Project Blue Book Case File
Kirtland AFB, N. Mexico, August 1952August 1952
Summary
# UFO Sighting at Kirtland Air Force Base, August 1952
On August 28, 1952, an observer at Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque, New Mexico, reported seeing a strange triangular object in the sky for approximately three minutes. The witness described the object as silver in color, shaped like a triangle, and moving rapidly before disappearing behind a line of trees.
The observer was a carpenter with no prior experience identifying aircraft. He watched the object travel from south to west at high speed, with both its distance and altitude impossible to determine. The sighting occurred during daylight hours. According to Air Force records, the observer had no military background or special training in aircraft recognition that might explain a misidentification.
The investigation included checks for weather balloons, military aircraft activity, and radar observations in the area. A weather balloon had been released from Kirtland AFB on the same date and time, but the details in the file regarding how this information related to the sighting are difficult to read due to OCR degradation. No radar contact was recorded, and no aircraft were reported in the area at the time.
The case file documents list the final evaluation as "Unknown," indicating the Air Force could not determine what the observer had seen. The full case file, comprising 16 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.
Reported location
Kirtland AFB, N. Mexico, August 1952
Date of incident
August 1952
State / country
? / XX
Page count
16 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 14