Project Sign Progress Report, 1948

Authority: NND927545 • •I HEADQUARTERS AIR KATERI BL COWAND MClA/JCB/amb Wright-Patterson Air Force Base KCIA 2DjytAPH 0i948 SUBJECT, Projeot "BIOi" • TOs Chief of Staft United Statea ilr Poree Waahington 26, D. Co ATTN s Director ot Int-,lligenoe l. Thie ie an initial report on unidentified flying objecta aa direoted by Rq, USAY letter dated SO Deoember 1947, signed by General L. C. Craigie, subjeot1 •r1~Jng Diaea~. Qtarterly reports will be submitted beginning 1 July 1948. 2. Ae a reeult of thia letter, Pro~ot HT-304 was a.otiTated on 26 January 1948 and Technical Inatruotion 2185, dated 11 Pebruaiy 1948, wns published. Present ti.lea on Projeot •s10~• represent a oonaolida­ tion ot reports received directly by Hq, AMC and thoee forwa.rded by the Direotor ot Intelligence, USAF. ~. Schedules of activities of lighted night-flying adTertising blimps have been secured a.nd crosa-oheoked at thi.a Headquarters to consider them as a possible souroe ot incident nporta. 4. Inoloaure l represents a tabulation am breakdoWll of all available reports through l February 1948. 5o The following ia a series of interesting observation• that were noted when rev19Wing the many incident 0ase11 a. Rigll rate of olimb, aa well aa the apparent a.bi lity to remain mot1onleu or hover for a oonBiderable length of tiu o bo The objeot was described aa being oval, d1ac or 1auoer- t ehaped ~l times. o. Assooiated sound was preae?It ll tim.H o d. Reported sizes have varied from that of a 26-oent pitoe to 260 feet in diameter, and from the aise or a purauit plane to tht ePulk of six B-29 airpl.&nea. , NND 927545 2 3 APir 1948 over 10 9 • .. AMC Subject, Project "SIG!i" e. »umber of objects per aighting, Objects per sighting l 2-6 6-10 Number of eightioga 77 21 8 t. Exhaust traile were reported 23 times. g. Speed has been eetime.ted throughout the entire range from very alow or hovering to supersonio. 6. Incloaures 2 and 5 are anlargementa of photographt taken of Incident f40o Inoloaure 4 1s an evaluation of inolosure 2 by thie Headquarters. Attention 1s iovited to the marked aimilarity between incloaurea 2 ands. and inoloaure 6. Similarity also exiata between inclosures 2 and 3 and oonfigur&tiona illustre.ted in inolosure 6. 7. Representatives from tbie Headquartere visited Dr. Ining Langmuir of the P~sea.rch Laboratories. General Electric Comp&ny. Schenectady, N. Y. to discuss Project "SIGN". It was the opinion of this acienti st that prosent a.vai l!I. ble data does not encompass suffi­ ci ent information to enable a positive identific~tion to be ma.deo Dr. :.a.n&muir was relucts.nt to consider the so-called "flying discsM as a reality. However, it io be'lieved at this neadquarters that it is possible to oonstruot a low aspeot ratio airoraft that would d~pli­ oate many of the appearance and performance oharaoteriatics of reported "flyint discs~. Experts have agreed that thie would be possible through the intelligent application of boun:lary layer control. FOR THE COMMANDING GENERAL: ~Me~ 6 Inols H. M. ticC~!1. J l. Tabulation Co lone1. US&F 2. Photo Chief ot Intelli gence 3. Photo 4. Eval of Incl 2 6. Horten Parabola 6. Biology of I'lying Se.ucor 2 ~ NND 927545 / • CONFIDENTIAL - Incident No. Date 1 g Jul 47 ; la g Jnl 47 lb e Jul 47 le g Jul 47 ld g Jul 47 le g Jul 47 2 g Jnl 47 ~ 7 Jul 47 4 $ Jul 47 5 4 Jul 47 6 4 Jul 47 7 4 Jlll .47 ~ 4 Jul 47 9 4 Jul 47 10 4 Jul 47 ll 4 Jul 47 12 4 Jul 47 1~ 4 Jul 47 14 4 Jul 47 15 4 Jul 47 l.6 4 Jul 47 17 2ll. Jun 47 l!S not stated 20 Oot 47 20 19 20 Oct 47 Hour 0930 0930 0930 09tl9 1000 1000 1200 1010 1150 1305 1305 1305 1305 1305 2004 N<>• Obser,ed Location Sighted P'rom Muroc ilT Field, M'uroc, Calif. Muroc,Air Field, Muroc, Cali£. Muroc Air li'ield, li&uroc, Cali.f. Muroc .lir Field, lluroc, Calif. lmroc Air Field, Muroc, Calif. Uuroc A.Lr Field, itiuroc, Calif. Muroc Air Field, Mu.roe, Call!. Iifuroc Air Field, Vuroc, Calif. Area 113, Rogers Dry Lake, Muroc Air Field, Muroc, Calif. ~ortland, Oregon 1llli.lwaukee, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland, Uregon Portland, Oregon undetermined wt atated Roi se, Idaho 5 Air 2 Ground 2 Ground 2 Ground 2 Ground 3 Ground 3 Ground 1 Ground 1 Ground l Ground 5 Ground 3 Grotmd 1 Ground 3 Ground not stated Seattle, Xashington l r.:.round 1305 Vancouver, Washington 20-30 Ground 1400 Portland, Oregon 4 Ground 16}0 Portland, Oregon 1 Ground 1700 Portland, Oregon 3 Ground ll.00 Mount Jefferson near 4 Ground Redmon, Oregon 1500 14t. Rainier, a.shington 9 11r not stated Toronto, Canada 1 Ground 1320 Dayton, Ohio 2 Ground 1100 Xenia, Onio • l Ground CONFIDENTIAL NND 927545 31 CO~FIDENTIAL e No. Sighted l~ 1 2 l l l l 10 1 l l 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l , ~ l ,l ­ I. ~ \ \ \ I Observed From not stated Ground Ground Ground Ground Ground Ground Ground Ground Oroum Ground Ground Ground llr Ground Ground . Ground Ground Ground ~ Ground Ground Boat Incident No. Date 21 29 Jun 47 22 21 Jwi 47 23 30 Jun 47 24 12 J\111 47 25 4 Jul 47 26 10 Jul 47 ~ 10 Jul 47 2g 24 Jun 47 29 23 Jun 47 30 7 Jan 4! 30a 7 Jan 4g 30b 7 Jan 4a 30c 7 Jan 4g 1946 32 32 not stated 33c 33d 33e 331' 33g 34 35 7 Jan 41! 7 Jan~ 7 Jan~ 7 Jan 4g 7 Jan 4a 7 Jan 4g 7 Jan~ 7 Jan~ 13 Oct 47 12 Nov 41 dour 1645 about noon 1745 1&5 2345 not stated ~ not stated not stated Location Des Moines, 1owa Spokane, ·1ashingt,on Boise, Idaho Weiser, Idaho Vfest Trenton, t~ . J. Harmon Field, Newfoundland Hamon Field, bewfoundland Idaho Bakersfield., Calif. l~T Lockbourne AB, Co1umbus, Ohio 1925EST Lockbourne,!B, Columbus., Ohio 1915EST Lockbourne AB, Columbus, Ohio 1940 Lockbourne il, Columbus, Ohio mid-December early a.m. Northern Arizona after dark Columbus, Ohio 133&.l'T,OO"' Oocbnan Field, Ky. (south of) l4000ST Godman Field, Ky. 1320CS'J.' · 0odman Field, Ky. J..420 CST 2100 from Oodman Field, Ky. J..430-1600 11!54-19()6 05}0 GQ'l.Jr a.m. Gedman Field, Ky. Godman Field, Ky. Godman Field., Ky. lladi.eomi-1.le, Ky. l4 mi1es north of Dauphin, J.lanitoba, Canada ticonderoga at sea (40 miles south of Cape dlanco, 20 miles o£f shore) CONFIDENTIAL NND 927545 vu~FIDENTIAL - . lo. a...nect DIOIDD'f Is, ;w. 12111:. r,ooat1cm SMaatfd rra ,6 Jot Stated lot Stated !oilt, Idaho 1 Ground ,1 12 oot 47 1200 Oa•• Creek, Ar1■ ona 1 Qro\md ,s 10 Jun 47 lot Stated !udape1t, Bung&J"1 1 Ground ,9 9 Jlll 47 2,,0 Onnd Palla, levtoundland 5 OJ"ound 40 7 Jul 47 1600 Phoenix, Ar11ona 1 Oroun<S 1 Qro,md •n 11 JUl 47 lot Stated lltndort J1eld, llatlta 42 12 lUl 47 04,0'L BltndOl't J1eld, Alatll:a 1 Oroun4 I 18 Oro\lDd 43 29 Jun 47 1645 Clll"1on, Ion 28 Jun 47 1~, Roekt1tld, W1■cou1n 7-10 Ground " 7-10 Ql"0\1DC2 28 .Jun 47 Afternoon n11no11 -5 46 22 Jun 47 11,0 Ortent1eld, 1111, 1 Ground 47 6 Jul 47 lot Stated 1a1rt1tld-6uilm Air S.le, 01111. 1 Oround 48 7 Jan 48 1920-1955 V1la1Jllton, Ohio 1 Ground . 48a 7 Jan ,s 1925 111111.ngton, Ob1o 1 Ground _,,,.,.• 1 Qrowu1 481> 7 Jan 48 1910&ST V11111ngton, Ohio 4& 7 Jan~ 19,0 Y1la1Dgton, Ob1o 1 Orcnmd -84 7 Jan 48 1920-1950 111.111ngton, Ohio 1 ll'ound ~ 9 Jan 48 2,00-2,15 J>aJffi11e , ltntllolq 1 Qroimd One at tb11 Orouad 50 10 Jan Ji8 2200 11lcSVood, In Jei-■r, date, PNT­ 1wa17 1 ..oh 27 Deo,, JUI all at 2000 o1oloek. 'Sept lf 1215 on.ao, oneon 12-15 Ground 51 52 29 Jul 47 1450 1181111 ton 11eld, Cal1torn1a 2 Oroad 2 Ground ,,. 