YouTube video · UAP Gerb · 17 May 2024
The 1950s Del Rio, Texas UFO Crashes
Gerb separates two cases often merged as "Del Rio". The first is Col. Robert B. Willingham's 1955 sighting from an F-86 and his visit to a crashed disc near Langtry, told in a 1967 article, a 1977 affidavit and a 2008 book; Gerb lists the changing details as inconsistencies. The second is the 6 December 1950 El Indio-Guerrero crash in the MJ-12 briefing document, with debris said to go to Sandia, a local witness found by Dennis Stacy and an air-defense alert the same day. Eric Davis's 2018 remark that "Del Rio, Texas" was a real 1950s case frames it, and Gerb adds the classic RB-47 case of 1957.
On the record
- Condon report case 5 (RB-47, 19 Sep 1957).
- The 6 Dec 1950 air-defense alert and the FBI memo of 8 Dec 1950.
- USAF Security Service request of 18 Jul 1955 for B-47 UFO data.
Open questions
- Which details of Willingham's account are original? The inconsistencies are listed, not counted as contradictions.
- Is the MJ-12 briefing document genuine?
Leads to follow
- The 1967 Mechanicsburg article and the 1977 Zechel affidavit.
- The Japanese documentary Draeger worked on.
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
People across the timeline · click a name or a dot
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Spring 1955
Willingham's sighting and crash siteF-86 escort; an object dives south of the Rio Grande.
18 Jul 1955
Security Service request for B-47 UFO dataUSAF Security Service, San Antonio, to the Northeast Air Command.Col. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
19 Sep 1957
RB-47 multi-sensor caseCondon case 5, as dated by Condon and Gerb; later research gives 17 July 1957.
The claims, checked
On the record (6)
Willingham's details change: F-94 in 1967 and 1977 but F-86 in 2008; 1948 against 1955; "never saw bodies" in 2008 against three bodies in 2012.Inconsistencies, not a documentary contradiction.analysisCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
Willingham's service record is not in the NPRC, likely lost in the 1973 fire.A missing record does not count against him.analysisCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
On 19 Sep 1957 a light "as big as a barn" paced an RB-47 for over 600 mi, seen by the crew, on ground radar and on the ECM gear at 2,800 MHz; intelligence took the data on landing.firsthandCondon report case 5 (pilot Lewis D. Chase)The RB-47 radar-visual case (1957)
A USAF Security Service request of 18 Jul 1955 asked the Northeast Air Command for B-47 UFO data.firsthandUSAF Security Service, San AntonioRB-47 crews: unidentified aircraft over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (1-8 June 1955)Col. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
The two cases are separate: El Indio is 75 mi southeast of Del Rio and the object was incinerated, Willingham's site is near Langtry with three pieces, and he was in Korea in December 1950.analysisEl Indio-Guerrero crash (6 December 1950)Col. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
A national air-defense alert on 6 Dec 1950 (about 40 unknowns at 32,000 ft) and an FBI memo of 8 Dec on an Army intelligence alert match the date.firsthandAir-defense alert records and FBI memoEl Indio-Guerrero crash (6 December 1950)
Witness testimony (5)
"If you're going to throw your bets on Roswell, your bets are really good. Del Rio, Texas, that was a 1950s case... the other ones I won't bring up because those are still classified."Coast to Coast, June 2018 (1:34).firsthandEric W. DavisCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
In spring 1955, escorting B-47s out of Carswell in an F-86, he saw an object at about 2,000 mph make a 90-degree turn, throw sparks and dive toward Mexico.1967 article, 1977 affidavit, 2008 book.firsthandCol. Robert B. WillinghamCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
He overflew a disc wreck in three pieces south of the river, returned in a light plane, saw Mexican soldiers holding a perimeter, and took a small honeycombed metal piece that resisted a torch; a Marine lab later denied having it.firsthandCol. Robert B. WillinghamCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
A Mexican general said off camera "yes, I know about that", then evaded on camera.secondhandWilliam Draeger (to Stringfield)Mexican general → William Draeger → Leonard Stringfield → told itCol. Willingham's Del Rio crash (1955)
He saw a fireball fall and start a grass fire, and a day or two later a military convoy from Piedras Negras blocked the site and hauled something away.firsthandSenor Flores (to Dennis Stacy, Omni 1995)El Indio-Guerrero crash (6 December 1950)
Alleged / one person's word (3)
The MJ-12 briefing document places a nearly incinerated craft between El Indio and Guerrero on 6 Dec 1950, with the wreckage sent to the AEC's Sandia facility.Disputed document.anonymousEisenhower Briefing Document (MJ-12)unknown author → Eisenhower Briefing Document → told itEl Indio-Guerrero crash (6 December 1950)Majestic 12Sandia National LaboratoriesThe Eisenhower Briefing Document (18 November 1952)
A USAF document on a Carswell recovery exists.Never shown.anonymousTodd Zechelunnamed source → Todd Zechel → told itEl Indio-Guerrero crash (6 December 1950)
Greer's witness list has redacted entries on "ET technology transfer to AT&T", which managed Sandia from 1949 until Lockheed took over in 1993.Management dates on the record; the transfer claim is anonymous.anonymousredacted witnesses → Steven Greer → told itSandia National Laboratories