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FBI-62HQ-83894/belmont-twinkle-master-memo-osi-log-1949-1950  /  1950-08-23  /  FBI

Belmont→Ladd Project Twinkle Master Memo (August 23, 1950) and the 17th District OSI Cumulative Sighting Log (1949–1950)

md)) cited but did not read directly: **A. H. Belmont's August 23, 1950 four-page memorandum to D.

CLASSIFICATION DECLASSIFIED  /  CONFIDENCE HIGH  /  1949-50, the disinformation year

Captain Edward J. Ruppelt at Project Blue Book, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, March 1953. Blue Book absorbed the Project Twinkle file referenced in the Belmont master memo and OSI cumulative log.
Edward J. Ruppelt / Blue Book Chief / Wright-Patterson 1953

Summary

This is the FBI master Project Twinkle / New Mexico phenomena memo that pass 10 (la-paz-seventh-report-cabell-directive-twinkle) cited but did not read directly: A. H. Belmont’s August 23, 1950 four-page memorandum to D. M. Ladd (FBI serial 62-83894-246), titled “SUMMARY OF AERIAL PHENOMENA IN NEW MEXICO — MISCELLANEOUS — INFORMATION CONCERNING.” It is the document Ladd’s October 9, 1950 follow-up memo (Section 6 pages 13/16, FBI serial 162-83894-250, documented in pass 10) referenced as “on August 23, 1950, I furnished to you a memorandum regarding Project Twinkle.”

Belmont’s master memo establishes in primary FBI internal source:

  1. A three-type taxonomy of the New Mexico phenomena, distinct from La Paz’s Green-Fireball-only count: (1) Green fireballs, (2) Discs, (3) Meteors.
  2. A 150-observation total since 1948 in the vicinity of installations in New Mexico — a broader scope than La Paz’s 72-object Green-Fireball catalog from the Seventh Report.
  3. Multi-witness simultaneous reports as a documented pattern: “A number of observations have been reported by different reliable individuals at approximately the same time.”
  4. Land-Air, Inc.’s contractor base of operations — Alamogordo, New Mexico (with observation posts at Vaughn). Pass 10’s source page noted Vaughn as the operations site; the contractor itself was Alamogordo-headquartered.
  5. Project Twinkle’s first observational hit — May 24, 1950, with Land-Air personnel sighting “8 to 10 objects of aerial phenomena” on the day after La Paz finished his Seventh Report. The temporal coincidence is itself notable: Land-Air’s first observation came within ~24 hours of La Paz’s submission to OSI.
  6. A 24-hour day watch maintained at the observation posts, designated “Project Twinkle.”
  7. The OSI July 19, 1950 summary as the bridging document between La Paz’s May 23 Seventh Report and Belmont’s August 23 master memo — referenced but not in the OCR’d portions read.
  8. Standing Bureau jurisdiction position — Albuquerque Office had informed Project Engineer Mirarchi of the Bureau’s espionage / sabotage jurisdiction “and arrangements have been made so that the Bureau will be promptly advised in the event additional information relative to this project indicates any jurisdiction on the part of the Bureau.”

The memo is paired with a sample of the 17th District OSI cumulative sighting log (Section 6 pages 34, 50, 54, 67) which provides the actual sighting-by-sighting record behind the 150-observation total. The OSI log is a structured table — Number, Date, Time, Number of Observers, Reliability, General Area, Apparent Direction of Flight, Apparent Altitude, Course, Color, Train or Trail, Duration, Sound, Shape, Apparent Size, Apparent Speed, Manner of Disappearance, Evaluation. It is the most operationally formatted UAP-data record in the entire 62-HQ-83894 archive read so far.

The most striking single entry: Sighting #186, Los Alamos, New Mexico, February 25, 1950, 1545–1555 hours, fourteen reliable observers, NE to SW path “Overhead at from 4 to 10 miles,” “Traveled w/a fluttering motion,” silver round objects sized “Vary from 1/4 to small airplane,” “Very fast 500 - 1500 mph,” with Evaluation code (2) for “Disk or Variation.”

Belmont’s August 23 memo is also paired in 62-HQ-83894 Section 6 with a Hoover→USAF Director of Special Investigations letter dated September 8, 1950 (FBI serial 62-83894-247), forwarding a Walter D. Jones letter from Toronto, Ontario. The Hoover letter — three weeks after the master memo — establishes the Bureau’s standing-procedure response to civilian-witness flying-saucer correspondence: acknowledge, refer to USAF, inform the writer.

