December 12, 1948 — Bernal, NM
9:02 p.m. Lincoln LaPaz and two USAF officers (Sandia Base Intelligence Officer Lt. Allan B. Clark and Sandia’s AF-Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer Maj. Charles L. Phillips) see a green fireball near Bernal, New Mexico. He calculates that it is flying directly over Los Alamos National Laboratory, and it maintains its horizontal flight at the low altitude (for a meteor) of 8–10 miles. LaPaz arranges with the Atomic Energy Security Service to set up a patrol with Speed Graphic cameras to try to photograph the fireballs. [Eberhart]
AFOSI Case 13 (NARA-PBB88-743 to -744) :
NARA-PBB88-740 and -745:
NARA-PBB91-410:
Sources:
Brad Sparks, Blue Books Unknowns Catalogue, Case 153, p. 46;
Timothy Good, Above Top Secret, p. 266;
Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed., pp. 539–540;
Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia, 4th Ed., p. 598;
NICAP, “AFOSI Case 13: LaPaz, Captain, CAP Intel Officer Observed Green Fireball”;
Joel Carpenter, “Green Fireball Chronology,” October 6, 2011;