29 1111 •n Atter 1200 llllilton Jield, ca11tarn1a 53 28 Jan IJ7 1515 Lake Jllead, ore1on 5~ Air 1 Air 16 Jan IJ7 22:50 Jorth Sea (50 ail•• troa 54 tbe Dutch coa,t) l Orolll\d BIJ'llCffl Pield, ltvtoundland 2:, Jul 47 o,45Z 55 -CQ~F~DENTIAL - - IAo1c1ent ?fe, 15a. us. Looat1on lo. simaa Ob1enec! D:99 56 6 Jul 47 2945 1-10 Gi-oan4 57 20 lul 47 0015Z Abou-c! the BUl'aeo (at sea one hr. troa 874ne7, Autft11a) 1 Boat 58 4 Aug 47 BYeJWII Bethel, Alaska 1 Ail" 59 14 Se»t 47 055ae1T Reeter Ialand 1 ill' 60 10 Jul 47 1000 Oor4707, Canac!a 1 OPOUDCS 61 8 Sept 47 22:,0 Salt Lllce CltJ, Unb 12 Ground 62 8 Sept 47 22:S0~:S00 Salt Like Cit7, Utah 5 Sl'0'QP8 Ground eaoh oan­ ta1D1Dg :S5~0 01:tJecta. 6:s 29 JuJ. 47 1205 can,on 1em, llontana l Ol'om:ad 64 19 Aug 47 2130 Tv1n Jalll, Idaho A.pprox. 55. Ol'oun4 65 2 Jun 47 lot stated Rehoboth Beaoh, Delevan 1 Ground 66 10 Aug 47 2100 811Yer 8pr1.ngt, Ohio l Ol'ound 67 llJ. Aug 47 1600 Placemlle, lalitornia 1 Ground 68 24 Jun 47 Hot 1tattd Cuoa4e lountaiJ:aa, Pwtlan4, 01-egon 6 Ground 69 6 Aug 47 22,0-2245 Ph1l.a4elph1a, Pa. 1 Ol'Ound 70 6 iug 47 1045 Ph1lt4elph1a, Pa. l Ol'oand 71 8 Oot 47 lot 1tatecl Laa Vega■, leYa4a 1 Ol'Ound 72 lot atate4 Jot 1tatec1 Port R1obardl0J1, Alllb 1 Ol"oand 7J 4 Aug 47 1600 Boston (101111e1 n) •••· 2 A1r 74 24 .JW'l 47 App. 1500 •t. A~IU, ftlh!ngton lot stated Ground 75 1, Aug 47 1300 saote Rl•er aaix,on, Idabo l Ground 76 1:5 Aug 47 Jlornlng Salaon Du, Ic!aho 2 Ornnd 77 :S 11117 47 1s,~ South BrookYille, Dine 10 Gl'O\IDl2 78 :,o Jun ~7 0910 JIST Oran4 ClllQ'on, AP1aoaa 2 ill' 79 Apr 47 1100 ES! R1oba0nd, V11"g1n.1a 1, other■ on Grcnmd other ooou1ona 80 85 90 95 100 coNriBcNTIAL lno1dent Jo. °'8tl"Ytd 19, em.. Looat1op SUhtn rrw 1 Ground 81 7 Jul 47 0900 Biokaa Jield, lava11 1 82 171117 47 2030-2100 0klahOllll CitJ, OklahOJII 1 Ground 83 9 hl 47 1217 Bo1 ■t (Between Boise and 1 hr1d1&n) Idaho z,84 7 Jul 47 l:500•140<Bft Lakeland, Jlorida 5 Cll'ound 1200 Portland, oregon 10 Qromd 86 6 lulJ ~7 lot ■tated Hollywood, Cal1tonia l Qro,md 87 lot ,tated •ot 1tated HabMrbi1hopehiOJ1 {20 mile, 1 Ground zx, r tb ) Gorm.any 88 S J.ug if Atternoon Baokenaaok, a. J. l Ground 89 6 Jul 47 lS45 lanaae City (100 miles west), l Air Ke.neaa 29 Jun 47 1500-15:SO Lae Cruoe ■, !low Mexico l Groun4 91 28 Jun 41 2120-2146 Maxwell Pield, Alabama 1 Ground • 92 lg Jun 47 l2l5-1Sl6 Colorado Springe, Colorado l Grcrund ll Jan 48 l 1650 Harttord, Coumot1cut l Air !O Deo 47 l926PSf Between Great l'alle, Montana l and Pairfield, Ca!1tornia SO Dec 47 l926PSf Rosedale, Oalitornia l A.ir SO Deo 47 1926 Lov•look (30 m1lea weat), leTae1& l Ground 97 30 Dec 47 1926PST Between Medtord and •t. Chaata, l A1r Oregon 98 2 l(oT 47 Daybreak Houston, Texas l Ground ~ Jan 46 lot stated Vasea, 11nland l Ground 5 Jan 46 lot 1tated Pretaraa&rl, F1nla1'ld l Ground • Incident Observer' s No . 1 la lb le l d le 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 Occupation 1st Lt, UJAF :,/::,gt, 0::i,v' Uninown s/sgt, USAF Pfc, USAF ~fot stated :Uaj, USAF liajor, USAF Capt, USAF Patr olman, ?ortland Police Dept. Sgt, Oregon Police Patr olman, Por tland Police Dept., former Air Force pilot Patrolman, Portland Police Dept. Pri­ vate pilot Patrolman, Portland Police Dept . ?ri­ vate pilot Capt., Harbot pilot Jo1aneuvers 1lone - horizontal fl1gnt 1"ot stated t-:et stated Not stated Flying in tight circle Horizontal anrl tipht circles Descended from an intennediate altitude in an oscillating fashion almost to the ground, then started climbing again to a very high altitude and moved off slowly in the distance. Oscillating in a downward twirl­ ing movement Falling at three times the rate of a parachute Dippi nP, up and down in oscillat-­ ing motion Following each otner Not stated Str aight line formation; last disc fluttered very rapidly in side-way arc Strai~ht line fonnation; last disc fluttered very rapidly in side-way- are Discs wo'.lld oscillat e and SOl11131-' times a full disc would be vis~ ibl e, then a half-moon shape, t hen nothing at all Heatner IiOt stated .,ot stated l1ot stated ~!ot stated !fot stat'3d !lot stated Not stated Not stated ?!ot stated Not stated Clear with little or no cloud forma­ tion Clear with little or no cloud forma­ tion Clear with little or no cloud for.na­ tion Clear with little or no cloud forma­ tion Not stated CUiqfiDE~~TIAL NND 927545 10 15 20 25 30 • Incident ObaerTer' s •oo Ocoupad.on Ka.neunra Weather Capt, United Airlines Straight-away horizontal flight lot stated ll 12 lS 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30a Coast Guard Deputy Sheriff !lot stated Sot ste.ted Jot stated Mot stated Private pilot llot stated Farmer lot stated lot stated Wot stated !lot stated lot stated Not stated llecba.nic TWA Representative Lt Governor ffest Coe.st Pilot. 7000 hrs. Ca.pt. USAF. Asst Operations Officer VHF/DJ' Operator Horizontal flight Mot stated Not stated FUpping around Not stated Hot stated Straight horizontal flight Horizontal flight Straight course - were flying about a city block apart. one behind the other Straight course Single file Flashing Horizontal flight Shooting up and down Hori&ontal flight lot atated llot stated lot stated Bot stated Climbing and descending ver­ tioally Hovering, made three 360 0 turns around one place. Moved to another position and circled more. Turns required 30-40 seo. Diaaeter estimated at 2 miles. Kot stated Not stated Bot stated Mot stated Iot stated Mot stated Clear as crystal Clear Cloudless and sunny lot stated Rot stated Bot stated •ot stated Clear Bright moonlight Not stated Clear Kot stated lot stated Solid overcast Overcast. 1000 ft. Incident loo SOb 30o 32 33a 33c 33d 3:Sf :S3g 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 - cor~FIDENTIAL Observer's Occupation Maneuvers Traffic Air Controller Bobbing up and down lot a~ated Climbing and de~oending Profe11or and Bead Mone or Aero Kn.gineering Lt, USAP Bone T/Sgt, USAF Jone 1,it.,Lt, USAF Bone PFC lone Capt, USA1 Kay have been turning Capt, Us.Ar None Col, Ky. State Police Kone Capt, USAF (Plight Not stated Leader •a 869) Unknown Mot stated Judge Bone Second Officer.Wavy Mone CAA Official Sot stated Pilot Kone Hungarian Peasants Not stated Constable Not stated Spiraled downward f'rom 5,000 to 2,000 f't am then went upward at a 450 angle Weather Overcast High overcast Clear Overcast High acattered olouds Visibility unlimited. High scattered lfot stated High overcast with BIS High ecattered, vi ei bility unlimited Clear .Not stated Not stated Clear !lot atated Rot stated Clear ..,-.'! !lot stated a.tVU. ~ d Cumulus clouds (;J~iadJENTIAL 41 e Ine14ent lg, 1'1 Obaenv'• QoogtS,on Colonel. USU •entuur• . lot atated 42 ..jor, USU Jo\ atated 4, Bua Dl'"1"1" lone "4 lot 1tated lone Jot ltated IJ5 lot 1tated lot 1tated Jot atated 46 Wot 1tat.d lone Cloud Nnb. ~7 Captain, usu lolled frOII 11a. to lid• Jot ttate4 48 KaJor, USAJ uoerMlillg 1na deNen41na lot atawd 48a !/Bgt Up and down and 114• w lid• Cold and eleu Wi'll t.. 11attffff 1101141. Cpl. .lao•Ddtnc and 4eaoendbll r.t&bt aoattezaed oloudl 1'11:la bait tOIIU'dl S/1. leeendina and deaoendiag ••'17 np'idl7 Clear nth onr• eut 1Jl S/1. 48d 49 lot stated .. lot stated laoendlng' and deaeendine lone lot lbttd 50 En.1.ttlng deatan.er Approaohil!a llhON traa Ooean then Pile and tall 1lovly. lot stated 51 Jot 1tated lot stated lot 1tawd 52 Capt, USU, ASS'!. Bon.aonal lett to ri&ht, ri&ht to Opentiona ottieu 1•tt lib• cuard 1n an a1Pplane ~ inawuotor Pilot fOl'Mtian. CltlP 52• lit Lt. 1n Air Il•••ne• t01:1Mr B-29 Pilot SSll1lar to a ti&hter aiNNtta aueu.•r• llben ue~ heaT1.eP 1h1p1. lot stated lit Lt, UW, Pilot Boruoul ftJl7 elon tCll'Mtim lot 1tated Moaquito Pilot lot 1tat1d G<JTernaent Bllplo1•• A)rupt 4atl Bieh toattered oond1\1on Tie1\111'7 15 a.ilea. 