65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_007

:::i: I D CX) I I w C) CX) Ill -4- I f C/1 m (1) :it: )> 0 D Cf) C C )> cr 01) ;o - ;u ~ --f ;u - m "'O - I 0 ~ -..J ~ ;o 0 ' ,. "' CJ) x ...... Gl ~ <n -I,. 01) a, w 0 (J) I\) ~ -- ~ :it w I -I>- w - "Tl OJ nf 3fustire - t I (") m z -i ::0 FROM OR AC>DEC TO THIS FILE) )> r ::0 m (') 0 ::0 0 fl) (') m z --f m ::0 •.,. II) I % I I • --o 11 c» ffl en - n.> iR Cl> I CA> ::c <S) -=> "' ch I CA) CA> 00 ...p. co CA> ...p. 1/&' '91 i3 t;..._ II-. r - r ~ ,I - ~ ,._..... I ' • L ..... ' ..... -;,,~ 7 I .._ t I -.r ~ ·~ ._ .... ... 1 J - - - ......., fUG FB/sAVANNAH 8-9-52 6 - 46 PM EST fu;c;oR, FBI URGENT e~ FLYING SAUCERS, SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT, AEC . SECURITY OFFICE OF AEC 4-_ ADVISED THIS DATE THAT TWO EMPLOYEES OF THE E. I . DU PONT COMPANY SAw A BLUE LIGHT WITH AN ORANGE FRINGE SHAPED LIKE A SAUCER FLY OVER THE FOUR HUNDRED AREA OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT AT APPROXIMATELY NINE THIRTY PM AUGUST EIGHT, FIFTYTWO. OBJECT FLYING AT A HIGH RATE l, .~,. :11 t - WED ~~ - r • RE ( c ,'ED F BI CO'-H.Hlt'1 CHIONS Aue 9 7 4a PM '52 I f I-, ....... ;]j . c:') ~ .c., • ' ::0 rn (":, 0:> lTl ~ ,.,.; ·-· r "° ,H :-t: ---o -1 • 0 === _, ~ _. r,rt t-., r--.., . . .. . . .. ... . . . . . ..Mn_ ...,_ _ t..11&hl1.t1_ .....__ ,-1. . ...._ loll OMn_ ....,_ _ August 11, 1952 llr. Edmond J. ane 1 Mauston, Wtsconstn Dear JJr. Kane: Y ~­ Your letter dated August 1, 195'?, has been received, and I apprectate t ) e t , terest which promoted your brt n9tn g uour observations to my attentton. Inasmuch as the matter of the /lying saucers ts bet n~ i nvest igated by t he United States Atr " orc e, I am tattn g the liberty o/ / orwardtng a copy of your 1 et t er to the Di rector of $.~~ i al In.ve3it igat i ons, The I nspect:or Gerner.al,. :Depa-rtmerf't: of -fJh•e A n : Force, 'I!te Pentagon, Yfas h i ngt.on,. D. C. I/ you have ; urcn.er observattona along t r.ts ltne, I ~ould sug~est that you may wtsh to ooa­ municat e dtreotlv with htm. Sincerely youra, John Edgar Hoover Director Copy by form to Air For ce Intelligence. NOTE: Spec~al Agent Samuel Hardy, EOD - , 3-28-25, GS-12, $8760, assi gned to Minneapolis. ~;~ Special Agent Cli nton ,tr. Stetn, ...•iOD~-6-31, GS-15, $10,800 , assi gned Division II as inspect \~~ RHD: gr:m.fo .n ,..,· J • r.:? :~1.. 'q /'""' 0 .:.1 ~ ~~-, HO O t • 03~ "3338 ,~,i Hd BG ZI Z I am ~ \\-c ,_ AUG 2 O 1952! t. ~-l'Hi • 8-l t • '1 •t\ ' ..~ (' ' \ 0;I(, .., ~ '.11\\'l~~ t • Mauston, ,Jisconain, 1 August 195'2 Mr. J . Edgar Hoover, Director FBI Washington, D. C. Dear Sir: As a retired member of the St Paul Pol ice Force and having had numerous pleasant contacts with Agent Clintonste.in and Samy Har4Y, I take the liberty of an opinionthat came to me that th~flying saucers scare seems possible that the rel~se..d.. enfil'gLQ~oded A½?mic Bombs could be soaring around in the atmosphere. I know you can channel this thought to ""tlre prupet atrbhoritt~and cer­ tainly would appreciate your comments on this thouiht. I am a Veteran of both ·.:orld War #1 and #2 and also a member of the American Legion for 32 years. I am presently a member of The American Legion Post #81 of Mauston, .iisconsin which is known as the Burton-Koppang Post. If this thought is instrumental in tracking down the source of this scare thereby releaving some of the tension to our American Country, it may be worth following up at this time. Thanking you very much for your cooperation and consideration in· this matter and will you please acknowledge and advise your can­ ments. Ii :.,,J Yours very truly, iJ~i.t{,:,_,,.