Los Alamos, July 22, 1952: eight objects, 25 minutes.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
Los Alamos, New Mexico:
Eight Aluminum Objects Seen From the Airport Tower, July 22, 1952
At 10:50 on the morning of July 22, 1952, tower operator Don Weins at the Los Alamos airport and two CARCO pilots looked up and saw eight large, round, bright aluminum-colored objects. The objects flew straight and level, then began to dart around erratically. The sighting lasted 25 minutes.
The Los Alamos, New Mexico UFO sighting is a long daytime observation by three people whose work was reading the sky. Project Blue Book carries it as an Unknown, BBU 1538, and it is one of two Los Alamos reports in this archive for July 1952.
Date: July 22, 1952
Sighting Time: 10:50 a.m.
Day/Night: Day
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
Urban or Rural: Rural
No. of Entity(‘s): Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: Daylight Disc (DD)
Duration: 25 minutes
No. of Object(s): 8
Description of the Object(s): Large, round, bright objects that flew straight and level, then darted around erratically
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Round; large; bright, aluminum-colored
Distance to Object(s): Not recorded
Height & Speed: Not recorded
Number of Witnesses: 3 (airport control tower operator Don Weins and 2 CARCO pilots)
Special Features/Characteristics: Eight objects in a group; sudden shift from straight, level flight to erratic darting; observers were an airport tower operator and two pilots
Case Status: Project Blue Book: Unknown (BBU 1538)
Source: Berliner (BBU 1538)
Summary/Description: A tower operator and two pilots watched eight large, round, aluminum-colored objects fly straight
and level, then dart erratically, for 25 minutes. Blue Book: Unknown.
Related Cases: Uvalde, Texas, July 22, 1952; Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 29, 1952; Albuquerque and Kirtland reports of late July 1952
Detailed Report
The Los Alamos record gives few details beyond the core report. Control tower operator Don Weins and two CARCO pilots saw eight large, round, bright aluminum objects at 10:50 a.m. on July 22, 1952. The objects flew straight and level and then darted around erratically. The observation lasted 25 minutes. The case is Blue Book Unknown 1538 in the Berliner list.
The sources I could reach do not give the objects’ direction, altitude, angular size, the weather, or the pilots’ names.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
A Daylight Group Sighting With Little Else on Record
- Three observers: A tower operator and two pilots are people who see aircraft and weather daily. Their account is a single report from three witnesses, not three separate reports.
- 25 minutes: The duration is long for a daytime sighting and gives the observers time to compare what they saw.
- The change in motion: Straight and level flight followed by erratic darting is the detail Blue Book considered; ordinary aircraft and balloons do not change behavior that way.
- Limits: No direction, height or weather data are in the sources I used, so the case cannot be checked against balloons, aircraft schedules or weather.
- Name check: Weins and the CARCO affiliation come from your date-page entry. I could not confirm either in an outside source.
Los Alamos is a short entry with strong witnesses and a long observation. The record does not explain the objects, and it does not give enough to test any explanation.
Eight large, round, bright aluminum objects flew straight and level, then darted around erratically for 25 minutes.
— Summary of the July 22, 1952 Los Alamos, New Mexico sighting (Berliner BBU 1538, paraphrased)