'rNTel1ng in a detillt't1t are. lot 1tated CONFIDENTIAL NND 927545 - Incident Ol>aeryer's 110. Opomtion IM!¥I8 £1 Yt•Hitr 57 Bridge Corustruct1on Bot stated Clear and dark. 58 Chiet Pilot- Not atated lfot auted Plying 1er-,1oe 59 Pilot Hone Rot stated 60 Storek:eepel" lot Stated Clear at duak 61 Kot stated lfone Wot stated 62 lot stated Not stated Cloudy 63 Hot stated BOYel"ing and fluttering, 1'1S1ng and deecendtng. Scattered aull olouda, 64 Executive Direct­ Hor11onal OnNalt or ot Housing Authority. 65 P1lot lfot stated Not 1tated 66 Lt. Col, QSC Sc1ent1t1c Horizonal Pl1.g?\t lfot 1tated Branch Research Group. 67 Insurance Adjuster None Clear 68 Prospector Banking Cleu 69 Not stated Hot stated Not 1tated 70 Insurance Agent Not stated Clear 71 Capt. AC Reser-,es Not stated Clear 72 A1!S1 0tf1ce1' Not stated Cloud to1'118t1on 1oattered abOYe 10000 tt. 73 lavigator (Conatellat1on type ail"cNft) Not stated 5/l.O acattered cuaulus vith tops at 10000, Y111b111ty 10 a11H. 74 Prospector Standi.nc on edge and banking 1n the clouda. Mot 1tated 75 Trout Parm Oper. Rode up and dovn oyer the hills and hollow ot the canyon tloor. Mot stated County COlllliaaioner Hot stated Rot stated It NND 927545 76 In.ctdent Ko, 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 ~ 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 95 96 97 98 99 100 Ob ■erTer'• Qo9upgt109 Astronomer Lt, USI (P80 Pilot Weather r-,o7tff Lt. Col. USAP C1T11 Service bplo,ee P1eld Bngtn,er Pilot Sign Painter Pl'1Tate Pilot Hot 1tated U. S. Army Not stated Major, USAF Administrative Asst, Rocket Sonde Section Captain Railroad Employees Capt, USAP L~ Col, Hq, EPlf C-47 orew Bot stated Airplane crew Immigration Service Not stated lfot stated Manemrp Not stated lot 1t1ted Rot 1t1ted Jot ltated A1oendtng slowly Bot stated Slow roll or barrel Cl1Jlb1ng lot stated 'l'm"ned a corner and seemed to roll. Descended slowly and then dropped in a spiral motion, Not stated dot stated Not at~ted Traveling in zig-zag course Climbing, diving and reversal of direction whioh happened enry few aeoonds. Shooting toward, the eaat at 45° angle Descending vertically - aeaned to slow down on nearing the earth Not sta.ted Bot stated Not stated Appeared to be spinning in its descent Bot atated ?lot stated I L NND 927545 J!eather lot stated lot ■ tated Clear Scattered clouds Y111b111t7 10-12 ailea. lot stated S<ae clouds Clear...cattered cloud• lot stated Clear ~ot stated Not stated Clear Clear Cle ar alld 1unny Not stated •ot 1tated Not stated Not stated tiot &tnted lot stated lot stated Not ata.ted • Incident llo. l la lb lo ld le 2 s 4 5 6 7 8 Sa 9 10 Color Silnr,­ S11Tery Retleoted the •un' • raya Silvery Ahai.num colored 1urface Yellowiab-llfhite lihi'te aluminum lot 1tated 1'h1tiah-brown J.lumima White 1'hite Like shiny ohro­ aium hub cap .bot 1tated Shape Size Not stated Not stated Saucer shaped lot stated Diac llot stated Diec •ot stated Thin metallic ob­ jeot, unconventi on ah11pe al Purauit eh1p Spherical 5 - 10 t't, dtaaeter Dietinct oftl out- 50 tt. J.1m; ta> projec­ tiona on upper sur­ face which llight han been thick fine or nob1. Tne,e croaaed each other at intervals, 1ug­ ge1ting either ro­ tation or oaci lla• tion ot alow type Round .Not 1tated Diac Jllot atated Di1e Mot determined Dile Out ol light be­ fore det&iled ob­ Hrfttion •d• Diec Out of 11 ght be­ ror• detailed ob­ aen-at1on made Di,o Mot 1tated Thin a.nd a.ooth Not stated on bottoa, rough appea.rinc on top NND 927545 Sound Mot atated ■om ltot atated None Mot stated lot 1tated .llom Jllom lone !tone Mone !lot stated Jot etated II~· ,DENTIAL Inoident llo. 11 12 13 lt 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 25 26 27 28 29 50 Color ffbi t e mot atated Resembled •tallic Lin a new di•• Sil•er Not stated ltirror brit ht Jellow Reflected the 1un brilliantly Silnr Dirty 1'hite Shiny d l nry Bri ght and sil•ery Gli&tened in av.n Luminous lot 1tated Silvery ' Not etated !lot stated White (.light) Shape Saucer Like tlock ot geese llot 1tated Like a nn dime lilot atated Approximately circular. no tail Like ci ga.ra ­ 11uch longer than wide Round Betwe.n circle nnd on.l - in­ ••rt•d aa.ucer Slim body Ral t-circle Too far away to dotenune ahe.pe Plying saucer ­ DO tai l lilot etated Citoular in shape like a wagon wheel ·eomet-11ke Almo1t round dot stated NND 927545 She Jlot stated •ot stated lot 1tated Like .. run, di• lot atated Not stated Diameter equal to di atan ce between outboard enginea of DC 4: llot s t ated Jlot atated About 12 inches in diameter 175-250 t't. dia:aeter 12 ft. t hiok Quite large Not atated Too far away to detenain. ahape lot atated Jiot sta'ted Same apan •• C-54 at 10. 000 rt. Not stated lot stated lot atated Sound ~t stated Low hmmdng aound l ot atated lot etated llot stated lfot auted lot atated Not stated Mom Mone Like electric motor or dy­ nmo Not stat ed lone lot atated lot atated Wot stated lot stated !lone vbV~r IDENTIAL lnoident No. Color Sha.pc Size Sound 30& Amber Round or oval C-47 airplane Jliono !Ob Bright white to amber Cone-shaped. blunt on top and taper­ ing orr toward bottom ' Rnonnou• 30c White lligbt) RoWlld Comparable 'to way light run- Bone 31 White Not stated lot stated ltone 52 Amber Mot stated tiot stated !lone 33 Sun flashes on metal or metallic Roughly circular At the distance and lone altitude the object appeared ~o be the size of a11Ter dollar ffll.1te or luminous. ·rurnod to be more red aa the aun aet Round teudi og to be conical Unknown - altitude a.na distance too great Iona ~ot auted Cone. red topped with Jot stated lone :53e Si lver with shadow Raindrop Unlcnown - believed to be lar~ lJnJcnoa 53d 1'h1. te Round at time• cone ~haped - Uneert&in because of distance 53e lfhi.te Round l/4: she full moon lone 33.f l(atallio Bot stated Tremendous SSg "lfot stated Cone 100 ft. high. 43 .rt. acrose !lone Redish tinge Round Large gre.pef'ruit Ion• 35 Fire oolor Ball liot stated llot atatecl 36 )lot stated Bot stated Mot at&.ted Bot stated 38 Reddish with blue background.. Black with white baokground SilTer lot stated Ball S ft. from point of view .Not ate.ted lone Mot stated NND 927545 GONfHltJ'TiAL Incident lo, 001or Shape ~ Soupd 39 Phosphoru1 Ba-shaped diaoa lot 1tated lot atate4 ~o Gray El11pt1cal 20-,0 tt. Ho11e like Jet airoratt prior to 1ts appell"­ ~.. No audible sound beai-d 11h11e object va1 1n Yiev. Aluaim"- Round 3 tt. diameter lot atate4 "1 ~2 OH.yilh Balloon 10 tt diaeter lot 1tate4 1'-3 Dirty 1'lite Between a o1.role IJ1d 12 tt thiolc and llectJ"ie Jlotor an oval (ln-.erted 175-250 tt diameter ordynaao sa~er) 44 lfot atat.d Jlyina Saueers Wot 1tated none (not actually des­ oribed as being this shape) lJ-5 Hot stated Rot stated Hot stated Bot stated 46 Silvery vh1te Round Small lot stated 47 No detin1te Bo detim.te shape C-51'. airplane lot deterained oolor top due to the noise ai(!e l"etleot- ot airplane. ed 11ght. lf.8 Red PllUli.ng Red cone Wot stated Rot stated IJ.8a Bright light CirculU'-like a •tU' Ve17 lai-ge cOlll)U'ed Hone ohangi.ne to 1n tbe ak7 only luga. to an aeroplane 11,;bt. red then to White OI" J"•llow 48b Red - ldltn Cone Hot detel'llintd Jot 1tated descending Red men IIO"fin8 lot atated Kot 1tated lot ■tated then grean and black to red. lot stated lot 1tated 48d Yellow or tlame Rot 1tated colored. 49 Not atated Pencil shaped ob3eot !lot ■ tated lot stated t cot~FIDENTIAL Incident 10. color Shape Si•e sound 50 Stated aa queer 11.