~ Edmond J . Kane Hauston, v-Jisconsin ./__ J;O.~~: Personal file RECORDED • 119 ,~. ~ ~ z 9 ~ 11 ­ 5 .:i~Or 'ijH • ___, t_ August 12, 1952 Mra. Ora ~ygrett c/o Lou Uerlaw Far~ Rural Route No . l New Palestine, Indiana Deor Jlrs . Tygrett: four letter dated July 31, 1952, addressed to the War Departnent, c/o Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been received. Tour interest 1,n fu rri iahing your observation in this regard is appreciated. In view o.f the contents of your comm.uni cation wh ich also appear to be of i nterest to the Department of the Air Force, I have taken the liberty of .furnishing th.at Agency a copy of your 1 etter. S incerely yours , John Edgar Hoover Director '!Ohan_ ......__ 11ctt<>l•_ lleJaonc_ Cl•&e__ Olavln__ .......__ ....,_ _ n-u,__ Wu11;hlln_ .....__ Tele.,•._ l\lollQMn_ Cl~)__ COMM-FBI r••(' I , .~.... ..l .• ' MAILED 20 68 AUG 221952 • "t ., ' ' ... ·ra:i .. tr.,Wc5"-, ' \ - j f 0~ 03'JIAt/. ......................, .... WC~ S~t!I ~ \ dUA (.i _, __ La'\&&hlln_ "°"'-­ h\e, b._ J 'foleon__ ....__ llobot._ 8olaon•_ Clea __ QlaYin.__ .. -""--­ ­ Tr•c,: Auguai 13., 1952 To: Mrecior o/ Special Inueaiigaiiona The Inapecior General Deparimeni o/ ihe Air Force The Penia~on f'aaht ngion 25., D. c. John Edgar Hoover, Dtrec1or Federal Bureau o/ lnueaitgation Subjeci: o,.LIING DISKS There ia aitached a Phoioatai of a ael/ ezplanaioru leiier dated Auguai 5, 1952, ai Poniiac, Jlichtgan1 received bu thia Bureau /roa J/r. r. a. Jennings, 3096 Ha;ulaar11, Zone 1 7, Pon-tiac, Jlichtgan, relaiing to t he capiioned maiier. Jlr. Jenninga' le1ier has been acknowledged and he has been inf ormed ihai a copu o/ hia letter haa been /urniahed· io uour o//tce /or approprt aie 8 aitention. No Juriher act ion t a cont emplated in 1his matier b'fl this Bureau. R£CORD£D • ll At~ni noC:lf •, £\.-~ There is no record in ihe Jiles o/ ihe Bur eau EHM: kc 0 {"-,V i ~ '/ ~Fer'/- - Jar- AUG 15 J1954. ~ - !'Tl C: n :.> tden-t;i/ianle wt ih'" J([J9ling~ r ... 'O • 4~H' "°'If' -IU d3l] S ·1 I a .:J 'OfrlJ l J\11 1 \l:t:-)3 --- - - of Special Investigations Department of t h• .A£r Force c. Director Bureau o/ Investtgatton Date: Auguat 13, 1952 To: Director Ths Inspector General The Pentagon rashtngton 25, D• From: John Edgar Hoover, Federal Su bject:q,LTING DISKS There ta attached a copv o/ a self ezplanator71 letter dated Julu 31, 1952, received b71 thi a Bureau from J/r. Benedfcto Roattro, 1647 Part Avenue, New rort Ctty, relating to the capttoned •atter. 1/r. Romero's letter ha.a been actno0ledged ,6 and he has been inJoraed that a cop11 o/ hta letter has been /urntshsd to uour oJ/tce /or appropriate Bureau files fail to reflect any~in~ rmation that can be identified with Mr . Romero. - (.,I.) EbM: Ire !Olton__ ......__ SS.bOla_ ......,_ .,___ . OU.l'ib__ -·-­ ....,__ t.MChU.n_ --­ ,.