DOW-UAP-D102, Project Blue Book File on Tremonton Film, Utah, 1952
This document records the Project Blue Book investigation and subsequent assessments of an incident near Tremonton, Utah, on July 2, 1952. Project Blue Book was a 1952-1969 U.S. Air Force program to investigate the nature and origin of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The file describes the Air Force’s assessment of the principal witness, Delbert C. Newhouse, a U.S. Navy Warrant Officer specializing in photography, as honest and reliable, and as an expert with more than 1,000 hours of aerial-photography experience. Newhouse reported observing 12 to 14 reflective objects and recorded the event on color motion-picture film using a handheld Bell & Howell Auto Master camera. The file reflects an evolving Air Force assessment of the imagery over several years. Early documentation considered several possible explanations, including sunlight reflecting from birds or balloons, and a mirage effect, and did not identify the objects conclusively. Later assessments became more confident that the objects were seabirds reflecting sunlight, citing identifiable seabirds and similar films showing seabirds as bright points of light under comparable conditions. However, the film’s limited detail and lack of fixed reference points prevented reliable determination of the objects’ distance, size, altitude, or linear speed from the film alone. AARO Comment: The file contains conflicting references to the film format. Several documents describe a 35mm film, while contemporaneous submission documentation identifies the original as a 50-foot roll of processed 16mm Kodachrome color motion-picture film recorded with a handheld Bell & Howell Auto Master camera. Newhouse reported exposing approximately 30 feet of the roll during the incident and using the remaining film later that day to record unrelated mountain scenery in Idaho. Other records show that 35mm positive and negative duplicate blowups were produced from the original 16mm material. The file also indicates that the original film was duplicated for preservation, citing its deteriorating condition. The footage retained by the National Archives and Records Administration and presented in this collection as DOW-UAP-PR159 is a digitization of a 16mm print.
The summary above is sourced from the released file metadata as published to war.gov. The analysis sections below are original to this tracker.
Text of the document
Machine-extracted from the PDF war.gov published (its text layer or OCR), so expect errors, especially in names, numbers and handwriting; the PDF is the authoritative copy. Lines that did not extract as readable text are left out. Showing about 993 words from pages 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 19 of 156.
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DE JWPUK 03 JEDWP/ATIC WRIGHT PATTERSON AFB OHI JEDEN/CG ENT AFB COLORADO SPRINGS COLO • JINFOV JEDSTICG ATRC SCOTT AFB ILL JWFDL/J...IC'"CTAF RANDOLPH AFB SAN ANTONIO TEX , SEVEN INCH BALL OF FLAME WITH EIGHT FOOT TRAIL SIGHTED• NO SOUND OR LIGHTS RESEMBLING KNOWN FLYING OBJ~crs. (3) VISUAL OVSERVATION FROM GROUND• (4) FROM 1717 NORTH 1ST AVE, PHOENIX, ARIZ• OBJECT APPEARED NORTHWEST, TRAVELED ARC TO SOUTHWEST• AGLE OF ELEVATION 40 DEGREES NORTHWEST, • 30 DEGREES WEST, 15 DEGREES SOUTHWEST• ESTIMATED DISTANCE SEVEN TO (5) OBSERVER MRS ARTHUR WOLF, WIFE OF ARMY ORDNANCE ·coLONEL· PAGE TWO JWPUK 03 (6) WEATHER AT 0430 CEILING CLEAR: VISIBILITY 15 PLUS MILES: WIND (. 9) PRESUME OBJECT MADE GROUND CONTACT SOUTHWEST OF PHOENIX• SEARCH HAS BEEN REQUESTED • (10) NO AIRCRAFT OR BALLONS REPORTED• POSSIBILITY OF CROP DUSTERS• • 10/22212 JUL JWPUK
