UFOs One Year at a Time: 1949

In 1949, during the months of March through June a series of UFO Sightings occurred over Camp Hood now Fort Hood), in Central Texas, USA. Below is a synopsis of the sightings.

March 6, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 8:20 p.m. (AFOSI 29 & 30) Army Sgt. Hubert Vickery and PFC John Ransom on patrol at the AFSWP (Armed Forces Special Weapons Project) nuclear weapons storage site saw a blue-white oblong object about 2 ft x 1 ft in size travel S from 286° to 279° azimuth elevation 5°45'. Other sightings by Army patrols from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. (FOIA)

March 7, 1949; Camp Hood, Texas (AFOSI-32-34) PFC. Max Eugene Manlove, 1st Provost Squadron, Camp Hood, Texas, observed a teardrop-shaped object, orange in color, drop vertically in front of him. Observation time: 2 seconds. (AFOSI 34). 1:30 a.m. Two other sets of military witnesses. Very brief (2 secs?). (AFOSI 32, 33).

March 8, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) (AFOSI Case 39) 2 a.m. Army infantrymen in separate locations 1/2 mile apart sight different lights, one white seen by Payne, the other, by Cpl. Luke Sims, was of a yellowish red light in level flight crossing 60° of sky. (FOIA; FUFOR Index) 5 secs ?

March 17, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU 319) 7:52 p.m. Capt. Horace McCulloch, Asst. G-2 of the 2nd Armored Division at the nuclear weapons storage site, was preparing the test firing of flares in order to prove recent sightings were mistakes when he and his men themselves saw aerial phenomena, 7 separate sightings by trained artillery observers in different locations enabled rapid triangulation of large, green, red and white flare-like objects flying in generally straight lines. (FOIA) 1 hr ?

March 31, 1949. E of Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 11:50 p.m. (AFOSI Case 46) Army Lt. Frederick Davis on patrol saw a reddish white ball of fire pass horizontally over the base airstrip, and noted interference on the field telephone afterward when he reported it. (FOIA) 10-15 secs

April 27, 1949. SE of Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 9:20 p.m. 2 Army soldiers [Pillett and Belislandro?] on patrol saw a blinking violet object 1-secs 1/2 inches in diameter 10-12 ft away and about 6-7 ft above ground in motion, passing through branches of a tree before disappearing. At 9:25 p.m., 2 miles away 4 Army men sighted a 4-inch bright light, with a 2-4-inch metallic cone trailing in the back, 600 ft away 6-7 ft above ground silently approaching from the NE in level flight at 60-70 mph, disappearing suddenly in the SW at 150 ft away. At 9:37 p.m. the same witnesses saw a 2-inch white light appear 100 ft away to the NNE flying in a zigzag in level flight about 6 ft above ground, disappearing suddenly. At 9:39 p.m. the same witnesses saw a 3rd light in the WSW. (FOIA; FUFOR Index; Jan Aldrich) 1 min+

April 28, 1949. SE of Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 8:30-10 p.m. Several Army security patrols sighted a variety of strange lights, mostly slow­moving changing color from white to red to green, one with a red blinking light, one with a "cone­shaped affair" trailing in the rear similar to one seen the day before. (FOIA)

May 6, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) UFO observation network using Army artillery observers (Ward?), established 2 days earlier, tracks its first object. (FOIA; Jan Aldrich) real-time triangulation?

May 7, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 7:40 p.m. Lt. Mardell Ward, at the Army's UFO observation post, and another observation site, spotted a brilliant white diamond-shaped object at triangulated location 15,000 ft away at 1,000 ft 57 secs 2+ real-time triangulation altitude headed NW. Object was tracked for 57 seconds as it traveled 20 miles (at 1,300 mph) while changing color from white to reddish to greenish as it dropped altitude and dimmed then disappeared. No sound. (FOIA; Jan Aldrich; Loren Gross Jan-Jun 1949 Supp p. 79, erroneously put at Los Alamos)

May 8, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 10:08-10:17 p.m. Lt. Mardell Ward, at the Army's UFO observation post, and 2 other posts sighted brilliant diamond-shaped object to the W moving NW or NE at 1,600 ft altitude slowly dropping. Severe radio intereference during sighting, none afterward. (FOIA; Jan Aldrich; Loren Gross

Jan-Jun 1949 Supp p. 80, erroneously put at Los Alamos) 9 mins realtime triangulation

June 6, 1949; Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas (BBU) 9:05-9:08 p.m. Williams, Jones and others in UFO observation and triangulation network tracked a hovering orange object about 30-70 ft in diameter, 2 mils angular size, 1 mile above ground, 3 miles S of the observation post, 4-1/2 miles S of the Plotting Center, which suddenly started moving in level flight then exploded in a shower of particles.

(FOIA; FUFOR Index)
source and references: http://www.nicap.org/waves/1949fullrep.htm