&ht. Referred to aa aauoer but not stated as being ot thie detinite shape. Kot stated Jfot atated 51 11lver Bomd Not stated •ot •tated 52 llhite. ah1Dy Circular like a ball en the bott011 but not completely round. 15-25 tt Diameter !lot atated 521 ■ilk mite Bot atated •ot stated lone 53 Whit. C1roular 36 inches diameter Rot stated 54 Rot atated Not etated Rot eta,ed Not stated 55 RecUab lot stated Bot atated None 56 Dia glow ot light Round 2 :tt. d1aaeter Hone lfot stated Kot atated 58 Blaok Saucer (not det1n1tel7 1tated •• being tbia shape) Larger than C~4 airplane Not stated 59 Incandescent 11Cht without appreciable blue and no redd1eh tinae. Hot stated Not atated Hot stated 60 Plame oolor Diec shaped (the 11'ter glow •de 1t look like a oone) Barrel Bead, dinner plate am the aise ot a plane tl71,ng hi&h. Wot stated 61 White ancS 111Ullinated Bot stated Sue ot Pigeons lfot 1tated 62 YelloV1ah vhite Bot stated 811811 Mot stated Gleuaed and Shialered D1so (not actuall7 stated aa being ot this shape) , rt. a1aaeter and ot no great th1ok• neaa. lot stated 64 Color 111111ar Kot stated to eiectr1c 11.&ht. lot stated Hot stated 65 lot ltated Bot stated 15 1nohea diaaeter lot stated 66 Bright onnge lot stated lot atated Hot stated 67 Jllutal col01" top 1urtaoe al1ghtly IJ.-6 tt 1n le~h ll'ot stated 57 h1ghl7 po111h- ournd-larger 1n front 4 ed chi-Ollium. than 1n the rear . :~e:O-l 1nchea liOMflDENTIAL NND 927545 • flDENllAL e Incident 68 ColOJ' Hot stated Shape I D1eo - appeare~ a tail. to have UU. 30 tt d1aaeter sounc1 lone 69 White lot 1tated Not stated Bussing sound. 70 Not stated Giant til'e cracker Kot stated Bu11DI aound not aa loud aa a rocket Ship. 71 Rot 1t1ted Hot 1t1ted lot atated Not stated 72 Silver Sphere( nt not like 1auoer or diac. 2·3 tt diameter Rot 1tated Deep Gold 1111pt1oal 15 tt long 2·3 tt 1n length. lot atated 74 Bot stated Tapered lbarpely to a point in the tront end. ,o tt. diaaettr Hone 75 Slq blue Oblong like a broad rill hat with a low crown. 20 tt. lona am 10 t,. thiolr. Kade a av1shiq sound. 76 Not stated Jot 1tated Hot stated Lite the eoho ot • aotor. 77 Light colored Only oonerete evidence 50•100 tt lfide. or tora appeared on the lett tangent ot the group. Loud roar 78 Light gray e1rou1ar 8 tt. diueter Bot ■ tated 79 S1lftl' Bot atated Lu•er than a Pibal balloon When obaened through a theodolite. Not atated 80 Retleoted vh1te light. "Blob 11 SMll ail"plane Hone 81 S11Yer ' Large Balloon With silver Large d11c below it, no attaebing cables vere noticed. lot etated 82 Proat7 ltbite Round and tlat Equal to b\11.k ot 6 eaob, B-29 air· planes tdth dia .. •t•r to tluomeas ratio ot 10-1. A 1l1gbt mahing. 83 Black Round 'tVtnt,-.f'ive cent piece. lot atated ,.DENTIAL e Incident 110, 84 color Sb1Jm7 Ship, Road lot ltated lore~ le11 SbJ-111. 85 Bot 1tated Reseabled the D5U•l. Jot 1tated lot 1tated 86 Not 1tated lot atate(! IOt ltated lot stated 87 JotS1t&ted Bot stated lot ata.ted lot atated 88 lot stated 1lying di ec (not ao­ tual ly deaoribed aa being ot thi• aha.pe) )lot 1t1.ted lot atated Ro\lDd di,o ahaped object 50-60 rt. diameter bot at&ted Refleote4 light Unitonn with no protu­ berano•• euoh •• wing• of an airplane Hot atatad Bot 1tt.t1d Light lot atated Not stated looe 92 Silver lot ,tated S-11 lloli ata.ted 94 Bluish center Appeared to be a ·.rlth rod on its edgH !ot atatad lot 1tated di10 Reaembled ~ shooting at~r; however. ob­ aervera not oertain Not stated Not etated Not ,tated 95 Not stated Not stated Kot stated Bot stated 96 Not st:i.ted Hot etated Not stated Not atated 91 Flaah of light Kot atat•• Hot stated Hot atated 98 Bright light Ahaoat round or perhaps oval or aauoer-ahaped 2ti-30 miles diametor lot etated 99 Shining Brightly ehining object with long td 1 lot atated Bot atated 100 Wot ,tated lot atated !lot stated NND 927545 -COt~f\DENTlAL:­ e - Incident No. Exhaust Trail Heading Altitude Ft. Speed lffect on Cloud• l t:one 320° 1000-sooo rt. ~00 mph lot at&ted la. lb le Not stated liorthwest 7500-8000 ft. ~50-400 mph Hot stated ld f.ot stated northwest 7000-8000 f't. 300-400 mph tlot atatod le tlot stated tiorthwest 6000 rt. 300-400 mph ~ot stated 2 tot stated Not at&ted From very near the ground to vory high Not ste.tod llot atated 3 Not ata.ted frost to east 10000- 12000 rt. 200­ 225 mph )lo-r; stated 4 Not stated North of due east Under 20000 ft . Slower than Hot stated lllAXimUDl speed or P- 80 5 Bot stated Two flying aoutb - S flying ea,t Bo'\ stated.d Great speed lot atated 6 Not stated llorthweaterly Undetermined Terrifie lot stat.d 7 None Southweat 50000 fto Terrific - faster than any object ever seen by him lot stat.cl 8 8a 9 Rone- Jlone Not atated South South S01..-th 40000 tt . 40000 rt. High over Globe Mille Terrific ?errifio Terrific lot atated Not ,tated lot stated 10 !Jone Northwest llot stated Cruised for Not atated 46 min. at oonventional airline apeed (180 mph) then rapidly dis­ appeared 11 Not stated OTer north end lot stated ot Lake 1'o.sh­ ington llot stated .ttoi; ata.ted CG."f,DENTIAL NND 927545 Incident Bo. 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 • F1DENTIAl E:xhauat Trail Wot atated Bee.ding Hot stated .lltitude Ft. Not atated lot atated 3 west to eaat. l north Did not appear Tery high lot atated lot atated Iot 1te.ted lfot 1tated l beaded s outhea1t. 2 headed north1a1t .lot atated High lot 1tatad lot ete.ted north to IOUth 9500 rt. about 17<i' Trail atreaa- aeenronr Jiot atated 1ng out be- weatend him like of Toronto vapor trail 'beh1m air­ plane on misty day Lim alight eat to east One 11.ile high trace ot steam. Disappeared 1m::nediat•ly. Not atated Southwest About 1500 rt. Rot stated ~.N.W. 1200 ft. Bot stated S.W. ot S. 7000 tt. Not stated !lot stated 5000 tt. Cloud-lie 8outheut Very high n.por - re­ tained shape a.nd persiated tor onr an hour Spoed Effect on Cloud.a lot •~d Hot at&t.<l Tranlini BO taat they •ere out ot llot ,te.ted eight in eaat in 2-4 aeoonda JloT1ng slowly llot atat.d onr aandy dletr1ct Sot atated lot atat.d !tot atate4 llot atated Not 1tated lot 1tated Not stated Hot stated Very taat Bot stated Faat llot stated About SOO lot atated mph Slower than lot atated two-motored U1lY plane lfot ate.ted lot stated Very tut Mot atat.d \ NND 927545 • CONFIDENTIAL e Incident Ho. 25 26 27 28 29 30 ..' S0b 300 SI 32 33 33a B.xhaust Trail Heading Altitude Ft. Wot stated Bast High Bluish-black Not sta.ted Bot stated Bluish-black Not stated 10000 ft. 15 mi. long Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated 10 flying High north; on reverse course there were only 7 None (ap- West 3000 peared to ha.ve bluish streaks out t'rom aides Five times 1200 Prom .,ery near length ot g?'Ound to 1000 object Small streak 8.8.Wo trailing object Wot stated Kot atated di!teNn.~ al• titudea ; White., heavy West to eut 20000-50000 ft. lone Stationary 3000 tt. lone lone visible Unknolm Jfone 210° from Extremely high Godman Field None Not stated Not stated Speed Effect on Clouds Fast Not stated llot stated Cut a clear path throup cloud• Fast Seemed to out 0loud1 open Did not moveo Seemed to go below horizon Bot stated with rotation of earth 300-400 mph Bot ate.ted Slow Bot stated 500 mph Jlot stated rt. a,tter 1t atartecl to le&"ff n.e1n1ty bceeding Bot ate.ted. 600 aph Jfotionlesa lot stated ~-~-----­ 600-~00 mph Bot 1ta1;ecl • • Stat1anary "lone nom n.aible Ione Stationary !lone Not stated Bot sta:t;ed NND 927545 COhFIDENTIAL - .. Ino14ent Ezhautt Jo. Trf1l lta4w uutud• rt, Sptfd lf(n\ op Cln4f )lot •••n Apptlll'ed to be Very h11b. Appeued lont ■ tat1onaJ7 . to 1M ''° 1tat1ozw-y. ?lont 210• t'Poa Uncei-tain- Stationary.Could be seen ''d GodMn Jld. ••PJ higb. throuab oi.ffU ,,. lone 210• t'Poa 25000 tt. Stationary.lone Oodllan Pld . ,,r lot atated Approx. 