San Antonito UFO Crash (1945)
Just a month following the inaugural nuclear detonation in 1945, and two years preceding the famed Roswell incident, it is alleged that the US military engaged in the retrieval of a downed UFO, along with its extraterrestrial occupants, near San Antonito, NM – a mere 18 miles north of the Trinity site.
The significance of this purported recovery, if true, cannot be understated. It’s plausible that this event could have directly shaped the subsequent governmental response to the Roswell Incident of 1947. Considering an extraterrestrial craft may have been retrieved earlier, the official actions taken during the Roswell episode, which included a press release initially declaring the recovery of a “flying disk” followed by a swift retraction, could well have been dictated by this prior experience.
The Trinity Site is a historic location in the United States, significant for being the place where the world’s first nuclear bomb was detonated. This landmark event occurred on July 16, 1945, as a part of the Manhattan Project, the U.S.’s secretive effort during World War II to develop nuclear weaponry.
The site is located in the Jornada del Muerto desert, about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico. The device detonated at the Trinity Site was a plutonium-based implosion-type nuclear weapon, nicknamed “Gadget.”
The “Gadget” detonated at the Trinity Site was the world’s first atomic bomb and a prototype for the “Fat Man” bomb that was later dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. It used a plutonium-239 core surrounded by conventional explosives. This is called an implosion-type nuclear weapon because the conventional explosives are designed to implode the plutonium-239 core, increasing its density and thus triggering a nuclear chain reaction.
The nuclear chain reaction involves the nucleus of a heavy atom, such as plutonium-239, being struck by a neutron and then splitting into two smaller nuclei. This fission process releases a tremendous amount of energy, as well as additional neutrons, which can then cause more fission reactions. This forms a chain reaction that results in a large release of energy in the form of an explosion.
In terms of radiation, the fission process produces several types:
- Gamma Radiation: Gamma rays are high-energy photons, a type of electromagnetic radiation, much like X-rays. They can penetrate deeply into materials and are a significant cause of the ionizing radiation exposure that occurs during a nuclear explosion.
- Neutron Radiation: This is radiation consisting of free neutrons. During the initial explosion, a large number of neutrons are released. These neutrons can cause further fission reactions and can be harmful to living organisms.
- Beta Radiation: This consists of high-energy electrons that are emitted as certain radioactive isotopes decay over time.
- Alpha Radiation: These are high-energy helium nuclei (consisting of two protons and two neutrons) emitted during the decay of certain other isotopes.
After the explosion, the fission products (the smaller atoms produced when the plutonium-239 atom splits) are often radioactive themselves, decaying over time and releasing beta and alpha radiation, as well as more gamma rays. The radioactive isotopes produced by a nuclear explosion can contaminate the surrounding area, creating what is known as fallout. This fallout can be hazardous and is a major concern with any nuclear explosion.
The “Gadget” explosion at the Trinity Site was extremely powerful and resulted in a significant amount of radioactive fallout, contaminating the immediate area. This area remains slightly radioactive to this day, although it is considered safe for short visits.
The successful detonation at the Trinity Site marked the advent of the atomic age and led to the development and use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, which played a pivotal role in ending World War II.
The Trinity Site is a National Historic Landmark, managed by the White Sands Missile Range. The site is usually open to the public twice a year, on the first Saturdays of April and October, offering visitors a chance to explore a significant location in global history.
San Antonito, a modestly sized community nestled in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, finds itself conveniently situated near two of the state’s most populous cities.
As of 1945, the population sizes of Albuquerque and Santa Fe were substantially smaller than they are in the present day. Approximately 15 miles to the west of San Antonito, you would find Albuquerque. During 1945, the city was home to roughly 35,449 residents, a far cry from the bustling population of approximately 560,000 it would grow to.
Meanwhile, about 60 miles to the northeast of San Antonito, the state capital, Santa Fe, had a 1945 population of around 21,134 residents, and now about 85,000.
This speculative 1945 incident may also have played a role in the origins of Project Blue Book, the comprehensive study of unidentified flying objects conducted by the U.S. Air Force from 1952 until 1969. If a UFO had indeed been recovered, this might have provided an impetus to initiate Project Blue Book, which aimed to collect reports of UFOs and determine if they posed a threat to national security.
The alleged recovery and subsequent study of a UFO and its occupants would likely have been enveloped in layers of government secrecy, becoming one of the most classified secrets in U.S. history. The revelation of such information could potentially induce widespread fear, disrupt societal and religious structures, and risk revealing advanced technology to rival nations.
Depending on the nature of the recovered craft and its occupants, the potential for advancements in science and technology could be immense. The ability to study and understand their technology and biology might spur substantial advancements in various fields, including but not limited to propulsion systems, energy production, materials science, and potentially even medicine and biology.
