Kirkland AFB, New MexicoJune 1949

Unidentified

Summary

On the night of June 27, 1949, a clerk-typist working in the Security Division at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico spotted something unusual from a second-floor barracks window. The observer, who had experience filing UFO reports and was noted by investigators as exceptionally intelligent, watched the object for about two minutes as it moved across the sky from west to east.

The object appeared as a single point of light, slightly larger and more orange than the brightest stars visible that night. It was round in shape and self-luminous, meaning it produced its own light. The observer watched it travel roughly 140 degrees across the sky in those two minutes, starting at an angle of about 250 degrees from north and ending at about 110 degrees. The object began at an altitude of about 30 degrees above the horizon and climbed to nearly straight overhead by the time it disappeared.

As the object moved, its brightness changed in a distinctive way. When it slowed down, the light would fade. When it sped up, the light would flare brighter, and a short, faint, fan-shaped trail would become visible. The object eventually disappeared behind a building. The night was clear and dark, with no clouds visible. The observer was looking partly through window glass at the time.

The Air Force concluded there was no data presented to indicate the object could not have been an aircraft. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 6 pages.

Reported location

Kirkland AFB, New Mexico

Date of incident

June 1949

State / country

NM / US

Page count

6 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 6

: Ci SCP 63 VU=o4Y \ IVE) _ Previous eaiuons Of LNs 10M Way Ue useu, AAT be : Se PROJECT 10073 RECORD | "1. DATE - TIME GROUP 2. CATION 8 e 27 June 1949 27/07407 Kirkland AFB, New Mexico | 13 3. SOURCE 10. CONCLUSION L Civilian AIRCRAFT : ~ 14. NUMBER OF OBJECTS 1 One No data presented to indicate object could not have been an A/C. | 15. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION |11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS | 2 Minutes Object was slightly larger than the bright edt star visible, | Is. TYPE OF OBSERVATION but slightly more orange. Round. At times object flared up and seemed to have a short, very faint fan-shaped trail. As : Grourid=-Visual object slowed, light faded, when speed increased object grew 1 W to E ~ 8. PHOTOS | O Yes EF} ENe 19. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE 1 | O Yes ; ~ 1 1aNe FORM ol FTD sep 63 0-329 (TDE) Previous editions of this form may be used. |