210• 15000 tt. 500 IIPh lot atate4 frt• Oodllan Jld. ,,s Not ■tated Southw■ t ~ aile• lOJll)h lot atated ,4 llcmo , Vest to nat lot stated Speed ot a lcmt aeteor ar tallinC atar. IOJ"tbwaterl7 Rot atated 700-900 IIPh lot atated ,5 81.N• ot tire. lortbeaat lot atated Jot atated ,6 lot atated Jot atated ,1 lot 1tated lortheut aooo-10000 tt. 350111'h lot ■ tated JIOt stated lot ■ tated lot 1t1t.d ,e lot 1tated lfa,t stated Ion• Bait ,0000 tt. V0'7 ta1t lot 1tated 39 40 Kot 1tated Appeared troa 5000 tt. ~0-600 aph lot 1tated nOJ'tbeaat. 41 Jot atated South lot 1tated Great lot 1tated lOOaph lot 1tated 42 lot ,tated Borihweat 1500 4, lot 1tated 11rat group 1200 ,oo mph Jot 1tat14 S S/£, 8HOnd group 1/V. lot 1tated South lot 1tat1d hat lot 1tate4 44 lot atat•d lot 1tatecS Jot stated lot stated lot stat•d 45 , ••tel" lot 1tated Jot stated lortbwtatff1,1 1000 46 than an air• plane. 10000 J'uter 11ml lot 1tate4 Jot etated 80'1thfllterl7 IJ7 •ftT aiNratt h• ba4 rnr •••n. Gained an~ lot stated Ga1eous green 5/V llhtn 1t Mot stated 101t alt1t• a11t. lett the 'f'101D.1t7 • NND 927545 udt at a te1"1"1t1o nte. 60111 1uENTIAL n u NTIAL ?no1dent 10, Exhauat n:,11 leaflN Att1\Jde Pt. Spefd Btteot on ClOlldl 4aa ver, tatnt S/1 llhen 1t lett emaut trail the Y1t1n1tJ. llben 1IO'fing. lot 1tate4 Lett Jfot stated T10in1t)' at nr, h1gb 1peed. Gl'eenlah 111st 1hen deaoending. S/W ldlen it lttt the TlO1n1ty. lot 1tated lot stated Not stated lot 1tatect 210 degree, lllben 1 t lett the Tic - 1.nity. 15000-20000 lot stated Hot stated ~d lone Approxblately 1l'011 4000 to due nat lalen 1t Ter1 hi&b. lett the T1o1n1ty. Slow Not stated 49 Lon, trail ot Doke. Vest Very hi&h lot atated lot stated 50 Kot stated Shor•wrd Rot atated but •aid to be quite close. Slov until Bot stated OTer land then higher speed lfbile leaving. 51 Hot atated lot 1tated High Hot stated l ot stated 52 Bone Soutbnrd ; 8000-10000 JCade a P-80 Hot stated look llke 1t wu motion­ leH 1n the air. 52& Wot stated 120• 6000 Approxiaate- Not stated lT 150 aph. 53 Bot stated 120• 6000 285 aph. Not stated 5~ Bot 1tatecS Borth Sea to lortolk 22000 Equal to Not stated or greater than • Brit­ 1ab Mosquito. 55 lot 1tated DE 10000 Rip yel• Not ■ tated oc1t7• 1tated to be taster than conyent­ 1onal airplane. 56 •ot lt&ted Soutb saat 2000 tt 500-600 mph.Mot atated CONF1DENTIAL NND 927545 »ioldent lo, 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 rlDENTIAL • CO~ Bxbauat m11 lltfflPI il\1'1\4• ,t. lo\ 1tated DZ <,o• I ot ,o• ott the true IOJ'th on llor1son at bor1.Sonal plane. an ••t1111ted 1,A 1111• rap. lot 1tattd 1/W 1000 9500-10000 lot attted ,50- later ohaJll•d to 1or. Liabt tlae JPrca 1/1 bead- 6000 oolor. 1DI Eutwrd. 2000-,000 lot 1tated lorthern &e-nral Jot atattd lot atated thOUlud tt. lot 1tattd lortheaaterly 3000 Jot 1tated lortbeaaterly lot atated 1000 lot atattd Weit to la1t Low Lone atl'a- lorth to South tsht '4\itt 1treak 11.ll­ ilar to th• 1treak left by• traoer bullet. 500-1000 White bail lot 1tattd of l■Okt. 6000 Wot 1tated Southea1terl1 lot 1tateO Thin 1treaJc South of gl"e7ill\ color. 1000-,000 Bitber 1aokt 1B to SV or conden­ eat1on laat- SAI 2 1eoonda. Jilt)' hav• Southeaat then wot atated been IIIOkt t\ll"Jled and vnt or npor net. tr• 1nttnae NND 927545 ltt1s\ on 212'94• Jli,tl .el.. lot 1tated 001t7, 1ta­ wd toM taatu t:bUl • tnoer \,ullet. 510 apb. lot 1tattd 1000 lmota lot atat.4 raster than 1'0t 1tated ,ua,. Jl1&b rate lot 1tated of 1peed. TrandOUI Jot stated Speed. terr1tlo Jot 1tattc1 1000•120011>h lot stated Required ,-4 lot 1tattd 1econd1 to tnffl 70• an. Tnr1tlo lot 1tated lot 1tated lot 1tattd Vff"f t11t. lot stated a.oo,oo 1ot 1tated 7ooteoo lot stated ■i,eed WI aiaoet wit•. Incident lo. llxhauat ffiil - Bgd1ng ~hr r~eE·~flAl: iiUuii i i 41t1t1»4e Pt, • Sp••4 Vtftt op Qlouf• 72 Iona South Below 10000 'flteaendou Jot 1tated 1, lone Ba1terl7 approxillatel1 110• -,netio. 7000 175 IIPh Rot 1tated lot stated •ot 1tated Jlot ■ tated Oreata thd&ft7• thm, n•r Witneaaed. 75 lone Baat to wet 75 lot ,tated loi atated 76 lot stated Bot 1tated 4000-6000 lot atated Jot stated 77 lot stated Jfortihwat(Trut) •ot stated 600-1200 lot •ta'-4 78 lot stated 8va1&ht down. Deorna1Jlg tr• approi111atelJ 25000. Inaono~nblt lot stated 79 Jot atated Batt to lfe1t LIii t.ban 15000 Jot atated Kot 1tated 80 Jone southeast Lesa than 500 CCIIIPUttd at ·1:550 IIPh, hOWffJI IP• pelNd to aOTe "1th tbt speed ot • Jet 11.Jlcntt. lot atawd 81 lot stated • ortlnreat 6000 lot stated Bot stated 82 lone ,5t• 10000-18000 Tbree t1M1 lot 1tated that ot a Jet atrontt. 8:5 lot 1tated lot atated 11000 lot stated lot atated 84 lot atate4 lortbeaat 7500 lot atahd lot 1tated 85 Bot atated Borth 8500 35011Ph lot atated 86 Jfot etated IOJ1thard lot stated lot 1tated Rot atated 87 lot stated Not etated trom 6000 lot stated lot atated 88 lot stated lot 1tated 200 yards 110vhig ra,­ ?idly liot stated 89 llot etated Eaet 11000 210 mph JIJot stated NND 927545 CONFIDENTIAL 11JcnTIAl Incident Bxh&uat lo. Trail Beading lltitude Ft. Speed Ureot on Cloud• 90 One w1tneH lor'therly 8000-10000 lot atated lot atated thought be eaw Tapor traile 91 lot stated Diaappeared Great height High rate lot atated in the aoutb- ot apeed weat Jlot stated W.at Abon 1000 Oreat a pffd lot • tated Dropped troa Iot atated Ver, high lot atatecl sight on north Telooity aide of •t. Tom near Holyoke. MaH. Green and Deaoending Ter- Prom lSOOO 'fery high liot atated blue tleaea tioally rate ot apeed 95 Se..-eral color• Saatwa.rd Very high Jlot atated ot r1..... - rate or red and green apeed predominating 96 lot stated Bot stated 1200-1500 lot atated Hot atatecl 97 Wot stated 1'ot atated Mot stated !lot etated Mot atated 98 lot stated Jlot atated lot at&ted lot atated lot stated 99 Mot atated lreat to eaat tilot stated lot stated llot atated 100 Grey streaks Borth to aouth lot atated .llot stated lot atated were left in eky .. NND 927545 lfOtE: Inc1dent f 18 It has now been d•tinit•ly determined that both tho photograph and story were t. hou:, perpetrated tor publioity e.nd aooey. Incident #8• The peraon malting t he report on thil 1nc1deat was detsrainod to be &n excitable person, ••r/ talkt.tive, and poaseaaing a.n ex­ aggerated.. iugination and 1nol1ned to iJlpreaa people with his continuous uhatter. NND 927545 CONFIDENTIAL REPORTED DIRECTIOIS OF PLIGHT D 5 I Circling 16 Straight down 5 Direction Indefinite 64 Direction lot Stated 61 2Z 34 s • 1'he re an undetermined number ot ob­ jecta ware reported the minimum number of object& are plottedo Same object reported by di!'terent p,ople only shown oncto NND 927545 CONFIDENTIAL , NND 927545 eCONFIDENTIAL • Identit1c&tlon ot Subjeot llatter (a, per ••Pl•) IIOU 11CIT 19 Feb 48 l l. Reterenoe 1a ade to th• £11&1 tann b7 llr. Rhoad•• (In.oident f,40) which ••re tonrarded tor exuination. Tb• tollcnriq data ••r• dtri·Hd. froa a atucly ot the 1peciaen1 a. It ia oonoludecl that th• me• ii of tne pbotogn.phio m.ture, and 1• not due to 1~rteotion1 in th• nul.S.011. or lack o1 deTel opaent in the ■ to­ tion in quHtion. Th• im.c• •xhibit1 a "tt.11" indicating th• pn,per t)'~ ot di1to·rtion due to the tne ot 1hutter u1ed, tht apt.cl of the o'bj•ot and tht fixed •peed. of the abutter. Thll trailing ott oontona, to th• g.ntral intor•• tS.oD giT~ 1n th• report. l>. Th• nport 1tatH th• objeot na •••n a.1- approxiat•ly 2000 t••t at tho ti• ot expoaure. !he obaerHl" allO report, bein& abl• to Ht oltarl1 t. oanow of •nolo1v•. !h• Tiaual aouity ot an aTerag• perao!lf'woulcl allow tor thi• peroeptioa, bu't oH•te:l Illy not auoh t'\ll'ther •• 'the 1ubjeot Md low fl nal ooutraat, being cn.y againat a C!'