What the Belmont Memo and OSI Log Document

The August 23, 1950 master memo (Section 6 pages 2, 4, 5)

Routing to the entire Bureau senior leadership — Tolson, Ladd, Clegg, Glavin, Nichols, Rosen, Tracy, Harbo, Belmont, Mohr, Tele. Room, Lease, Gandy. Stamps show distribution to Director Hoover (Sept 1, 6:59 PM 1950) and Tolson (Aug 24 + Sept 6 1950).

The PURPOSE block (page 2) — three operational items in a single-paragraph statement:

“To advise that: (1) OSI has expressed concern in connection with the continued appearance of unexplained phenomena described as green fireballs, discs and meteors in the vicinity of sensitive installations in New Mexico. (2) Dr. LaPaz, Meteor Expert of the University of New Mexico, reported that the phenomena does not appear to be of meteoric origin. (3) OSI has contracted with Land-Air Inc., Alamogordo, New Mexico, to make scientific study of the unexplained phenomena.” — Belmont to Ladd, August 23, 1950 (Section 6 page 2, FBI serial 62-83894-246)

The NATURE OF PHENOMENA block (page 2) establishes the three-type taxonomy:

“Observations of aerial phenomena occurring within the vicinity of sensitive installations have been recorded by the Air Force since December, 1948. The phenomena have been classified into 3 general types which are identified as follows:

  1. Green fireballs, objects moving at high speed in shapes resembling half moons, circles and discs emitting green light.

  2. Discs, round flat shaped objects or phenomena moving at fast velocity and emitting a brilliant white light or reflected light.

  3. Meteors, aerial phenomena resembling meteoric material moving at high velocity and varying in color.

The above phenomena have been reported to vary in color from brilliant white to amber, red and green.

Since 1948, approximately 150 observations of aerial phenomena referred to above have been recorded in the vicinity of installations in New Mexico. A number of observations have been reported by different reliable individuals at approximately the same time.” — Section 6 page 2

The RESULTS OF AN INQUIRY BY PROFESSOR LINCOLN LA PAZ block (page 4) condenses La Paz’s Seventh Report into Bureau-internal summary form:

“Dr. LaPaz, Director, Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, submitted an analysis of the various observations on May 23, 1950. He concluded, as a result of his investigation, that approximately half of the phenomena recorded were of meteoric origin. The other phenomena commonly referred to as green fireballs or discs he believed to be U.S. guided missiles being tested in the neighborhood of the installations. Dr. LaPaz pointed out that if he were wrong in interpreting the phenomena as originating with U.S. guided missiles that a systematic investigation of the observations should be made immediately. Dr. LaPaz pointed out that missiles moving with the velocities of the order of those found for the green fireballs and discs could travel from the Ural region of the USSR to New Mexico in less than 15 minutes. He suggested that the observations might be of guided missiles launched from bases in the Urals.” — Section 6 page 4

This is the FBI’s own four-sentence summary of La Paz’s May 23, 1950 Seventh Report. The summary preserves both interpretations La Paz advanced (U.S.-tests-near-installations and Soviet-Urals-launch) without endorsing either. It also preserves the operational logic — if the U.S.-tests interpretation is wrong, the alternative warrants immediate systematic investigation.

The block continues:

“On the basis of the investigations made by Dr. LaPaz and the Air Force, it was concluded that the occurrence of the unexplained phenomena in the vicinity of sensitive installations was a cause for concern. The Air Force entered into a contract with Land-Air, Incorporated, Alamogordo, New Mexico, for the purpose of making scientific studies of the green fireballs and discs. It was pointed out in the summary furnished by OSI on July 19, 1950, that the unexplained green fireballs and discs are still observed in the vicinity of sensitive military and Government installations.” — Section 6 page 4

The RESULTS OF AIR FORCE INVESTIGATION block (page 4):

“The Air Force together with Land-Air, Incorporated, have established a number of observation posts in the vicinity of Vaughn, New Mexico, for the purpose of photographing and determining the speed, height and nature of the unusual phenomena referred to as green fireballs and discs. On May 24, 1950, personnel of Land-Air, Incorporated, sighted 8 to 10 objects of aerial phenomena. A 24-hour day watch is being maintained and has been designated ‘Project Twinkle.’” — Section 6 page 4