••. Illa._ lollcaan_ attftntion. No thts matter bu At~ NOTE: further action ts cont~m.plated in thta Bureau. !fl ._. r • .Date: Auguat 14 1 l 958 To: Ltr•otor o/ Bpeotal lnvsattga~tona The Inspector General Deparnent of t he A1r Force The Pentagon Washington ?.51 D. c. Thsre t3 a~tached a cop~ o/ a •~1/­ ezplcnatory letter dat~d Au9ue~ 1, 1~521 received by thia Bureau /ron Yra . Fred Hau/e, 606 Falnu~ Avenue, Fairm.ont, est Virginia, relatin.g to t2 the captioned mot~er. P ~ Bur eau Jiles Jail to reflect any i,nformati on that can. be i den. tifi~-i· with Mrs. Haufe . en kh/<l, ~I(!' ~ i .t14 y-V .....__ I . ' ) ; .... . . f ... SERVICE UNIT ;.;J?,act Spelling ~ All References __subversive Ref. --Main File --Restricted to Locality of FILE NUMBER SERIALS #Jr__ l .. Imtialed ,. S'r,AN.OAR•() FORM NO. 64 • Office Memoranduni • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT DATE: August 8, 1952 TO : MR. R. T.:., HARED Irg-- Tolson_ _ La.Od.__ cleu__ FROM : _7F. DOWNI G~ Olavln__ :.lchola__ SUBJ~CefANONYMOUS COMMUNICATION WRITTEN kosen__ ERMAN LANGTTAGE RECEIVED BY NCINNATI ENQUIRER" PERTAINING FLYING SAUCERS 11 SECURITY MATT"R - X Reference is made to a letter from the Cincinnati Office date~ August 6~ 195'2, submitting an anonymous letter in German concerning I so- called "Flying Saucers . 11 Attached are 7 copies of a translation of this German material ~AA~t~ prepared in the Cryptanalysis- Translation Section. ,, y--. ~ • . a No r eply has been made by us to the August 6, 1952, ·letter .frqm Cincinnati. RECOMMENDATION: That the Domestic Intelligence Division review the Cincinnati submission and accompanying Bureau translation, for appropriate handling, noting particularly a suggestion in the last I,,aragraph of the Cincinnati letter to consider makif!g this informati~ available to other Governmental Agencies. I J X)t.~ • Q 62-83894 . "'K~ ~ ". 'i,1 (,, ;,_ J'Jti"?j- ~ -..:..t.-l;b- [wr­ rm:jen \ r,- &~~... \~Attachm~7~ NC\, /}( \ L; ( G 2v • ~a 5 8 SEP 2 1952 '(J f.}(•• 73 J AUG 18 195~ nuc \ \ 9 56 ~\.\ ,~,.: ~J:'.C'O f SPIONhGE p RECEIVE D--hARb !l 1.: !' S nt=·.. . ,, ~ ~~1.5~r1cr. ,\UG t 8 10 02 AM '57 t- B I HI LABORATIJRY DlvlSillN .r), "' "'\ .... • ' .. ., -­ F'ly:1..ng ~aucer, a weapon teoted in 19h41 whieh 1a probably now being produced 1n aerie•, and at thia tiae causes a grat stir, ia av-weapon 1'bich has a round body a1lllilar to a disk haYinu a diameter of about 48-$0 m. On the outer ring it has about li5-SO aut.Qalatic circular noseles which after the ignition of tho disk circulate around a plexiglasa :;phere 1:n the cent.er in which. the ea'suri.ng and controllin1 dov:tces !or long-distance steering aro located. In the opbere is still sufficient apace for atom bombs. llhase weapons are in Thlaeian hands and can haw an e.ffect1ve range ot ~.3S,OOO km. ffio conatruotor ot v-weapona FJEDEL 1n German7 atated that it concerns • typical v-weapon on which ho hlld worked b111u1elf. I am aure t.hat tbe truth ie better than a pamc among isnorant people. 'H. SCH. OPIES DESTROVE D .7 O NOV 19 Hl64 • • DATR o/ .Date: To: Dtroctor oJ' ~pecial Snvesttgattons ThD Inspector General Dcp,:rtocnt o.r th Atr F.orce The f>antcoon oeh:t ngton 25, n. c. o: John ~oar Uoou r 1 trector Federal Bureau o/ Inv~sttoatton litibjec"b: C}LYIN ~~ UOEES !i'hare ts attaol,cd co untcatton whtch ao encloood 0ith a letter dated July 29, l958 fro r . 