&T •~• It•• ou e1tabl1ah the 41,teoe troe o&aora ~o 1ubjeot, •• Will h&Te quntlty ,fl. !he report 1tate1 tha.t a 820 oaatrt. n.1 u,.ct, in4ioat1ng Hnn.l po111Mlli1••• ti.not tht 620 ia ooa111cle.tur• for the •pe>oli~ a.114 width ot the til.a •• aay h&Ye mptiT•I 2t' X 2t", 2f X ~ a.n4 2-t x 4f'. The aaapl• aubaitte4 ha.cl been out and it wa1 not po11ible to Ht&blilh the 1xaot traat dse. !be 2t x 2f' Iii• waa rul•d out, 1-anrc 2¼ x st" a.nd i¼ x ~. It 1 t ftre th• ro,...r, them. the tooal leqtii ot the 101 would be ••• an4 uelisg 2000 teet ... the approid.u.te aubj•ot diatanoe and the lagt dH at 1/M•, .. ban an app,onaat• ••se ot '4 t••• a, the cllagonal of the objeot. low 1t wa ohoo ■• the latter n.lue ot a• tor t.,eal length, •• h&Te an approxi• •te T&lue ot' &&• tor th• cliagon&l. Poln-t:1 ot meaauNaent are 1ndioated troa . x to x on lxhibit •••• CONFIDENTIAL NND 927545 • " NND 927545 • NND 927545 THE AEROPLAtlE 18S I FEBRUARY 13, 194& # The Biolo! of the Flying Saf cer- I The Story of Low Aspect Ratio Aircraft By A. R. Weyl, A.F.R.Ae.S. other hand. the U.S. Air Force considered the matter seriQU\ S EVERAL MONTHS AGO people on both side.. of the enough to warrant inve..tigations into the incidenis which had Atlantic rushed into print wnh claims of having ob~erved queer saucer-shaped aircraft which new very fast. Some main­ been reported. tained, indeed. that they had seen ,quadron\ of , uch mysterious In the meantime. the occurrence of Flying Saucer\ ha.. ceased ob{"ccts; others described vividly how these celestial saucers v.ere to be new\. Presumably. the~ have all landed. [A new crop ab e 10 descend vertically. All agreed on the \aucer-hl.e , hapc. wa<; reported in Tur AER0PLANF for January 16 la~t under the heading •• Tuppence Coloured."-Eo.] Sceptics considered that, for non-aeronautical people ltv1ng far from the former playarounds of V. I. V.2, and all the rest Aerooaudc-al Aotlquities and lniquititt of Hitler's "civilizatory • practices. flying saucer<; might indeed As a matter of fact. saucer-\haped aeroplane.. are not quite constitute phenomena of threatening aspect, from their experi­ Quite ence of domestic disagreements. Doctors, however. hastened to as new as some people have tried to mal.e out. (Fig. I.) assure the World that saucer-shaped or lenticular objects could a number of a1rernft have been constructed and nown with well be nothing more than specks in the lenses of the eyes of the wi11gs of the ring or disc type which could well have been mis­ observers- the so-called m11sae 1·0/ames associated with high ta ken for saucers. hat-brims. ~pades, doughnut~. diamonds. blood pressure. Teetotallers blamed the sorry consequence.. of Greek letter,. pancal.e\, nat fhh. geometrical symbols. dinner imbibing intoxicating liquors for the observations. On the plates, and other entirely non-aeronautical commodities. Moreover. it is quite true. .and not even a minor secret, that, at present. aeronautical engineers are paying increased attention to s uch queer wing shapes: disc wings. for instance. permit ceriain disadvantages of conventional wing\ to be overcome. It 1s even thought that such shares have been neglected too long 1 he blame for rheir neglect can be ascribed to the doctrine of the induced drng. When the Lanche..ter-Pranc.ltJ aerofoil theory became recoi,1nized nearly 30 }ears ago, and \\hen the !>a1lplane movement proved that slender wings were a necessity for soaring. designer, began striving after .. good .. aspect ratios. The theory blinded their eye~ agains, the poss1bili11es of other than convenrional wings. Thi~. hO\\Cver. was not the fault C"f the theory.,\\ Prandtl soon sho\\ ed its restrictions. We have now come 10 reconsider the matter of wing shape in an objective way. as it is quite possible that aircraft design is approaching a cul-de-sac ~o long as it retains it~ bias in --6----~ Apttro.l 1L- I._ ' _°' , -r.:--i, I c 6) - _____,_ _'°' _1 ______, ==~ (b OCl5S• stCTIO!'I \ ,pa" C chor4 t \ )(•-,lod a,u Fig. 1.-" Turbine flying machine" (project) of the Munich engineer Gustave Koch, 189311894. Tailless monoplane of SquHC' low aspect ratio. propelled by a ducted fan. A SO h.p. ...~ , steim engine wu deemed sufficient for this flying motor car. The design of the duct shows intelligent anticipation. L ...._______. AR • 0-1 I- b ,__j l t t Fig. 2 (Right).- Definitlon of the aspect ratio of an aerofoil. The arrows signify the direction of the air flow against the t t t wing. The terms pteroid (feather-like) and apterold have been introduced by F. W . Lanchester. NND 927545 \ I THE AEROPLANE 186 FEBRUARY 13, 1948 C..HlUr of the "well-tried " convention, .. normal " wings. For the c reasons. a study of. the hi\lory of the u'IC of low asp,.-ct. rat,o) m wing de:.11n will be of interest. Sp1ruually, the fathers of uch acronauucal exhibits were Ens!"hmen. 1 hey were people of good reputation ttnd by no _me.ins suspect o( aerodynamic perversion. F. W. Lanchcstcr was undoubtedlf the first acrodynamici,t to g,~e thought to aeroplane winis ot circular or squ.irc ,hapc. lo ht) bool.. publl\hcd m 1907, he referred c'<prcssivcly 10 ~uch "aptcrold" wmii hnpc~ {F1a. 2) i,nd advanced the view that Nc11.ton's law wa, valid for these. 1he correctncs; of thi~ Fig. 3.-A simple experiment In annular .ierofolls. vie\\ wa~ c~pcrimentally proved 30 ~cars later. In a prev1ou\ article on " Stalling Characteristics of Taille-.s Aeropl.rne~ •• ( lttE AFROl'LANI:. for August IS. 1947), tl,e early mtcrc-.t tal..cn by F. <i:iow Sir Frederick) Handley Pa~e m the stalling quahucs of wmgs of low aspect rauo was mentioned. He showed, 10 a pap~r read an April. 1911. that marginal vortices and pressurc-equalmng flow around the tips were respon~iblc for the delay of flow separation which h.id been obmved at high incidence). He stated. in this connection:-•· . .. With planes of high aspect ratio _(I.e.. with slender wings of normal span chord rnllo), \here " not the same facility for the " feedmg m " of f_rcsh air at the plane sides (i.e .. nt the wing tips) 10 act as a l~nk between the plane and the live stream. and therefore the live stream leaves the plane's b11ck at .in earlier st11i;e than in the ca,e of the plane of lower aspect ratio...." He then sho11.,ed_ some experimental evidence for the delay of flow separauon with decrease of the aspect ratio and for the greater Fig. 4.-Prlnclple or th• Huth annular-biplane system. maximum lift of such wing~. . When Lanches.tcr published his bool.., man was ju~t begin­ main wing. the tailless aeroplane is created. For all these nma to_spre~d his wmgs. and in order 10 fly with a minimum arrangements. the condition is that, in the case of a wina com­ ellpend1ture m power, wini:s of fair aspect ratio were a neccs­ s11y. Neverthele\s, there were a few early aeroplanes. notably pmed of normal (unstable) aerofoil ~lions. the stabilizin& aerofoil exens a certain leverage in relation to the centre of the little :· Demo1~lle •• monoplane of Santos Dumont (1909­ gravity of the aircraft. 