The CONCLUSIONS block (page 5):

“The Albuquerque Office, in a letter dated August 10, 1950, advised that there have been no new developments in connection with the efforts to ascertain the identity of the strange aerial phenomena referred to as green fireballs and discs. The Albuquerque Office advised that Dr. Anthony O. Mirarchi, Project Engineer, had been informed of the Bureaus jurisdiction relative to espionage and sabotage and arrangements have been made so that the Bureau will be promptly advised in the event additional information relative to this project indicates any jurisdiction on the part of the Bureau.” — Section 6 page 5

The master memo’s ACTION block: “None. The above is for your information.”

Sample of the 17th District OSI cumulative sighting log (Section 6 pages 34, 50, 54, 67)

The OSI log is the structured Excel-style table behind the 150-observation Belmont count. Page 34 contained sightings 1–4 (the table header sample with a 1948 USSR Brest-Kiev entry, documented in pass 10). Pages 50, 54, 67 are continuation sample slices from later in the log:

Page 50 — Sightings 90–95 (August 1949): Six sightings between August 6 and August 10, 1949, all in the Alamogordo / Albuquerque / White Sands / Killeen Base corridor. Sighting #91 (Albuquerque, Aug 6 1949, 2020 hrs) — green, “Round to pear shape,” “500 watt bulb about 1/5 mile away,” 10° in 1.5 seconds at 2 miles, “Dissipated,” Evaluation (1) for Green Fireball. Two more Killeen Base sightings (#94 and #95) on August 10 — including a comet-like white object moving N to S over the atomic-weapons-storage installation.

Page 54 — Sightings 110–116 (August–September 1949): Six sightings concentrated at Los Alamos, Albuquerque, Sandia Base, and Tucson. Sighting #112 (Los Alamos, Sept 16 1949, 0230 hrs) — orange ball, “Larger than falling star, faster than airplane slower than falling star,” 15-second duration, “Dimmed then disappeared completely.” Sighting #115 and #116 — both Sandia Base, Sept 27 1949, both 0300 hrs — the same single observer or a multi-observer simultaneous sighting at one of the most sensitive nuclear-weapons-storage installations in the country, recorded as two separate entries.

Page 67 — Sightings 184–189 (February–March 1950): This is where the Los Alamos February 25, 1950 multi-witness cluster lives. Four separate sighting numbers (184, 185, 186, 187) on the same date, three of them at almost the same time (1545, 1550, 1545–1555):

  • Sighting #184 (Feb 25, 1545 hrs, single observer, Reliable, “Very high” altitude, “White to silver” color, circular shape, “About size of 50¢ piece at its height,” “Very fast,” “Disappeared into glare of sun,” Evaluation code (3) for Probable Meteor)
  • Sighting #185 (Feb 25, 1550 hrs, single observer, Reliable, 12,000 ft altitude, Metallic color, “As large or larger than average plane,” Fast, “Faded from view,” Evaluation code (2) for Disk or Variation)
  • Sighting #186 (Feb 25, 1545–1555 hrs, fourteen reliable observers, NE to SW, “Overhead at from 4 to 10 miles,” “Traveled w/a fluttering motion,” Silver, Round, “Vary from 1/4 to small airplane,” “Very fast 500 - 1500 mph,” Evaluation code (2) for Disk or Variation)
  • Sighting #187 (Feb 25, 1655 hrs, single observer, Reliable, E to W, “Shiny silvery,” 10–15 second duration, Round, “About size of B-25 fuselage,” Slow speed, “Disappeared behind tree,” Evaluation code (2) for Disk or Variation)

Three of the four sightings within ten minutes of each other, at Los Alamos, with one of them logging fourteen reliable observers. Then a fourth sighting an hour later by another observer with a B-25-fuselage-sized object disappearing behind a tree. This is the Los Alamos February 25, 1950 cluster. It is the highest-witness-count single-day cluster in the OSI log sample.

