The Tremonton Film
A Navy photographer driving through Utah with his family pulled over and filmed a group of bright objects moving across the sky.
What was reported
On 2 July 1952, Delbert Newhouse, a chief photographer in the US Navy, was driving through Utah with his wife and children when they noticed bright objects in the sky near Tremonton. He stopped and filmed about a dozen shining, roughly round objects moving in a loose group, before they flew out of sight.
Navy analysts studied the film for months and said they couldn't identify the objects as birds, aircraft or balloons. The film was shown to the CIA's Robertson Panel in 1953.
Explanations offered
The Robertson Panel concluded that the objects were most likely seagulls reflecting sunlight. Newhouse said they weren't birds, and that when first seen they were much closer and larger. Later analysts are still divided.
- When
- 2 July 1952
- Where
- Tremonton, Utah, USA
- Witnesses
- A US Navy photographer and his family
- Status
- Probably birds
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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