19 !0l, which had an aspect ratio of only 2 and proved to be quIle \Ucces,ful. Another possibility is to combine two lifting winas so that they will stabilize and balance each other. For this purpose, all One o( the earlie~t attempts at a genuine •· apteroid" 11cro­ plane was an experiment by a German architect, Flick-Remig that is required is that the front wing shall possess, at all inci­ dence, of.flight, a greater effective incidence than the rear wiog. ( 1910). It had a span of 7j ft .. and performed in hops only. In other words. the centre of gravity must be nearer to the le.iding wing than to the traili9g wing, and the whole arrange­ Annular Aerodynamks ment must be balanced accordmgly. In this way, we arrive at A ,1mple experiment with ~ome paper and a pair of sci,sor; the conception of a stable tandem aeroplane. shows that the ~inl..ing speed of a circular disc loaded with a If we now take such a tandem arrangement and sweep the paper clip is decreased when a hole of suff1e1ent diameter is cut leading wing back and the trailing wina correspondingly forward out in the centre (Fig. 3). This justifies the development from so that the tips of both wings merge into each other, we obtain the circular d1-.c wmt; to the annular aerofoil. The theory of an annular or ring-shaped wing system. Aerodynamically, it is the phenomenon i~ still somewhat obscure. of minor importance if the shape is actually circular or oval, (Having tried thl\ experime01. we can confirm that the char­ or 1f triangular or quadrangular shapes con,titute the wing. For acteristics of an annular aerofoil are certainly very different ,implicity's ..ake, in all such cases considered here, the term from those of the plain d1-.c aerofoil. Our own experiment, .. annular" 1, applied. 11.cre admittedly somewhat lim1ted in scope and we were unable As mentioned, the aerodynamics of such shapes cannot yet !O form more than an imprc~10n of the relauve sinking ,peed,: be considered as fully established. But it i, proved that longi­ II did, howev~r. arpcar to be le,~ with the annular aerofoil. Our tudinally stable wing systems can be obtnined with such shapes. mam conclu\lon, w•!re that cutting a 2.25-in. diameter hole in Some type~ relying on such wings have shown quite remarkable a .5 37S-in. diameter disc. resulted in a much flatt.er glide; the llying qualiue~. It is also pos,ible that, with annular wings. the ,tall 11.,1, not ,o abrupt. and the stability in the glide wa, induced drai; i, less than with conventional wings of equiva­ 1mpm,cd. We were so fascinated with the e>tperiment th.it we lent aspect ratio. hope to repeat u ,U a later date on a more ..c:1entific levcl.- Eo.) In common with circular wing,. annular wings have the fhe conven11onal aeroplJne " constituted of two ba\ic aero­ remarl..able property that the lift force ,teadily increases with frnh: a "ing (,, h1ch ,uppl1e~ the lift) and ri tail (,, hich balances incidence up to fairly high values without a stall. For all and ~tabilize~ the wing). We I.now that \Uch an arrangement I.no" n arrangements the maximum lift seem, 10 occur at o.f the 111.0 aerofoil compnnenh i, by no mean, the only pos­ incidences exceeding 30 degree,. A, ,uch high angle~ of \tblc one. The balancing .ind st11b1lmng aerofoil (tailplane) incidence are not likely 10 be reached an flight unintentionally. need not to be aft of the lifting wing a, a tail. It can be It 1s obv1ou, "hy annular wings have become renowned for arranged anywhere 1n relation to the wing. e.g .. above It, belo11. their good-natured flying charac1eri,1il:,. it. or in front of it. Another property of annular wings (first establi,hed by If the balancing aerofoil i, in front of the main win~. the aero­ Tilghman Richard,) i, that the centre of pre,sure of ,uch wing plane i~ of the tail-first type. and if it i, attached to the ,y,tcm, i, nearly stationary in flight, or that a travel of the centre of pre,wre can be obtained which i, po,itively stable unul incidences of the order of 18 degree are reached. In fact. no case of longitudmal in,tabihty ha, ever been reponcd w11h an annular wing. although the centre of gravity has often been located d:ingerou,ly far back. The fi~t annular-wing aeroplane dates bacl.. 10 1908. It h,1d little succe\\. Two type, 11.ere con~tructed m ,ucces\ion tu the de,1gns of a capable German aeronautical engineer, Fritz Huth. who "as by profe\\1on a teacher at a technical ,;chool ( f-tg,. 4 and 61. The ,econd type. which had a less elaborate a1r,crcw drive. flew in May. 1910: it wa,. however. ,o devoid of performance. in spite of a SO b.h.p. engine. that it was soon ,1f1erv.ards d1..carded as a hopeless proposition. Britain'~ Fir..1 Doughnut The Bri11,h concepuon of the idea has been for more ,ucccs,ful. A, it i, cun,1i1u1ed, until now. the best tried reprc,cntativc. it~ hi,1ory may be given somewhat more c,1cn,1vcly. Ihe ori~mal idea for an annular-wing aeroplane came from (,. A Kitchen. m about 1910; he con,tructed a b1pl.1ne with Fig. S. Kitchen's doughnut of 1911 . rini:-,haped wmg,, but made no progrcs, "ith it. The stable NND 927545 FEBRUARY 13, 1948 187 THE AEROPLANE flight of Kitchen's models. however. convinced Cedric Lee that an aeroplane of such de~ign would be- a succes,. 11nd late in 1910 he acquired the patents. At the same time, G. Tilghman Richards, who was a qualifii:d aeron:iutical engineer, became , ~uffic1ently interested in the mailer to give up a budding engineering bureau in order to join Cedric Lee and 10 devote ·JUI· tl?,!i m hib energy 10 tbe idea of a ·• safety " aeroplane. Tilghman Richards began with systematic experiment, on __.._ models and on large gJiders. Later, careful wind-tunnel test~ (including the observation of the pressure distribution) were made by him in a :!-ft. tunnel he had constructed at East London College and al~o in tunnels-of tile National Physical Laboratory. The preparation of the design was, therefore, uncommonly ~-ardul for this early period of 1911 -1914. In order to ap(>reciate the intention~ for the development, the following quota11on from a paper read by Tilghman Richards in about 1912 is illuminating:­ ... . . 1 he very fnct of high lift occurring at small angles rreans the provision of large area for l•nding speed resulting in an inefficient altitude of the plane at high speed: and the inherent instability of curved aerofoils means a continual dependence on extraneou, controls carried at some distance f_rom the wing by heavy and redundant Structure. . . . High lift at small angles il> u~eles~. likewise high lift/ drag ratio at ,mall an,les, and what is required is the reversal of the normal type of hft curve i:iving little lift •lit small angles with low value of the lift/ drag ratio for landini. . . ." Seen from our pre.sent state of knowledge and development, and facing the burning problems of personal aircraft for the man in the street. it would seem that this opinion is a very i;o~ argument for further experimentation along the lines indicated. _The. experience with _powered aeroplanes was at first beset with disappointment~. Famine P_oint, Heysham, was apparently not a spot from which aeronauucal experimenters could derive any comfort. The original Kitchen biplane with a 50 b.h.p. rotary engine was wrecked by a gale, during I 9 I I. before flight tests could b~ m~de. After recort~truction some flight~ were performed wtth 11 at Sho!eham <!~ring 1911-12: yet it never gave any pr~~f of superior q~ah11es. The biplane had ailerons of the or1gmal Farman variety between the wings. Very soon the biplane arrangement w!1s given up in favour of the monoplane. A subs~quent experimental monoplane was nicknamed the " Sccret-C1rct1: Plane ".