Sighting #188 (March 10 1950, Phoenix AZ, six observers, “Aluminum or quick silver,” 40,000–50,000 ft, “Moved upward at 60° angle,” 10-minute duration). Sighting #189 (March 5 1950, Vaughn, NM — the Project Twinkle observation site itself — four reliable observers, white round object the size of a “ping pong ball at arm’s length,” 1 hour 25 minutes duration, 180–200 mph traveling 195°). A 1 hour 25 minute UAP observation at Vaughn, the literal Project Twinkle observation post, in March 1950 — two months before the May 24, 1950 first Project Twinkle Land-Air observation.

The Hoover→USAF letter on the Walter D. Jones case (Section 6 page 6)

Three weeks after the Belmont master memo, Hoover signed a referral letter to USAF dated September 8, 1950 (FBI serial 62-83894-247) — same date as the Cabell directive documented in pass 10:

“There is attached hereto for your consideration and attention a copy of a self-explanatory letter dated August 29, 1950, received by this Bureau from Mr. Walter D. Jones, of 36 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

For your information, the letter from Mr. Jones has been acknowledged by this Bureau, and he has been informed his communication has been referred to your Department.

John Edgar Hoover - Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation” — Hoover to USAF Director of Special Investigations, September 8, 1950 (Section 6 page 6)

This is a small but documentary-grade Bureau standing-procedure piece: a Toronto civilian-witness writes to the FBI; the Bureau acknowledges the writer, refers the substantive content to USAF, files a copy under 62-HQ-83894. The procedural shape — acknowledge to writer, refer to USAF, file — is exactly the loop SAC Letter No. 38 (March 25, 1949, oak-ridge-gasser-atomic-propulsion-1947-1949) and the Cabell AFOIC-CC-1 directive (September 8, 1950, la-paz-seventh-report-cabell-directive-twinkle) had formalized. The Hoover→USAF letter is the loop in operation, the same day as the Cabell directive that formalized it.

Why This Matters

  1. The Belmont master memo is the FBI’s own analytical synthesis of the New Mexico phenomena situation as of August 23, 1950. It is the primary-source bridge between La Paz’s scientific Seventh Report (May 23, 1950) and the Bureau’s standing-jurisdiction posture. Quoting the Belmont memo directly is more authoritative than quoting La Paz quoted via Belmont.
  2. The 150-observation total broadens the count beyond La Paz’s 72 Green-Fireball-only catalog. The phenomena classified by OSI/AF as “discs” and ordinary “meteors” are tracked alongside the Green Fireballs in the same case file.
  3. The three-type taxonomy in primary form. Green fireballs, discs, meteors — the working classification system for UAP cases at the operational AF/OSI level in 1950. The taxonomy is the precursor to ATIC’s later UFO classification scheme.
  4. The OSI cumulative sighting log structure is the most operationally formatted UAP-data record in the entire archive read so far. Eighteen-column structured table per sighting, with reliability ratings, evaluation codes, and full-spectrum quantitative observation data. Pre-computer-database UAP record-keeping at its mid-century peak.
  5. The Los Alamos February 25, 1950 fourteen-observer cluster (Sighting #186) is now in primary FBI source. Three sightings within ten minutes of each other, one with fourteen reliable witnesses, all at the same NM atomic-energy installation. This is one of the highest-witness-count multi-witness UAP cases in the entire 62-HQ-83894 archive.
  6. The 1 hour 25 minute Vaughn observation (Sighting #189, March 5, 1950) is in primary form. A 1.5-hour duration UAP observation at the Project Twinkle observation site itself, two months before Project Twinkle’s official first sighting. The Vaughn observation posts were sited in a location that already had a known long-duration UAP observation history.
  7. The Sandia Base September 27, 1949 simultaneous-pair entry (Sightings #115 and #116, both 0300 hrs at Sandia Base) is documented evidence of multi-witness simultaneous UAP observation at one of the most secured US nuclear-weapons-storage installations.
  8. Project Twinkle’s first observational hit — May 24, 1950, 8 to 10 objects, Land-Air personnel — is in primary FBI source by date. Within 24 hours of La Paz’s Seventh Report submission. The temporal coincidence is itself a documentary finding.
  9. The Hoover→USAF September 8, 1950 referral letter documents the Bureau’s standing-procedure response to civilian-witness UAP correspondence in operation — same day as the Cabell AFOIC-CC-1 directive that formalized the procedure. The letter is the loop running.
  10. Land-Air Inc. is Alamogordo-headquartered, Vaughn-deployed. Pass 10’s source page noted Vaughn as the operations site; the Belmont memo confirms Alamogordo as the contractor base. Alamogordo is the Trinity Site / White Sands Proving Ground area — Land-Air was already embedded in the post-Manhattan-Project nuclear-weapons-test contractor ecosystem.

