Project Blue Book Case File
Denver, Colo., January 1950January 1950
Summary
On the evening of January 18, 1950, eight U.S. Air Force pilots flying in four separate aircraft near Denver, Colorado reported seeing a fast moving flame or bright light streaking across the sky. The object was described as cylindrical in shape, rounded at the front and tapered at the rear, with a reddish white color. All the pilots estimated it was traveling on a roughly southwestern heading at a high rate of speed, faster than jet aircraft. The sighting lasted between five and twenty seconds depending on the observer's vantage point.
The pilots were scattered across the region when they made their observations. First Lieutenant Arthur P. Webb and First Lieutenant Douglas R. Drysdale, flying a T-6 aircraft about 45 miles southeast of Denver, watched the flame for about five seconds at 1859 hours. Captain H. Y. Daniel and First Lieutenant Robert F. Romberg, flying a C-47 near La Junta, Colorado, observed it for 15 to 20 seconds at 1905 hours and described it as light blue with a tinge of orange. Captain John W. Kreitz and Major Lyndall J. Avery, in another C-47 about 35 miles northeast of Akron, Colorado, saw what Kreitz described as resembling an oxygen torch, visible for about 15 seconds around 1900 hours. Captain John L. Ellinger and First Lieutenant Clinton C. Legg, in a T-6 flying between Denver and Akron, observed the object for five to twenty seconds starting at 1858 hours and estimated it was five to ten miles away.
Investigators from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations plotted the positions and headings of all four aircraft on aeronautical charts. When the estimated course of the flame was extended, it appeared to be heading toward Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. A check of Denver's radar facility revealed it was not operating between 1820 and 2030 hours on January 18. The weather that evening was clear with unlimited visibility, though investigators noted some slight electrical disturbance along the horizon. Base operations personnel could not confirm any record of experimental aircraft being in the area on that date.
The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising six pages.
Reported location
Denver, Colo., January 1950
Date of incident
January 1950
State / country
? / XX
Page count
6 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 7