Camp Hood lights, March 1949
March 1949 · Camp Hood, Texas
Summary
Security personnel at the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project site at Camp Hood, Texas, reported unusual lights above the restricted "Q" Area between 6 and 8 March 1949. A 16 March 1949 Fourth Army G-2 summary said the report went to the Commanding General, Sandia Base, and that the phenomena had not been reported before from the Camp Hood area. The same summary said the observers had not been told to look for anything and were questioned separately.
The 16 March summary listed observations on 6 March, including an oblong pale blue-white light seen at about 2100 hours and a ball-like flash at about 2020 hours. It also listed sightings on 7 and 8 March, among them an orange teardrop that a witness said dropped vertically behind trees in about two seconds. It stated that 32 trip flares had been placed in the area by the 2nd Armored Division and that some may have been set off by wild animals. It added that these flares explode on the ground and do not shoot into the air. It drew no conclusion from the overlay, other than that the lights formed a rough circle about the Q Area.
A later summary dated 24 March 1949 recorded that eight lights appeared on 17 March while an alert guard was positioned to fire flares and take instrument readings. Captain McCullough saw three of them. One burst into a green cluster, and one observer likened some to Very Pistol flares. The report said no one in the Q Area was responsible and that an ordnance check showed no pyrotechnic missiles issued or used in months. A separate summary reported lights on 18 and 19 March in which investigation failed to find a cause.
The FBI file recorded a 22 March 1949 report that G-2, Fourth Army, thought the phenomena might be connected with secret experiments by a U.S. Government agency. It said higher military authorities believed on 14 February 1949 that a natural explanation would be found. On 4 April the FBI's San Antonio office relayed a 31 March sighting by Lt. Frederick W. Davis of an object about the size of a basketball with a fire trail. G-2 reported it as different from the earlier lights. The sightings were also entered in a tabular Air Force summary.
Where the files disagree
Two documents give different accounts of the same detail. Both are quoted as written; we don't say which is right.
Altitude of the 0115 hours light on 7 March
“(8) Altitude: 66° 15' above horizon” page 104 →
“65° 15' above horizon” page 39 →
What the files say
“There appears to be reason to believe that the above-mentioned phenomena may be connected with secret experiments being conducted by some U.S. Government Agency”
Page 121 →“Ordnance check has shown that nothing in the way of pyrotechnic missiles has been issued or used in months.”
Page 98 →“It is presently known, however, that these flares explode on the ground and do not shoot into the air.”
Page 108 →“No conclusion is drawn from the data on attached overlay other than to note that the "lights" form a rough circle about the "Q" Area.”
Page 108 →“One burst into a green cluster.”
Page 97 →
Also discussed in
Explanations in the record
What the documents themselves say the event was, as recorded. Not our assessment.
- Trip flares placed by the 2nd Armored Division may have been set off by wild animals, though the summary noted these flares explode on the ground and do not shoot into the air. — UAP sightings near Sandia Base, New Mexico (1948-1950), page 108
- G-2, Fourth Army, said the phenomena might be connected with secret experiments by a U.S. Government agency. — FBI UFO case file section 4: flying disc records (1947-1968), page 121
- Higher military authorities advised on 14 February 1949 that a natural explanation would ultimately be found for the phenomena. — FBI UFO case file section 4: flying disc records (1947-1968), page 121
- One observer described some of the 17 March lights as similar to Very Pistol flares. — UAP sightings near Sandia Base, New Mexico (1948-1950), page 97
Related
- Releases: Release 1, Release 2
- Programs: Project GRUDGE
- Search the transcripts for “Camp Hood lights”
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