3ohn Oollow y, JV Clifton Placa, Broo lyn s. New Yor~. r latluc to the captioned otter. JJr . Gallow y' a letter hao bocn aoknowledo d ~nd he has bee~ 1nJome~ that thtc comt!Untco~ton ha been furntahe6 to your o/-tioe ,tor apprDprtate ott n~ton. ·o further actton ia coritc olated th 'thte natter by 1Jhi 13ureau. ( SEP • • - --- Director, FBI SAC., San Diego (100-856.$) BORDERLAND SCmtCES , RF.sEARCH ASSOCIATES San Diego, California; J.m.AD LAINE - Director; YAX FREEOO'J LONG - Director Refe1..ence is made to San Diogo letter dated 8-.S-52 concerning the captioned matter. For the additional information of the Bureau, there is being trans­ mitted herewith one copy each of the follO'IT.i.ng which were made available to me by FRANCIS OEM, who is a member of the captioned organizations l . Mimeographed letter consisting ot four pagoa addressed to His EKcellency, Tho Pres ident of the tllited States . 2. ?,limeogl"aphed announcement consisting of three pages entitled "For Information of the Public - and the Sake of the Record A Synopsis of Important Data". - Enclosure (2) JFS1jec I ll~-t3 t 11/­ 1Jtts'frff&MN8-­ 14'7SEP 3' 1952 5 SEP 101952 } ij ~ ...... 't - -< "1!..S ') ',:' ,_g ~_c;- ..,..,,v 7 ~p ~CJ ---- ~EC0R0EO .. 88 llr• .,,.i. l'l~o '.fmlt Route 8 . Jackson, Minnesota ~{) - SSDear Jlr. Hof}meuer: EX. -73 rour letter pas tmarkecl August is, 1952, together with enclosure, has been received, and I want to thank you for br,nging thia matter t o my attention. Inasmuch as the oontents of your communi­ cation do not reflect any violatton wtthtn the jurisdiction of thia Bursau, I am unable to comply with your request. I am taking the 1,berty ot forwarding a copy oJ your letter and uour original enclosure to ... the Director of Special Tnuestigattons1 The Inspector General, Department of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washi ngton as, D. a., since these matters may be of interest to that agency. Sinoerelu yours, John Edgar Hoover Director Tobon__ Copy of incoming to Dept. of Air Force. ....__ llo.DOh_ ..,_,,_ NOTF;: In view of c~rrespo•de~; 'a: •f~f~{:h-t~ a "~teady white Cl•IB__ light" circling their .farm, his letter is being referred 01.U"lb__ to the u. s . Air Force branoh: vfite~~~~¥ in matters of this type. ,..;I Correspondent's enclosure was <J.-~Tle o.f' what appeared to be -·--­ ....,__ \ shredded thin strips of tin foiJ. . h l , IA"Sf)l,n_ --­ hle.Jla._ ,tolloun._ )\\ LH:mnf:ns j ,I\J/;~.,l~~?J jl ~ '((~ SEP 8 1952 / CpM~-• (\ , ) '/JV\ ~ I • ..... ZS, Nd 6fi g. Zl onv - 3 31L9 0f .iO 'U30 ·s O ·I BJ woo~ ,,1w-~n1,1]')-=l~• ~ a~~J-~~~ /~ ~/ /?JL /1/.J Cl l[, Ye ,S =­ J. /'r..; L ,.. <AL . ,/A, n lltt ""1 ,J -1/~£<,,-_JJ ~/.A.tfw• L... ,/~ ~fc.j~~ . nc.d~ .,,_,/ ?-71-c...