Roswell Daily Record, July 9, 1947
SAYS CORONA 'DISK' COULD BE FROM DUKE CITY WEATHER BUREAU
Tucumcari Daily News, July 10, page 3
Radio-Sonde Found Near Corona Could Be From Albuquerque Bureau
Albuquerque, July 9 (AP) -- A weather bureau source, who declined use of his name, said today that the radio-sonde found near Corona and first thought to be a flying disk could quite easily have come from the Albuquerque bureau.
He said the radio-sondes periodically create excitement across the country and that two years ago they started a Japanese balloon scare. In response to queries, he expressed the opinion that the radio-sondes might be the basis for other flying saucer rumors.
He explained the devices this way:
The radio-sondes, or ray wind targets, are in a white box 10 in. by 4 in. by 7 in. They are attached to a helium balloon and when released ascend at a rate of about 1,000 feet a minute until they reach an altitude between 40,000 and 50,000 feet where the balloon bursts and the radio-sonde is supended by a large paper parachute.
The devices have been known to reach speeds of 100 to 125 miles an hour at top altitudes. The targets have been picked up as far away as Las Vegas [N.M.] and Tucumcari.
The box containing the weather device oscillates and swings like a pendulum and when the sun catches its white sides, it flashes.
The radio-sondes are released twice daily in Albuquerque at 7:30 in the morning and evening. This is the only station in New Mexico where the devices are sent up.
The weather bureau in El Paso and Big Springs, Tex. use the same type equipment. The official said that in El Paso, the prevailing winds are westerly and the devices likely would be blown toward Silver City or possibly over Las Cruces.
All radio-sondes are numbered, the source reported. The Albuquerque numbers are now in the 730,000 series.
