White Sands
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📍 Place
Contents 6
| Type | Place |
|---|---|
| Also known as | White Sands Proving Ground, White Sands Missile Range |
| On the Timeline | 6 events, 1947–1991 |
White Sands Missile Range is a U.S. Army test range in southern New Mexico and the largest military installation in the United States. Founded in 1945, it was the site of the first atomic bomb test and of America's first experiments with captured German V-2 rockets, and it lies at the heart of the region where many early UFO reports were made.[1]
Origins
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The area was first used as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range from 1941. White Sands Proving Ground was established on 9 July 1945, and a week later, on 16 July 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity Site near its northern edge. It was renamed White Sands Missile Range on 1 May 1958. It covers almost 8,300 km² (3,200 square miles).[1]
Rockets
About 100 captured German V-2 rockets were brought to White Sands after the war, and 67 were fired between 1946 and 1951, beginning on 16 April 1946. German scientists brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip worked at the proving ground. Not every flight went as planned: on 29 May 1947 a modified V-2 strayed south and crashed near Ciudad Juárez in Mexico.[1]
Space flights
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Space Shuttle Columbia landed at White Sands on 30 March 1982 at the end of its third mission, and Boeing's Starliner capsule landed at the White Sands Space Harbor in May 2022.[1]
UFO context
White Sands lies next to Holloman Air Force Base, and its rocket tests of the late 1940s took place in the same part of New Mexico where the "green fireballs" were reported from December 1948. In 1950 Project Twinkle set up cameras at Holloman to try to photograph the fireballs.[2]
On the UAP Timeline
- Mexican mystery missile (1947) (October 1947) — An unknown missile allegedly crashes in Mexico and the State Department is said to seek the wreckage.
- White Sands blown-window crash claim (1948) (1948) — An anonymous source claims a disc crashed at White Sands with its occupants dead from a blown-out window.
- Project Twinkle kept classified (1952) (19 February 1952) — The Air Force's science advisers recommend keeping Project Twinkle, a UAP study at atomic sites, classified.
- White Sands landing reports (1956) (September 1956) — Unconfirmed reports describe a domed disc landing in front of personnel at White Sands.
- Holloman landing and hangar claim (1964) (30 April 1964) — A claimed UFO under guard at Holloman AFB; the same day a pilot reports an egg-shaped object.
- White Sands tracking-camera saucer claim (July 1991) — A retired sergeant says tracking cameras recorded a saucer resting on the White Sands range.
References
- White Sands Missile Range — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Green fireballs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · 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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