~. ·zJ(&aL1Gv-: ~ u_~ ./i .'3 , "- ( ...... - • TRUE COPY Jackson Minn Aug 2, 1952 J . Edgar Hoover Fede ral bureau of Investigation. Washington, IJ. c. IJear Mr Hoover: I don ' t know if you analy2e arti cles so will send you a sample of (something that looks like tinsel) because my uncle found it in a pasture in a round pile, underneath of it, it looks as tho the clover was burned. & there are 3 similar patches which are burned in a triangle form. Last Sunday Morning the Neighbors Wife got up to get a drink of water & happned to see a steady white Light circling thei r farm, but didn ' t pay any attention to it. Than Sunday morn. when my uncle went to get the cows, he saw this stuff shining in the Sun light. It couldn't of been dropped out of a plane as it was loose & not in a container & the nearest road is about a j mile from the pasture & now we are wondering what it is . So would l ike to have you analyze it & let me know. Sincerely yours, /s/ Wm Hoffmeye r 1. 11 August 20, 1952 RfOROf.D • 126 }NU°'f.0 - 126 1 Jlr. John E.~ ang 1413 ~outh Vermont Los Angeles 6, California DtJar fr. Lang: Your letter oj August 12, 1952, has been received and I want ~ou to know that I appreciate the tnterest prompttng 1/0U to bring your observattona to my attention. Inasmuch as the matter to which you refer is of interest to the United States Air Force authortttes, I am taking the libert1/ of ~aktng a copy oj your communication available to The Honorable, The Secretary of t;he Atr Force, The Pentagon, Washtnoton 25, D. C. Sincerely yours, John Edgar Hoover Di rec·tor LH:gr:bkh J)A, .f ... . 6 Ca] ifornic. J..,_,_ ust I2th T~ ..! • ~ . Hoovsr La.et sunday rcy wife an.l I attented a, 1ovei nl.) pict'L!.re .here they I showed tt4 Fl!' i !l. Ee.ucer.;i,it look3d like El. S!)Ot of li.:;ht It ~ave rre the i rupr ea ion that there rni ht be a plsne up in the aky r:ith a spot light er serch li..,ht that ie send down fron: the plane and ~hen our plan es rrak.e en affcrt t o ~o up thers to find them they turn off the licht and there for we feel that they have nade a fc..et ~etaway "..l!) into the sky at a very fast speed thia . lane t:.Oee back to its air field or to another plcce end fool the public I f our plane on i ts ·:tay up to. find this plane ·o ... ld ,_o up i th all the li hte turn3d off and et&y f~rr a,ay and t~. to come over tte tcp c f this plane they would be able to catch it b'.1t they sho-:.1.ld r:e rrepaired tc ahoot it out if needed I think in order to prove + i1- Idic. we shondd send one of cur o ~n pl ane up and have them a~nd down e spot light or aerch li(3ht to fintl out if this ia not true if this is cf any help it ,1111 1,ake rre happy I dont thi hk I am very Off Sinea rely Jchn E. I~an It--; ~o . V rrr.ont Led ln_elee 6 Ca.li!~crnic:. - 311 ·­ t. t,. August 5, 1952 SAO, San Diego BORDERLAND SCIENCES, RESEARCH ASSOCIATES San Diego, Cal1forni a; MEAD LAYNE, Director; MAX FREEDOM LONG, Director Izt?l-view of the current hysteria concerning the so-called 1'-fl_y1ng saucers", I thought that the Bureau might be interested 1n the .following in.formation concern­ ing the captioned organization . I am transmitting herew1th certain 11terature con­ cerning the captioned organization which was furnished to me by FRANCIS OHM, who operates the Businessmens Assurance Company in San Diego and who has his office in the same building housing the FBI office. It is of interest to note that on Friday, August , 1952, at approximately 12:00' noon, FRANCIS OHM asked to set me urgently, which I did. As a member of the captioned organization, he advised me that they were having a meeting at 1 :00 PM the same day, inasmuch as they had been advise that they had