\TCCASSIFIED OOWNGTIAn:-'n AT :~ J)f}U I id: C-1 PRIORITY StCR!T ?"-~ CO :;tc:ES~ P:F~ LU3l.lOCY. TEXAS OS07J' PI IJJr:C' n a,rus y ---- ~:F ur. !:SG CITI: :"T roi2,-DT GOOD O.S0120Z. I~!'~STIGATIO>! 1\T I/\A-2 A :IS? TO U~ HQS REGISITR!!:u, AIR ~t.AIL, 21 SI::P CURHF.~!TLY t!I'D2R l~:.:GISTI\Y noWNGRAM -tTa ~ . a""' DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 Ut~fCCASSIF.lED . fT.III.'I a ""lOt NJ ... o~+.-.ce Memorandttm UNITED STATES GO\TER.N1\1hN'1"' ATIA, colonel Kirkland AtrrH: ,~ ATIC BY: ~: Sbav 10 October 1951 ATIAA-2., Lt 1-ietsc:her SUBJBCT: Texas and l1ev !1ex1co 3ightings, Grudge -Project 10073 1. TWo visual sightings, describing group of lights, can be associated vith a sighting of wept ving aircraft as is described below. Prenent evaluat:i.on c-3 . 2 . Description of sigbtings of unidentified objects: LOcation Lubbock nate of sighting 25 Aug 51 21 ~ 10 Shape o:r objects string of beads uumber of objects 50 Aerodynamic: features outstanding features u form vhi te sticks ( e) Sound none none (h) Speed estinetes incredible ::;peed rapid (i} Radar detection none none (j) Altitude estiJT8te very high high 3 The similarity is as follows: Albuquerque chevron shaped no fuselage, sveepback 15 six to 8 pairs, soft lights 300-4oo JnPh Boo-1000 ft a. Sightings 1 and 2, supported by photographic evidence attached, agree -~th the description of pairs of light3 in oightings 3 4. Action being taken on this includes a query to Strategic Air command, Offutt as~ing whether their aircraft were in tl1e vicinity at stated times. 1. Ltr, 7 Sept 51 v/photos :vNGRADED AT 3 YEAR I~TERVALS; DO\DECJ.ASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEARS. lJf\fCC'ASSIFJED i!JNCCASSlFl E~J otttoer, Reece AFB, Lubbock, Gffteer. L\e E:cWard J. !Wppelt ot tbl !dr 'lochn1cal !:1t.llia-Coat.r w1l1 be a\ 7cur b 6 1:ovtnbor 19Sl in regard to roporta on aircnft ~ in Labbook ana on 2S and 31 Augu.tt, l9Sl tt.. ~. J. auppelt/pes DOWNGRADED AT 3 1 I:;.\H i);TEHVAL~ DECLASSIFIED AFTER 12 YEARS. ust .'L 1r . Cjutant. General UNCLASSIFIED THE FINAL \VORD ON At the U. of Colorado a tzew aU-out attack on UFOs has been launched -BY L. JEROME STANTON rc we txing spied upon and studied by intelli- gent beings from outer space, as we study the primiti\'e aborigines of central Australia and Kew Guinea? Is the U .S. Air Force deliberately withholding information about flying saucers, for fear that rekasing the truth would trigger a panic? \Vhy do we still know so little about the true nature of unidentified flying objects? In this time when ;cience says other intdligent life almost 'surely exists dsewhere in our galaxy, these questions are being 1.sked by a great many people who formerly would ha\'e laughed off such thoughts as pure fantasy. Alrnoit !20 years ago a news story about "flying aauccrs" flashed O\'U the press wires, startling our nation and much of the ci\ ilized world. From that J\Oment, a world-wide interest in unidentified flying has stubbornl)' stay('d ~li\'e, ~spit~ efforts of luthorities and others to rdute and debunk them. Fortunately one new factor has entc:red the pic- :ure that bids fair to resolve some of our doubu and >uzzlement. On October 7, 1!}66, a contract was awarded to the Uni\'ersity of Colorado to conduct a .cientific in\'estigation of UFO sightings and n=port indings to the U.S. Air force, with recommenda- ions for future operation of the Air Force's own aojcct Blue Book UFO inquiry. The Colorado ..:pot will then IJe reviewed by the National Acad- :my of Sciences. Funded at somewhat more than iJoo,ooo, the study will analyze UFO r~ports, and lClu all) a~ign scientists to the field to study UFOs extremely limited. lndero, with a staff limited most of the time to on~ commissioned officer, one noncom and two clerks, it' s amazing that Project Blue Book could do any job effectively. The first modern sighting of a UFO occurred June 'J4th, 1947, near Mt. Rainier in Washington. A veteran private pilot named Kenneth Arnold, while flying his own light aircraft, saw nine large, sih-ery objects shaped like inverted plates or saucera, in a reversed-echelon formation. Arnold had described the objects as moving "like a saucer skipped across a pond," and from this a reporter de,ised the name "flying saucer." ,(ulltor of "Fl.Jt.nt Sawm 1/tM r N RlaliJ.1"