New Mexico Wing? August 25, 1951

See also entry on this page.

As noted in an earlier entry -there is an apparent connection between the famed "Lubbock Lights" and a sighting near Albuquerque, NM the same date. The question is does the sketch from one reflect the other sighting and do they both represent an experimental aircraft?

Albuquerque, NM 1951-08-7008373, Project Blue Book. On August 25, 1951 (seen at 2200 ; 0258 hrs) on the east side of Albuquerque, a man and his wife observed on object "similar to a flying wing, but one and one-half times larger than B-36."  (Note this date - it is the same as the famed "Lubbock Lights"; in fact witness from one will identify the sketch as what they saw in the other incidence).

The object was heading S-SE "object had strong glowing white lights on trailing edge of wing and black striped under the wing..." Further, it made absolutely no sound. Its speed was estimated at 300-400 mph, at 160 degrees, and 1000 feet. The stripes reflected light but the space between them was a flat and non-reflective surface. Mention was made that a similar object had been reported "v-shaped" over Lubbock .

This letter 0f 14 November 1951 (File No:24-115) labeled subject "unconventional type aircraft...Albuquerque, NM, 2158 hours 25 August 1951 to Commanding Officer, ATIC at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. The letter references a letter received30 October 1951 - file AFOIH-ATIAA-2c.  "#3 On 10 November 1951, a Mr and Mrs [named blacked out] were shown the photographs enclosed with reference d letter, and stated the formation of lights captured similar to the light they had observed on the trailing edge of the unidentified object they saw at 2158 25 August 1951 above Albuquerque, NM ... Mr. {name blacked out] sketched an outline..."

Was the object seen an extra-terrestrial craft, a foreign craft, or an experimental craft? The sketch does seem to show some characteristics similar to a flying wing type of craft. The black and white stripping might also be a clue as planes were often marked this way especially during testing as the stripping allegedly informed ground sources they were "friendlies." 

The above two photos of a flying wing aircraft from the 1950's.  The issue of the absence of sound in the New Mexico sighting given its estimated altitude. By contrast, the trio of scientists who reported the Lubbock Lights v-shaped object estimated - because of the lack of sound - a much higher altitude coupled with far greater speeds than allowed by any suggestion of a flock of birds.

Below is a new generation take on the same concept of the flying wing.

	Northrop Grumman's concept is based on the extremely aerodynamic "flying wing" design. The four Rolls Royce engines are embedded in the upper surface of the wing to achieve maximum noise shielding. The company used its expertise in building military planes without a stabilizing tail to propose this design for the commercial aviation market. This design is among those presented to NASA at the end of 2011 by companies that conducted NASA-funded studies into aircraft that could enter service in 2025. The image is dated circa 2011 , Northrup-Grumman.
Source	http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/future_airplane_gallery19.html (direct link)

Growth Spurst After Seeing Egg Shaped Object? High Strangeness from 1964.

A woman from Albuquerque, Bernalillo County,  New Mexico - one Mrs. Max Stull - claimed that her ten year-old daughter, Sharon, had grown 5 1/2 inches and gained 25 lbs. since seeing an "egg shaped" object in April of 1964.  The wire story was dated June of 1964. No follows up stories have been found.

This family had previously been in the news following the Socorro case. The daughter, Sharon, had been returning to the school grounds after going home for lunch when she saw an odd egg shaped object according to an article in the local paper, "Girl Says She Was Burned While Watching UFO Here." (Albuquerque Journal, April 28, 1964). The date was April 27, 1964 just days after the Socorro event.

She observed object - that seemed to bounce up and down about three times in the sky, for an estimated 5-10 minutes. Later, back in class, she suddenly began complaining of burning sensations about her eyes, nose and face. The doctor diagnosed her with conjunctivitis of both eyes (membrane inflammation) and first degree burns under the eyes and on the nose. He noted that an exposure such as was reported would d not be considered sufficient to produce such burns or inflammation.