some v~ry important information to discuss . He went on to relate that through t he means utilized by hta organization (which the enclosed literature will reflect border s on the ocoult) , they were able to prognosticate well in advance the rece~t earthquake which occurred in Tehachapi, California. He advised that they have also been able to obtain the fol lowing information: 1. That a very severe tidal wave will hit the Pacific Ocean sometime in the not too remote future and that moat of the Japanese Islands will be washed away and disappear. 2. That all .fishes with scales in Japanese waters will soon leave these waters for other destina­ tions, in view of the oncoming tidal wave. 3. That this tidal wave will wash away the Hawaiian Islands. 4. That the West Coast of the United States will likewise be affected by this tidal wave. 5. That they prognosticated the appearance of a new island in the Pacific which was publ ished in the newspapers within the past week. r-~_f_ rv­ c JFS:ha NOT RECORDED }4,J .;t1J 3 1952 • INITIALS ON OR!G!NAL 7 _ • -r----l7 9 \71 SE • • Direcotr, FBI Ref BORDERLAND SCIENCES, San Di ego, MAX FREEDOM LONG, 6. they are organization have been i n the f lying of the u. s. Government be informed t hat they planet on a mlssion. 8-5-52 RESEARCH ASSOCIATES California; MEAD LAYNE, Director; Director That the flying saucers are not fantasies; that factual and actual; that his associates in the captioned conversation with the men operating saucers, end that they have asked t hat high officials are here on our peaceful mlssion and that they are not on a warlike However, if the u. s. Government continues to send planes after these flying saucers and if these planes fire on the flying saucers, they have disintegrators which they will utilize and which will disintegrate these plm. es completely in no time n at. Mr. OHM requested that either I myself attend the meeting at lrOO PM or that I designate a stenographer to attend the meeting, so that she could take down all the minutes of the meeting. I tol d him that unfortunately this was very short notice, that I had another commitment and that our stenographers were pretty well occupied at that time. He sald he would advise me of anything important that might transpire at the meeting. As of August 2, 19.52, he has not advised me of anything which transpired at the meeting. I should like to point out that OHM appears to be a perfectly sane, sound i ndividual; he operates a very l arge i nsurance business in San Diego, and is convinced in his o-wn mlnd of the efficacy of this organl zation. No investigation is b eing conducted concerning this matter and I do not contempl ate attending any meetings of this organization . - 2 ­ , August 25, 1952 ·nE_ghROE0-14 j ;,, Jlr. c. & Choinskt ~ Koshkonong, J/tssourt D \hOf~E - • n Dear llr. Choinski: 4~~(, rour letter dated August 14, 1952, has been received, and I want to thank you /or a/fording me the benefit of your observations. Inasmuch as the matter to whtch you refer ts of interest to another governmental aJency, I am taking tne liberty o/ /orwardtng a copv o/ vour com­ ~~ntcation to the Director of Special Investigations, Phe Inspector General, Department of the Atr Force, The Pentagon, Kash tngton 25, D. c. Stncerely yours, John Edgar Hoover Dtrector Copy o/ incoming sent to the Director of Special Investtgations, the Inspector General, Department of the Air Force, by form letter. LH:pa:bkh r Toltou__ ....