Delbert C. Newhouse
| Delbert C. Newhouse | |
| Born | Not documented in released records |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Category | Military witness |
| Roles | U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate; Chief Warrant Officer |
| Notable claim | Filmed 12–14 bright objects near Tremonton, Utah, July 2, 1952 |
| Status | Historical |
| HistoricalMilitary witness | |
Delbert C. Newhouse was a U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer and career photographer who, on July 2, 1952, filmed a group of 12 to 14 bright objects in the sky near Tremonton, Utah, while traveling by car with his family. His roughly 30 feet of 16mm Kodachrome film, the Tremonton film, became one of the most closely analyzed pieces of evidence in Project Blue Book.[1]
Newhouse rose through the Navy as a Photographer’s Mate, the enlisted specialty for aerial and technical photography, and Air Force investigators credited him with more than 1,000 hours of aerial-photography experience. His final Navy personnel record, released in 2026, shows he left the service as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, then the highest warrant officer grade.[1]
Assessment
Project Blue Book rated Newhouse an honest and reliable witness, and his expertise is a big reason the case is still debated. In later interviews he said that when he first saw the objects, before he got the camera out, they were closer and clearly disc-shaped, a detail not visible on the film. Investigators, including the 1953 Robertson Panel, concluded the filmed objects were most likely seabirds reflecting sunlight, while the Navy Photographic Interpretation Laboratory judged them unexplained and self-luminous.[1][2]
See also
- Tremonton Film (1952) – PURSUE Files
- Project Blue Book
- Navy Photographic Interpretation Laboratory
- Edward J. Ruppelt
References
- ^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 06, DOW-UAP-D102 (Blue Book case file) and DOW-UAP-D104 (final personnel record). war.gov/ufo.
- ^ Report of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects (Robertson Panel), January 1953.