Sharon stated she was watching the object in the NE and the sun was behind her; apparently ruling out negative impact from staring at the sun or sunburn per se.  In fact, the temperature between Noon and 1:00 p.m., on that date in that place, was listed as 64 degrees at noon and 66 degrees by 1:00 p.m. The high was 70 reached at 3: 00 p.m.

One newspaper article, "'Infra-Red' Burns Suffered by Girl who 'Saw' Object " (copy in the PBB file but without citation) said she saw it hovering near her Lowell Elementary School grounds. She termed the egg shaped object "queer looking" to police Lt. C.K. Jolly. She watched it cross the sky and disappear into the distance.

She described the object as a little smaller than an airplane. It had no windows. Her younger sister, age 8, also saw it but was not as interested so did not watch it as long. She, according to one newspaper account, was able to draw an image of the object and may have described in a picture she drew as silver in appearance.

Both Sharon and her mother felt the burns were the result of watching the object cross the sky. Mrs. Stull kept her daughter home the next day and admitted to newspapers, she was "scared to death."

The story was also carried in APRO Bulletin and a less than complimentary account that accused the mother of soliciting support, sympathy and cast the entire family in less than fond terms. The APRO Bulletin (May 1964) was posted into the "Edgewood New Mexico Case File" for April 27, 1964 where a man alleged to have been drunk, fired some 14 rounds into a "flying saucer" and heard them hit the object. He was charged by police for disorderly conduct and discharging a firearm and the Air Force filed is as a probable attempt at a hoax.Not much is there about the event. Yet, inside the 13 pages of report were numerous clippings concerning the same day events of Sharon Stull. Some sources allude to there being an PBB file on the Stull case, that they investigated it but dismissed it as a hoax. The online files do not reflect any coverage of that case but do have clippings as part of other cases.

Taken in a broad historic context, the case, despite what some may have attempted to make of it, has at its heart something unusual occurring that left evidence in the forms of burns. If that was a singular occurrence it might be easier to sweep it aside and agree with it being a bid for attention or sympathy. 

This would be classed as one of several where reports of radiation readings, burns, and other side effects were alleged in UFO sightings reported to Project Blue Book or Mufon (NICAP or other early groups).  It is also apparent from the undated article that there was an attempt made to bring the event into question. Note the use of the marks around the word 'Saw'.    Children, youth and women were often immediately cast into the unreliable classification in UFO research - due both to the subject matter and to the prejudices/biases of the era. Women were hysterical, flighty, emotionally unstable by nature. About their children they could 'overprotective'.  Many of these cases involving women happened when a woman was unable to do many things taken for granted:  open a bank account, get a credit card, etc. They made an excellent scapegoat for shifting a report into the unreliable category.

It should be recalled that on April 24, 1964 in Socorro, Socorro County, New Mexico, (central New Mexico) a patrolman observed  an egg shaped object on "feet" or "landing gears."

Attempts to tie the object the officer saw with moon landing module vehicles being tested in the southwest proved unsuccessful.  Some creative illustrations of the object seen have the egg shape upright. The sketch of Officer Zamora, however, shows it on its side, with a strange red marking on it. Two small sized occupants were reported at the time as well.

The sketches made by witness Zamora in Socorro, New Mexico:

The symbol itself has become a point of controversy with claims of false symbols to throw off the millions of hoaxers waiting to jump on the band wagon and weed them out of any future investigations. Problem was - no more such symbols were seen (apparently) and the point became moot.

That egg shape? It was not as unique as might be supposed. Close examination of other witness sketches finds the same "oval" or elliptical shape a most common one in sightings. I will address the lack of a common language in investigations in an upcoming entry.

Indeed, fear of hoaxers and confabulations seems to have always been the monster in the closet of the Air Force and government types. The number of genuinely authentic hoaxes and hallucinations is minuscule in the 10 k + files of Project Blue Book. Is the story of strange influence on a ten year old child just one of those "hoaxes" or was it something more?

For more on the symbols see Kevin Randle's blog.