Connections

Open Questions

  • The complete OSI cumulative sighting log (Sightings 1–189 minimum, possibly extending higher). Section 6 pages 34, 50, 54, 67 contain the four-row excerpt, the page-17 slice (Sightings 90–95), the page-21 slice (Sightings 110–116), and the page-34 slice (Sightings 184–189). The full log presumably runs across Section 6 pages 35–66 with additional slices, not yet deep-read.
  • The OSI July 19, 1950 summary referenced in the Belmont master memo. Bridging document between La Paz May 23 Seventh Report and Belmont August 23 memo. Not yet located in the OCR’d portions read.
  • The Project Twinkle May 24, 1950 first-observation full report. Belmont memo records the date and “8 to 10 objects” but no further technical detail on direction, altitude, color, duration, or whether photographs were obtained. Project Twinkle’s own observation record is presumably at AMC T-2 / Wright-Patterson but a detailed entry should appear later in Section 6.
  • The Walter D. Jones (Toronto) August 29, 1950 letter. Referenced in Hoover→USAF Sept 8, 1950 referral but not in the OCR’d pages read — would have been the attachment.
  • The Albuquerque Office August 10, 1950 letter referenced in Belmont’s CONCLUSIONS block. Bureau-internal field-office source on Mirarchi engagement. Not yet located.
  • The reliability-rating methodology used by 17th District OSI (R = Reliable, VR = Very Reliable, Unk = Unknown). Methodological criteria not in the table headers.
  • The Evaluation codes (1) Green Fireball, (2) Disc or Variation, (3) Probable Meteor. Whether codes (4)+ exist for other classifications, and how the codes are applied, not in the OCR’d pages read.

Quotes Worth Keeping

“Since 1948, approximately 150 observations of aerial phenomena referred to above have been recorded in the vicinity of installations in New Mexico. A number of observations have been reported by different reliable individuals at approximately the same time.” — Belmont to Ladd, August 23, 1950 (Section 6 page 2, FBI serial 62-83894-246). The 150-observation total and the multi-witness simultaneous-reports finding, in primary FBI internal source.

“1. Green fireballs, objects moving at high speed in shapes resembling half moons, circles and discs emitting green light. 2. Discs, round flat shaped objects or phenomena moving at fast velocity and emitting a brilliant white light or reflected light. 3. Meteors, aerial phenomena resembling meteoric material moving at high velocity and varying in color.” — Section 6 page 2. The Air Force / OSI three-type taxonomy of New Mexico phenomena, working classification system as of August 1950.

“On May 24, 1950, personnel of Land-Air, Incorporated, sighted 8 to 10 objects of aerial phenomena. A 24-hour day watch is being maintained and has been designated ‘Project Twinkle.’” — Belmont to Ladd, August 23, 1950 (Section 6 page 4). Project Twinkle’s first observational hit in primary FBI source — within 24 hours of La Paz’s Seventh Report submission.

“Sighting #186, 25 Feb 1950, 1545–1555 hrs, 14 reliable observers, Los Alamos, New Mexico, NE to SW, Overhead at from 4 to 10 miles, Traveled w/a fluttering motion, Silver, Round, Vary from 1/4 to small airplane, Very fast 500 - 1500 mph, (2) Disc or Variation.” — 17th District OSI Cumulative Sighting Log (Section 6 page 67). The fourteen-witness Los Alamos cluster — the highest-witness-count single-day entry in the OSI log sample, at the same atomic-energy installation that anchored the December 1948 Green Fireball wave.

“Sighting #189, 5 Mar 1950, 1135–1300 hrs, 4 reliable observers, Vaughn, New Mexico, Traveled 195°, Straight flight, White, None, 1 hr 25 mts, None, Round, Ping pong ball at arm’s length, 180 to 200 mph, Ceased observation, (2) Disc or Variation.” — 17th District OSI Cumulative Sighting Log (Section 6 page 67). A 1 hour 25 minute UAP observation at the Vaughn observation post site itself, two months before Project Twinkle’s official first sighting.

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