UFOs in Palm Springs: The desert's other tourists

It was just another sunny afternoon in Palm Springs when they first saw it: an otherworldly diamond, hung in the sky, sparkling blue and yellow.

The object, whatever it was, came from the east, flying through the San Gorgonio pass. It curled south towards the city, where it would hover for the next 90 minutes, mystifying witnesses.

At first, the diamond flew back and forth, moving exceedingly fast. Sometimes it was perfectly still, as if sitting in the sky. At one point, it began to dart back and forth, "swinging" between the city and mountains. And then, as if one UFO was not enough, the diamond was joined by another object, a flashing reddish-orange light that flew in from the east.

This was July 26, 1952. Four people, including a man with binoculars, reported seeing the objects in the sky. Elsewhere on that same afternoon, a military pilot reported that he saw a similar object flying from Needles to Los Angeles. The pilot said he saw a beam of light — which he described as a "landing light" — shoot towards the desert floor.

So what was it?

No one knows. Sixty years later, the mystery of the flying diamond is the most intriguing UFO sighting in the history of the Coachella Valley.

This story — and thousands more like it — come from the Air Force's UFO files, widely known as "Project Bluebook." These files were declassified decades ago but were only available if you traveled to Washington D.C. to inspect them by hand at the National Archives.

Until now. Now the truth is out there — on the internet.

Earlier this month, UFO enthusiast John Greenewald posted all of the Air Force UFO files on his website, The Black Vault. According to The Air Force Times, Greenewald obtained the reports through decades of public records requests, and has now scanned and uploaded the documents so they can be read by anyone. The files span more than 10,000 reports from the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

The Desert Sun dove into the Black Vault records in search of local stories about UFO sighting. Here are some of the most interesting stories from the local area:

• Dec. 13, 1953, Redlands: A 26-year-old man reports that he inadvertently captured an image of a UFO while taking pictures of an auto dealership. His picture shows a long, dark-colored object with three vertical protrusions in the skies over the dealership. The witness says he discovered the UFO while developing the dealership pictures. The military says the object is a cloud. (Click for report)

• Sept. 5, 1954, Palm Springs: Two pilots in two different planes witness a blue light flying at high speeds about 13,000 feet over the city. No explanation was ever found. (Click for report)

• Feb. 19, 1955, Palm Springs: A witness reports a very bright round object in the skies over the city. The Air Force dismisses this report as an plane. Four days later, on Feb. 23, another witness reports a round, multi-colored object hovering overhead. The Air Force classifies this report as a "possible balloon." (Click for report)

• May 16, 1956, Palm Desert: A round object, the "size of a pea when held at arm's length," is spotted flying west. Investigators determine this is likely a normal aircraft. (Click for report)

• July 19, 1956, San Bernardino: A teenager reports he was lying on the grass, taking pictures with his new camera, when a silver-gray "saucer shaped object" passed into view. The object looks to be about 600 yards away, and emits no sound. The teen submits one photograph showing a blurry disc, halfway out of the shot. After scrutinizing the picture, the military dismisses the report as a hoax, insisting the saucer picture has been faked by placing an object extremely close to the camera lens. (Click for report)

• Aug. 31, 1957, Palm Springs: Military personnel report a "brilliant star" close to the moon. The star glows brighter than the moon for eight minutes then suddenly vanishes. After consulting with astronomers, the Air Force determines this was caused by the moon eclipsing Saturn. (Click for report)

• Sept. 29, 1957, Palm Springs: A bunch of bluish-white objects, reported as too many to count, are spotted flying northwest in several waves for five minutes. Witness sketches show objects flying in a V-pattern over the mountains. The sight is reported by at least three people, two adults and a teenager. The Air Force says the sightings were probably caused by an aircraft, but also questions the reliability of the witnesses. (Click for report)

• Oct. 25, 1958, Yucca Valley: A man sends a film strip to the Pentagon claiming it shows proof of UFOs. The film shows six seconds of an unidentified object. The military says they can't tell what the object is, but they believe the film is a hoax. (Click for report)

Those are the most intriguing sightings we could find, but there are undoubtedly more mysteries buried in the Air Force files. If you want more, we dare you to go digging in The Black Vault.

The Air Force Times contributed to this story.

Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached by phone at (760) 778-4642, by email at brett.kelman@desertsun.com, or on Twitter @TDSbrettkelman.