AUGUST 1951 -Lubbuck Was Not Alone

August 25 - Lubbuck, Texas - Observed by professors, captured on film by a college freshman, the lights were said to be migrating flocks of birds, namely the Plover. Although the Air Force said they had a natural explanation for them but could not discuss it and later claimed them to be migrating blue-green moths. All of which confused the issue totally. Some wanted to claim the photos were fakes but none could establish them as anything but authentic. More recently computer analysis of them indicated they did catch something unusual - something not avian.

Oddly, at the time of the sighting a Federal Wildlife and Game officer was asked about the Plover theory but he said they flocked in groups of 6-7 birds. Tests on the photographs taken revealed that the objects photographed had been brighter than a flock of ducks caught by the "best photographer in Lubbock." The AFB wanted to tell people that all the sightings had been in the city limits thus providing the reflection necessary but then called on four witnesses who had seen low flying bird groups in the country to support their bird theory.

Working on the assumption that if the lights seen represented something non bird than others might have seen something as well.  I looked at the online files of Project Blue (which include Project Grudge) and found that eleven files were listed for 1951 and five for the month of August.  The sightings in Novasta and at Ellington AFB, from the descriptions could well be the balloons they were explained as being.

August 26 - The sighting at San Antonio of a dark object similar to a delta wing aircraft estimated to be 40 feet long, very large, and moving very fast appeared to NOT be the meteor it was labeled.

August 31 - An Oklahoma woman driving near Matador, Texas with family reported a pear shaped object, silver or aluminum that reflected light, small end seem  to be the leading end.  The report was labeled unidentified and ran to 22 pages.

So, continuing on with the assumption that if something had been in the sky, might it have been reported beyond Texas?

August 25, 1951 - Albuquerque, New Mexico several people reported seeing something strange. One a guard Sandia Base. A message was flashed out that an "unidentified aircraft" had been sighted, at 2158 hours 25 August, 1951 of object  1 1/2 to 2 times the size of a B-36 going over the city, est. 300-400 mph, heading 160 degrees at about 1000 feet. No running lights, no noise and no sign of propulsion. It had a swept back wing, chevron shaped, 6-8 brilliant mercury white lights on the trailing edge of the wings. "OSI had interrogated witness..." read the report. It was heading SW. It had black longitudinal black stripes underside of wings, lights between the strips. NO red or green lights seen. It was observed crossing HWY 66 at which point the lights went off. No sound - straight -level 300 mph, 800-100 ft. No propeller noted. Viewed for maybe 30 seconds at 22158 Hrs.  The intelligence report for Major James Calloway at Kirkland AFB read "This assumed unconventional aircraft might be considered significant but for the fact that its sighting can be substantiated by only two witnesses and no other evidence."   Searches of other locations revealed that no aircraft unfamiliar or matching the shape were in the area and no natural occurrence or balloon fit the data.  THEN things became really interesting. In October the search is still going on, it might be inferred from the vague notes inside the file that notice of the Texas sightings might have been brought to the attention of the investigators or their higher ups.

 A communication labeled "PRIORITY" was sent to Ouffitt AFB in Nebraska asking one question: "Were Any SAC B-36 in following locations?" Listed below that heading were:

"Albuquerque,  NM,  25 August 1951, 2200 Local
  Lubbock, Texas, 30 August 1951 2330 Local [I believe they used the newspaper article date here]
  Matador, Texas, 31 August 1951, 1215 Local"

In the responsive documents to this request was a notation that photos from Lubbock had been shown to the New Mexico witness and the witness had said they "appeared similar" to his sighting of 2158 hrs, 25 August 1951 over Albuquerque. Indeed a comparison of the sketch of that witness to the photos from Texas do show a surprisingly similar object.

So, apparently the New Mexico Sighting (remember witnesses said it was moving SW?)  was followed by the Lubbock sighting followed by the Matador sighting? Intriguing, especially since there is no record in the files of anybody having a clue as to what was being seen!

25-30 August 1951 - Lubbock Lights, 2330 Hrs.

Albuquerque, NM August 25, 2200 Hrs.

Note: I found the majority of file records on the Lubbock sighting in a file for a sighting in Orange, Va (1951-09-7009722-Orange-Va; 118 pages). There are also files there on the Matador sighting.