~r "Doughnut,'' the experiments being shrouded agamst pubhclly (much against the interests of the dev~lopmen!), This annular-wing aeroplane (Fig. 7) was equipped with an 80 b.h.p. rotary and test-flown by Gordon England on November 23, 1912. at Shoreham. The flight was _remarkable and luck>; for the pilot, but. unlucky for the precious craft. After havmg flown a large circuit on the first attempt. the pilot noticed, when coming in to land that the aeroplane was exceedingly tail-heavy and getting out ~f control the elevator. bei!Jg insufficient. At about 150 ft. above th~ ground the inevttable stall took place: but the pilot managed ~~mehow to drop his mount upside down on to telegraph wire~ and escaped without personal injury. Wtth the reconstructed and improved monoplane many s\iccessful flights were made by Gordon England, N. S. Percival -:'x: - -'­ Fig. 6.-Huth annular biplane of 1909. and Gordon Bell. Finally it came to i;ricf when flown by Cedric Lee himself without previous training. After a good fliaht he managed to put it into a river. Another incident happened with a subsequent annular monoplane: the elevator jammed anct broke in flight. The aeroplane merely pancaked to the ground, again preserving the health of i~ pilot, E. C. Gordon England. These types in their final form had lateral control effected by differential deflection of the elevators. It was realized that this elevon control was not very effective for lateral manceuvres. yet the lateral stability of the wing proved so great that the provision of ailerons seemed superfluous. The loneitudinal stability was always satisfactory, once the centre of gravity was properly located. Because of the great inherent ·fore-and-aft stability, a separate elevator was, at one time, located on top of the vertical fin and permitted the fitting of special ailerons. For directional control a vertical rudder was attached to the stern of the fuselage at the trailing edge of the wing. A form of tricycle undercarriage was employed. - In respect of performance, the wind-tunnel tests indicated that a better lift/ drag' ratio could be expected than with a comparable conventionaf aeroplane., However, no conclusive evidence for this has, as,yet, been presented. The third British monoplane of this type also had an 80 b.h.p. rotary engine. but this time it was located aft and. further, drove the airscrew by means of an extension shaft. Unlike its pre­ d~cssors, ~~ dihedral was provided. and because of this the flying qualities were found to have been greatly improved. From early in 1914 until the outbreak of the 1914-18 War this unconventional aeroplane was frequently flown (mostly by Gordon Bell): it was demonstrated before Winston Churchill in the hope of securing orders from the Admiralty. Altogether, 11,000 miles were flown in about 128 hours, and eve~ people not previously trained as pilots were able to fly 11. In May, 1914. two such aeroplanes were being designed for parlicipation in the Gordon-Bennett Race of 1915. When the 1914-1918 War terminated the work. it had clearly grown far beyond the stage of an untried project and could have well been termed a successful experiment with every prospect of becoming a practical proposition. In l?l~-10 Tilghman Richards succeeded in persuading the Air Mm1stry 10 place an order for a further experiRlental aeroplane. But a week after communica1ing this decision Major-General Bagnall-Wild, the promoter of the idea, retired, and red tape killed an intelligent intention. It is only fair to record that aeronautical progress has suffered fr~m the failure to have this develop'ment continued. As Tilghman Richards stated many years ago:­ .. There i~ no!hing myMerious about th~ annular plane. It affords high ltft at large angles, ha~ no >urble point and has ~ good lift/ drag . rati_o for wings with a body. ' The !Tiachm~ was very fast in p,ght. for its day, and extremely slow m lan~mg: and there bei!)g three dislinct regions of lift, one aptero1d and two pterygo1d on each half-wing. the movement of the centre of pressure was a resultant of three distinct regional movements; ,tnd with slight modifications could be made 10 move in any desired manner without affecting the general efficiency of 1he plane." As _mentioned. th«: c!rcular shape for the wing is not in itself ~ dec1s1ve cha".\c1enst1c. ?reviously. in 1908, A. H. Edwards invented the ring-type wing with rhomboidal or triangular shape_ (Brit. Pat. Spec. No. 4519 of February, 1908). An experimental aeroplane of this type, "The Rhomboidal,'' was constructed and tested at Brooklands. It wa~ not successful. (To ~ conlit1u~d.) Fig 7.-Cedric Lee Monoplane No. 1 of TIighman Richards, 1912. NND 927545 .. ,. MARCH S, 1948 279 - THE AEROPLANE -­ .. The Biology of the Flying Saucer- II By A. R. Weyl, A.F.R.Ae.S. In this series of articles the history of low-aspect-ratio aircraft is recounted and technical aspects of their design discussed. leading up to their use for supersonic flight. T (Continued from J>Olt 185, February 13 /rut.) HE SECRET-CIRCLE "CONSPIRACY;• mentioned pre­ viously in connection with circu)ar-aerofoil aeroplanes. did not lack congenially inventive spirits. Early in 1913 an engineer in Dijon. M. Bourgoin. made experiments with an annular­ wing aeroplane. The tests were unsatisfactory. One feature of this design was the provision made for varying the wing incidence in flight. More recently, a similar idea was suggested by N. H. Warren and Th. R. Young (Fig. 8). In 1937 they secured a patent (Brit. Pat. Spec. No. 508,022 of December, 1937) for a non­ stallable monoplane of rhomboidal shape (i.e., leading wing swept back and trailing wing swept forwards with the wing lips merged together). This was provided with a conventional tail at 1he stern of a long fuselage and a number of advantage~ Fis. 8.-Project by W arren and Young for a liJht twln­ en1lned two-seater of 90 h.p. (1937). The elevator is fitted between fin and fuselage. There Is no tailplane. were claimed. lo 1943 a model for a two-seater fighter with tail turret show~ the separate tail omitt~d; special emphasis was laid oo the triangular shape of each wing and the effect of sweep was relied upon. Nothing more bas become_ known since however but it is worth noting that the proJect had been'based oa ;ound aerodynamic considerations. lo 1933 the annular wing of the German sculptor Antes created a mild s~nsation bc<:ause ?f the good performance oC models made to this coocepuon (Fig. 9). Some.what peculiar was the aerodynamic ~onceP.tion of the rhomboidal annular aeroplane of P. Nesbitt W11loughby, a = Fis, 9.--Model of the "annular wing " ~f Antes. 1933. qualified aeronautical engineer (Fig. 10). The Willoughb} Delta Co. of London had taken up the development of th,., idea in 1931 and sufficient means were available to make rather extensive tests. The principle is best described as a tandem monoplane with two aerofoil-shaped parts connecting the leading wing with the trailing wing near the tips. The "side wings" had aerofoil shape not only in their longitudinal cross-section (i.e., in the direction of flight). but also laterally. This was considered a characteristic feature and subject to patents. It was claimed that the vortex distribu1ion induced by such shape gave an unusually high aerodynamic efficiency in spite of the small span of the aeroplane. In addition. it was pointed out that the maximum lift was shifted to very high incidences. Moreover. th