Roswell Army Air Field
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📍 Place
Contents 6
| Type | Place |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Walker Air Force Base, Walker AFB |
| On the Timeline | 8 events, 1947–1999 |
Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF), renamed Walker Air Force Base in 1948, was a U.S. military air base south of Roswell, New Mexico, from 1941 to 1967. In 1947 it was home to the 509th Bomb Group, the world's only atomic bomb unit, and it was the base that announced the recovery of a "flying disc" in July of that year, beginning the Roswell incident.[1][2]
World War II
The Army Air Forces acquired land from rancher David Chesser, and the Roswell Army Flying School was activated on 20 September 1941. During the war it trained pilots on twin-engine aircraft such as the Beechcraft AT-11, ran a bombardier school, and from 1944 provided transition training for the B-29 Superfortress.[1]
The 509th and the Roswell incident
On 6 November 1945 the 509th Composite Group, which had dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, moved to Roswell from Tinian in the Pacific. It took part in the 1946 Operation Crossroads atomic tests and became part of the new Strategic Air Command. In July 1947, after rancher Mac Brazel reported debris on a ranch near Corona, base intelligence officer Maj. Jesse Marcel collected it, and base commander Col. William Blanchard approved press officer Walter Haut's release announcing that the base had recovered a "flying disc". The Eighth Air Force in Fort Worth quickly identified the debris as a weather balloon.[1][2][3]
Walker Air Force Base
On 13 January 1948 the base was renamed Walker Air Force Base, in honour of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Walker, a New Mexico native killed on a bombing mission over Rabaul in January 1943 and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s it was a major Strategic Air Command base: the 6th Bombardment Wing flew B-36 Peacemakers and later B-52 Stratofortresses, and the 509th received B-47 Stratojets in 1955. From 1962 the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron operated Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles from silos around Roswell until it was inactivated in 1965 after several explosions at its sites.[1][4]
Closure and today
The Air Force closed the base on 30 June 1967 amid budget pressures from the Vietnam War, a heavy blow to Roswell's economy. The site was redeveloped as the Roswell International Air Center, a civil airport and aircraft storage facility. Missile launch officers from Walker later gave accounts of UFOs near Atlas sites in the 1960s, collected by researcher Robert Hastings.[1][5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Walter Haut sealed affidavit (8 July 1947) — Roswell press officer Walter Haut's affidavit says his commander told him the base had recovered crash debris from a disc.
- Robert Shirkey affidavit on the Roswell debris flights (8 July 1947) — Lt. Robert Shirkey's affidavit says he saw debris loaded for flights from Roswell to Fort Worth and Wright Field.
- Jerome Nelson's Atlas missile site sighting (Late 1963) — An Atlas missile launch officer's affidavit describes a glowing round UAP over his site in New Mexico.
- Philip Moore's Atlas missile site sighting (Late 1964) — An Atlas launch officer reports a UAP near his missile site in New Mexico.
- Earl Zimmerman affidavit (2 November 1993) — A radio operator's affidavit describes 1947 flying saucer rumors at his base.
- Andrew Kissner and the 1947 crashes (1994) — A former New Mexico legislator says sources told him 1947 disc crashes caused deaths.
- GAO Roswell records report (28 July 1995) — Rep. Steven Schiff says Roswell base records were destroyed, per a GAO audit.
- Homer Rowlette deathbed account (March 1999) — A man says his father told him on his deathbed about the Roswell crash.
References
- Walker Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- William H. Blanchard — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Brig. Gen. Kenneth Newton Walker", Walker Air Force Base Museum · wafbmuseum.org · archived copy
- Robert Hastings, UFOs and Nukes — author site · ufohastings.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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