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XDC170 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE STAFF MESSAGE DIVISION 917i ATTU DIH OF INTITT,. YN l?EPLY TO A.FOIN 21\2 J\ND UtillF t-~SG UDOID 29149~ FOL LJf.0 TIEQ BY HQ USAF HAS BEB'iJ OBTAINED DY Ilfi'ERVIEtJ WITH CPO DELD~T C J3EUHOUSE, 77213 AVU SUi DEP, NATAL SUP CEt'J OAitLAt-ID CALIF IlEGAP.DiMG UNIDEtJTIFIED DLi ODJS AND MOVIE FIUJ ON S!GliT!NC 2 JUL 52 NEAP TREMON'i'O."\J~ UTAIIa TUE NEtr,.ou...,E HOME INBEillIBLEY, CALIF on 10 SEP 52 BY DIRECTOR O'F AFHQ FORM {IY;, PREVIOUS EDITIONS.Of THIS EORM MAY BE USED.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE STAFF MESSAGE DIVISION PAGE OF .t@F iTSELF FRO 1 GROUP DTD BEAD IN DIREC'fION OPPOSITE ORIGINAL COURSE AND DISAPi.~EARED FROM VIEU UHILE S fILL 'ffil\VELING IN THIS AND DEsClUBED AND ARC FROi1 f¼PPROX DUE EAST TO DUE trEST TilEN FROM DUE WES"' TO APPROX 60 DEGI EES FRON NORTH.!.~ PllOTOGRAPHil G 9e OPINION REGARD ~1G. FOLLOUING CLN A'J LIGHT J.i'Rot1 OBJECTS CAUSED BY REFl.ECTIONi D OBJECTS J'~P. EARED PPROX AS LONG AS THEY COURSE~ H D SAPPEARED FROrl VIEH BY HOVING OUT OF RANGE OF AFHQ FORM PREVIOUS EDITION~ OF T Hl.~ FORM MAY BE USED.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE STAFF MESSAGE DIVISION PAGE THREE OF 2.0 1i' RIGHT OF' US ltvY 3(J DASH S UITH OBSERVER FACING MORTJI.,1.0CATED SIGHTING OBJECTS UEREt Ii?S D., Co NEUHOUSF: UIFE D~LBERT c,, 13 CPO NEHHOUSE MID FllI·iILY HA~JE NEVER SIGIITED UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS DEFORE" NEWHOUSE STATED THAT HE NEVER BELIEVED HE UOLlLD JOIN RAf1I{.S OF THOSE RE.P ORT ..NG. SUCH OBJECTS PRIOR TO THIS OBSERVfi1' Oi.~ CPO NEUOOUSE A..f'v1) I-ms NEUlfOUSE APPEARED TO BE EXTnEr1E!.Y HONEST /\ND RELIABLE PERSONSi) Cf-0 NEHHOUSE S-TATED HE HAS !3EEtJ iiJ THE Ni\JAL sn:r~VICE FOR MID C,..AIIt; OVEl"' 1000 Hot.ms IN THE l-iIR ilS L. PHOTOGRAPHER CiJ ACTUAL PHOTOGRl\PTIY.., !'r IS BELIEVED NEUHOUSE COULD BE CLASSIFIJ!D AS fill lN!i'O OIN., OOP AFHQ FORM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THIS FORM MAY BE USED.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HQD0 '-9 STAFF MESSAGE DIVISION RU JEDHP JEPHQ 222 DE JUPi iL 5GJ lil\S DEEtl ODThiJED DY TELEPHONS COliVfil1SATim~ HEQUES TED BY IfPO : OIU AFHQ FORM PREVIOUS EOlTIONS OF THIS FORM MAY BE USED. *
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DISPOSITION FORM FILE NO. SUBJECT Att.n: Major Fournet, Capt Ruppelt/jos l . "As per your request inclosed herein for your inspection is the 3~ film from Tremonton, Utah, showing unidentified aerial objects. 2. Also inclosed is a photostatic copy of an analysis performed by the Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory, Wright Field. 3. The 35mm roll is the original film and no duplicate has been made• 4. It is the opinion of ATIAA-5 that the film should be submitted to an orni thologist, perhaps at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, to obtain an opinion as to whether the objects may not possibly be birds in flight.
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TO CHIEF ATlC lJRIGllT-PATTERSOM AFB OHIO INFO CG AOC ENT AFB 001.D SPRINGS COIO CG WADF ffAFB CALIF CPO DELBERT C. NE!mOUSB. 17/Z'/'J, AVN SUP DE?, llAVAL SUP CEN, OAKLAND, CAI.IF TRWONTON, UTAH. CPO NEiuIOUSE, HIS WIFE, SON AND DAUGilrER 17ERE ALL INTER,. VIlfflED AT THE REraIOUSE HOllE IN BERKELEY, CALIF Oii 10 SEP 52 BY DIRroTOR OF INTELLIGFWE, 28TH Am DIV (DEF). FOL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS l. THRU l3 IN USAF WUEST ARE SUIDAITrED: OBSERVED. 3. NO AIRCRAFT, BIRDS, BUJ..OONS, OR OTHER IDEtrrIFIABLE OBJECTS SEEN IN AIR IlllEDIATELY BEFORE, DUP.DlG., OR Dl!EDIATELY AFI'ER OBSERVATION. 4. snmLE OBJECT mIICH DETACim> ITSELF FOOM GROUP DID HEAD DJ DIRmTlOU 01'1'0SlTE ORIGINAL COURSE AND DISAPPEARED FRl)Y VIFrl mIIE STILL TRAVELING AtID DESCRIBED AND All: Fro!! APPROX DUE EAST TO DUE ~1&5'? Tflm FRC?.t DUE \'iEST TO AP.PR.OX 00 DEGREES 0011 NORTH IN PHCJrOORAPHING DEI'ACHID OBJ HEADING Dnt:roTIOll OIIDOSITE ORIGINAL COURSE. 6. SUN WAS APPROX OVERHEAD OF OBSERVER. OBJJ!PTS WERE AT APPROX 70 DEG-RI®, ABOVE TRRAIN ON A COURSE SEVERAJ, UI1.ES FROU OBSERVER. 7• WEATHER COND:rrIONS: BRIGRr StmUGHl', CLEAR., APPROX 00 DEGREE'S TEMPFllATURE, SLIGH!' RrH EAST APPROX 3 'ro 5 l!PH.
