What did the declassified documents reveal?

Cold Open. This is a declassified United States Air Force intelligence information report, document number 1952‑07‑6992585‑KIRTLANDAFB‑NEWMEXICO, dated thirty July, nineteen fifty‑two. The report records a sighting of an unidentified flying object in the vicinity of Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and is notable as the first such report filed by Maxwell control tower personnel. Provenance. The document was released to the public through The Black Vault, reference archive entry at https://archive.org/download/1952-07-6992585-KIRTLANDAFB-NEWMEXICO/1952-07-6992585-KIRTLANDAFB-NEWMEXICOdjvu.txt. The release date is listed as twenty‑first August, twenty twenty‑six, under the authority of the United States Air Force declassification board. No FOIA case number is provided in the archive entry. The Document. The report begins with a header indicating the originating office: “Intelligence Information Report (I) – Shapes Circular Slant, Color: Yellow‑Cyan.” The narrative continues: “The following account of the sighting of an unidentified flying object is submitted. The object, sighted in the vicinity of Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, appeared round and about the size of a pencil head. The single object changed colors, from white to amber to bright red. There was no trail and no sound emanating from the object. When not traveling in a straight line it appeared to be suspended in the air. During the sighting the object made no unusual maneuvers. It disappeared gradually.” “The object was sighted at approximately ten or twenty minutes past local time, twenty‑three hundred ten hours, on thirty July, nineteen fifty‑two, and remained in view for ten or twenty minutes.” “Three of the four observers used field glasses, power seven by fifty, to accomplish the sighting; the fourth observer viewed the object with the naked eye.” “The observers were located in the Maxwell control tower, latitude thirty‑two degrees twenty‑three minutes north, longitude fifty‑six degrees twenty‑two minutes west, facing west. The object was estimated to be twenty to twenty‑five miles from the observers, traveling south‑south‑east to north‑west at an altitude of approximately thirty thousand feet.” “The chief of the tower crew, the original observer, claims thirteen months experience as a tower operator. Two other observers were members of the tower crew, with two months experience as operators. The fourth observer was the non‑commissioned officer in charge of AACS facilities at Maxwell. All of them claim no previous sightings of unidentified flying objects.” “At the time of the sighting, winds at thirty thousand feet were from seventy degrees at twelve knots, scattered at twenty‑eight thousand feet; visibility was fifteen miles plus; temperature was eighty‑one degrees Fahrenheit; winds at lower altitude were from south‑south‑west at seven knots.” “The report notes that no meteorological condition in the area could account for the sighting, and that no immediate action was taken by…

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

1952 07 6992585 Kirtlandafb Newmexico

◆ BLUF — The short version

Cold Open. This is a declassified United States Air Force intelligence information report, document number 1952‑07‑6992585‑KIRTLANDAFB‑NEWMEXICO, dated thirty July, nineteen fifty‑two. The report records a sighting of an unidentified flying object in the vicinity of Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and is notable as the first such report filed by Maxwell control tower personnel.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source documenthttps://archive.org/details/1952-07-6992585-KIRTLANDAFB-NEWMEXICO

↯ Dispatch — press play3:05

0:003:05

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

Source document: https://archive.org/details/1952-07-6992585-KIRTLANDAFB-NEWMEXICO

Questions about this case

What was 1952 07 6992585 Kirtlandafb Newmexico about?: Cold Open. This is a declassified United States Air Force intelligence information report, document number 1952‑07‑6992585‑KIRTLANDAFB‑NEWMEXICO, dated thirty July, nineteen fifty‑two. The report records a sighting of an unidentified flying object in the vicinity of Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and is notable as the first such report filed by Maxwell control tower personnel.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

CIA

More from CIA

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

1952 07 6992585 Kirtlandafb Newmexico

Questions about this case

Related cases

1954 12 6963971 Frenchmansbajou Arkansas

1954 12 6963067 Northeast Pennsylvania

1954 10 8727565 Festus Missouri

1954 11 6960246 Seofneworleans

1954 07 8715097 Slakewood Newjersey

More from CIA

1954 12 6963971 Frenchmansbajou Arkansas

1954 12 6963067 Northeast Pennsylvania

1954 10 8727565 Festus Missouri

1954 11 6960246 Seofneworleans

1954 07 8715097 Slakewood Newjersey

Questions about this case

Related cases

1954 12 6963971 Frenchmansbajou Arkansas

1954 12 6963067 Northeast Pennsylvania

1954 10 8727565 Festus Missouri

1954 11 6960246 Seofneworleans

1954 07 8715097 Slakewood Newjersey

More from CIA

1954 12 6963971 Frenchmansbajou Arkansas

1954 12 6963067 Northeast Pennsylvania

1954 10 8727565 Festus Missouri

1954 11 6960246 Seofneworleans

1954 07 8715097 Slakewood Newjersey

Get the next declassified case in your inbox