Case files / tremonton-1952
The Tremonton film
- When
- July 2, 1952
- Where
- Near Tremonton, Utah
- Reported by
- Navy Chief Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse, a Navy photographer
- Released
- September 18, 2026 (sixth release)
- Status
- Never conclusively resolved; later Air Force view: likely seabirds
Newhouse, whom the Air Force judged honest and an expert with more than 1,000 hours of aerial photography, filmed 12 to 14 bright, reflective objects on 16mm color film with a handheld camera.
Project Blue Book first considered birds, balloons and a mirage without settling on an answer. Later assessments grew more confident the objects were seabirds catching the sun, but the film had too little detail and no reference points to measure distance, size or speed.
The released footage is a digitized 16mm print held by the National Archives. From 55 seconds on, it switches to unrelated footage of sewing equipment.