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PR.OX s GAS THEr ERE PEARED IDENTIC JICH ED ITS cot.ms. I{. DIS BY VING our OF OBJ TS BEFORE. B IEVED HE . um Jon O CER DURING USE HOURS IN THE AIR A PHOTOGRA nm ER.I J, OT GRAPH S IONS. COUID CL\SSI IFD
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1. 2 color duplicates and 1 black & white print (exclusive of portion Vflth sound track whieh is spliced to the end of the film}. 2. Request the original be handled with utmost care (it is already 1fi fairly poor condition, and wear very anxious that 1t suffer no further 3. Request the original be cleaned as carefu]y as posslble prior to 4. Request utmost effort in controlling duplication to extent that resulting copies wUl be as ldentlca.I to or.lglnal as po ible ln image and color 6. The loos (unspllced) porlton of 17 frames belongs at the end of the footage havlrig a deep blue background and no sound track. The la t frame of thls loo e portion s mmediat ly adjacent to the spllce with the broken frame having the sound track. 6. Can the stripp d sprocket holes 1n·the loose portion of the orlgtna.l (see 5) be repair d ln any way - sufficiently to make it possible to
Where this file fits in the PURSUE archive
This file is one of DoD's 282 files in the Trump PURSUE disclosure. Within the DoD agency block it ranks #281 of 282 by Anomalousness Index. Across the entire 478-file archive it ranks #456 of 478.
That places it in the lower-scoring band of the archive (456 of 478 by score), typical of investigative-record style files where the report is paper-based rather than instrumented.
Anomalousness Index: 51/100
Evidentiary weight that this encounter remains unexplained after conventional analysis. Not a probability of extraterrestrial origin - that number is not honestly computable from the released files and this tracker refuses to publish it.
🤖 AI-ASSISTED SCORING · methodology
The six rubric components break down for this file as follows. Each component has a weighted contribution to the final score; the per-component explanation below describes what this file's particular value on that component means in the rubric's framework.
Reported by a witness with no instrumented record. The lowest tier in the rubric's sensor axis. Eyewitness perception in field conditions, even when the witness is highly credentialed, scores below capture by any instrumented modality. This report reached the federal record through the Department of War.
The witness, U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse, was a trained photographer whom the Air Force assessed as honest and reliable. That is a high witness-credibility tier, ranked in the rubric below astronaut, trained-aviator, and federal-agent testimony. This axis scores the witness, separately from how the objects were later interpreted.
Single-witness or single-instrument capture. This is the corroboration tier for the overwhelming majority of the PURSUE archive on the released metadata - the rubric records the honest limit of the underlying record rather than inferring multi-witness corroboration that the released summaries do not establish. A small number of files with an independent second witness or instrument score on the multi-witness/multi-instrument tier above this one.
No kinematic measurements - speed, acceleration, vector - are published in the released file with sufficient precision to score on the kinematic axis. The rubric does not infer kinematic anomaly from narrative observer estimates. Every file in the archive carries this value, which is itself an observation about the disclosure: kinematic-grade telemetry was not part of what was released.
A conventional candidate explanation has been considered but is not dispositive. Every file in the archive scores this way - reflecting that the underlying release metadata systematically caveats strong determinations in either direction. The released summaries warn against reading them as conclusive analytical judgments, and the rubric respects that.
War.gov's own summary of this record describes an official assessment that favors a conventional explanation while also stating that the record could not conclusively resolve the case. The rubric scores that between 'open after review' and 'resolved conventional': an agency reached a view, but the evidence does not settle it.
Bottom line on the score: the Anomalousness Index of 51/100 reflects evidentiary weight that this specific file's encounter remains structurally unexplained by the rubric's six axes - it is not a claim that the underlying event involved anything non-conventional, and it is not comparable across rubrics that use different weights. For the full per-axis weights and the rubric JSON, see /methodology.
Related files in DoD
Other PURSUE files in the same category, ranked by Anomalousness Index.
DOW-UAP-PR024, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2023
DOW-UAP-PR072, "ADMINISTRATIVE REVISION: IIR 1777 J0032 22 Kazakhstan - UAP in the vicinit…
DOW-UAP-PR106, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2020
DOW-UAP-PR108, Unresolved UAP Report, Western United States, 2020
DOW-UAP-PR109, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2015
DOW-UAP-PR110, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2020
Verification
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