DOE files, Sandia / Pajarito / PANTEX, 1948-1950
Three previously classified Department of Energy files covering 1948 to 1950 sightings near the United States' core nuclear weapons sites (Sandia, Los Alamos / Pajarito, and PANTEX). Released through PURSUE Release 02 on May 22, 2026.
This case predates PURSUE, so the primary record was never centrally digitized. The source links below point to the best public records available: original investigators, primary reporting, and diagnostic-friendly secondary analysis. For PURSUE-era cases, mirrored files render inline further down.
Mirrored files
3 files for this case, served from our first-party mirror.
Provenance metadataFields marked “not disclosed” are transparent gaps in the release, not omissions on our end.
- Coordinates
- Not disclosed in this release
- Altitude
- Not disclosed in this release
- Sensor detail
- Not disclosed in this release
- Encounter duration
- Not disclosed in this release
- Witness count
- Not disclosed in this release
- Operational context
- Not disclosed in this release
- Weather / visibility
- Not disclosed in this release
- Chain of custody
- Not disclosed in this release
- Classification
- Not disclosed in this release
Official description
DOE-UAP-D001 (PANTEX Image, Texas), DOE-UAP-D002 (James Tuck Correspondence, Los Alamos lead physicist), DOE-UAP-D003 (Pajarito Astronomers, New Mexico). All three originate from the Atomic Energy Commission's internal site-security and scientific-staff correspondence files. James Tuck was a senior Manhattan Project physicist who led Los Alamos's nuclear-weapon initiation work. The Pajarito correspondence involves Los Alamos staff astronomers reporting daylight observations near the laboratory's outdoor test facilities.
Editor's context
Sightings near nuclear-weapons sites in 1948-1950 are a well-attested historical pattern; the Robertson Panel later cited them in 1953 as one of the categories warranting AEC and DoD coordination. What is new in PURSUE Release 02 is the release of the underlying AEC-side correspondence, which was held under DOE classification (and successor agencies' classification) for over seven decades. The release also marks the Department of Energy's first contribution to PURSUE.
In the margins
Transcribed redactions, stamps, and handwritten markings, the paratext of the file. Often the most human part of a declassified document, and worth reading on its own.
- Stampp. every pageATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, CLASSIFIED
- StampDECLASSIFIED PER PURSUE, May 22, 2026
- AnnotationFirst Department of Energy contribution to the PURSUE catalog.
- AnnotationJames Tuck: senior Los Alamos Manhattan-Project physicist, lead on nuclear-weapon initiation. His correspondence is the most cited primary in this set.
- AnnotationPajarito Plateau: site of Los Alamos's outdoor nuclear-weapon test fixtures during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Cite the primary source
Citations center the originating government agency and link to the official record. This archive is listed as the access point, not the author.
U.S. Government. "DOE files, Sandia / Pajarito / PANTEX, 1948-1950." Released via PURSUE program, 2026-05-22. File ID: PURSUE DOE-UAP-D001 / D002 / D003. https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/052226/release_02/DOE-UAP-D001_PANTEX_Image.pdf. Accessed 2026-08-01 via Social Media for Aliens archive, https://socialmediaforaliens.com/files/doe-sandia-pajarito-pantex-1948-1950.
Tags
Sources
Reflections
Want to leave a reflection on this file? Join the Circle or sign in.
No reflections yet. Be the first to leave one.
Long-form discussion
Related cases
Los Alamos green fireballs conference
Transcript of the February 16, 1949 conference at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory at which physicists attempted to explain the green fireballs observed over New Mexico nuclear-weapons sites in late 1948 and early 1949. Released through PURSUE Release 04 on July 10, 2026 as DOE-UAP-D004.
Pantex nuclear-weapons plant UAP intrusion
Department of Energy report documenting a 2015 UAP intrusion over the Pantex nuclear-weapons assembly and disassembly plant near Amarillo, Texas. Officers observed an object with no sound and no visible propulsion system. Released through PURSUE Release 04 on July 10, 2026.
Project Sign progress report
Progress report of Project Sign, the US Air Force's first formal investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena. Dated December 1948. Released through PURSUE Release 04 on July 10, 2026 as DOW-UAP-D097. The immediate institutional precursor to Project Grudge and Project Blue Book.
CIA Intelligence Information Report, USSR 1973
CIA Intelligence Information Report from September 1973 documenting Soviet military reports of unidentified aerial phenomena observed inside Soviet territory. Released through PURSUE Release 02 on May 22, 2026.