On July 2, 1952, U.S. Navy Warrant Officer and Chief Photographer Delbert Clement Newhouse filmed a group of unidentified objects in the sky near Tremonton, Utah. The 16mm color film, approximately 75 seconds in length, captured several bright, disc-shaped objects performing unusual maneuvers.1 This footage became one of the most analyzed and debated pieces of evidence in early UFO investigations, particularly by the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book and the CIA's Robertson Panel.2
The Sighting and Filming
While driving with his family, Newhouse's wife, Norma, first spotted unusual objects in the sky. Newhouse pulled over and observed about a dozen bright, silvery objects, which he described as being shaped like "two saucers, one inverted over the other."3 He quickly set up his 16mm camera with a telephoto lens and filmed the objects as they milled in a round formation and moved generally westward. Despite his efforts, Newhouse later noted that the film "falls far short of what I saw with the naked eye" due to the objects' distance and the rapid nature of the event.4
Investigation and Explanations
The film was submitted to Navy authorities and subsequently analyzed by the Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The objects' movements, including one object departing in an opposite direction, led investigators to initially rule out conventional aircraft or balloons.5 However, the CIA's Robertson Panel in 1953, which reviewed the case, ultimately favored the explanation that the objects were sunlight reflecting off seagulls, a theory supported by viewing a film of seagulls.6 Despite this official explanation, some independent analyses, such as that by Dr. Robert M.L. Baker, Jr. of Douglas Aircraft Co., found the seagull hypothesis inconsistent with the observed motion, leading some to conclude the objects remained "unknowns."7