__ W.lebot._ - Clegg__ ·­ Olnin__ ..,..,_ _ ftOeen_ _ fo -- -- --- ---- • --\--,--\--~-\:----­ ' ',-+ ~- - - - - -- • - - ~ - - ' l - - - ~--- ­ T / ~- _I{:..,_ __O~ g jd_~ -~ ------ \- i_ i--- _-- e\ a' -_---~ -jE C i-;" --~.~--­ - - __ -{,--(~~------r-4 --)-~­ - --r-1-- ----r-----,,---­ _-: : • _ .............. -~- - - ­ _..!..........;~~~;........____::~1.....1.....~~~......:....... _..:;----'----=-~­ ]\tr l<StJ ~-- -~­ !-----~- - -- ­ --~--------,l~-----;R-ECORD-ED-1-f - , / 9Y - 3/~ ­ •·--r < IJC-3~--t Q St -' --'-------\ ( ; , l l -~ -~-r~ ,'t A __, d L ,4 ___.(? _ &_ -­ -------- -- --- ------------- _.. • ,,,. .... ~---------- ­ ----~--------­ __ ..,...,. ­ ---------~-~­ • ---- _J - - - - - -------,,,-- ----- -- - ------ -~--- - -- -- - - -- ------~ ~ -_n__ -'----"- ---+---::-.--------::--- ---- - - - - - - - ­ _~- ---~ 6 1ii__ ­ - -tl l I} ----- ---------------.,-- -­ i STANDARD l'ORM NO. 84 ' • Office Memorandum • uNrTEn sTATEs GOVERNMENT DATE : August 22, 1952 FROM Jlr. If. A. Brantgan)fP.. _~n1// SUBJECT: FLY I NG DISCS j27/ PURPOSE: To recommend existing ins t ructions to the /ield re fluing discs be called to the attention o/ the fteld . BACKGROUND: A review of communtcattons recetued from the fteld indicates they are not observing existing t nstructtons contained in Bureau Bulletin #57, para­ graph D, dat~d 10/1/47, and SAC Letter #38, dated 3/25/49, to re/er details of complaints regarding flying saucers to OSI locally. ACTION: It is recommended the attached SAC Letter b~ issued. EJIJI: 1rc:mea/ TOlson__ Ladd__ Clegg__ 0lav1n__ Nichols_ Rosen__ ~acy_ _ Harbo__ Be!Joont_ Mohr_ _ 1'ele. Room_ Nease__ Oe.ndy__ ,, C RECORDED •3t 71 SEP 101952 ) ? lt> • ,,:,•}) I '1 ~ :ti ,"T1 -0.. "'{" . ) ....., 1."? t"t"I ) ., 0 .. m ·-· ..,, r~~ . < • 0 .z:: '­ ,:,r, l>' -•4 C, m r, r., u;:) ~ . ~ ~ 3:.. '-JP" ':"' .t ,..; . ') ' I'd E£ J.110, l:J STANDARD FORM NO. 6' • • irffice Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO A . H . BEioNfJ DATE : August 18, 1952 PROM W. A. BRAN~/ :> f Tolaon_ SU BJECT: FLYING DISCS - ,....__ Clege_ (;lavln_ PURPOSE: Nli::,ol.t_ Rose.1_ Tn<r_ To advise al l Supervisors engaged on night ..,.,,._ duty of instructions concerning the referra l of _ lSel.mOnt .,,.,_ _ flying disc information to OSI . t.le. Room_ uau,_ ....,, , BACKGROUND: ~ Captain William Deegan, OSI, 4th Air Force Base, Bowling Field, has requested that any information concerning the sighting of flying discs {saucers , etc . ) be telephontcal ly furnished immediately to his office, day or night, by dia l l i ng Code 1261, and asking /o r Extension 509. Captain Deegan advised the Air Force is greatly concerned about the captioned matter, and would appreciate the Bureau ' s c ooperation in immediately advising of details r eceived concerning such complaints . 11,.-,, \\ t' ~AbCeTION: filed \JJ EHJI:::: ,, V\ I t is recommended a copy of this memorandum in the night and week- end Supe r visor ' s book (3 lee for their information , RECORDED • 4C t. I 6...t. 5 8 SEP 18 1952 , • --- .. (C) 1FLYING DISCS -- Refer ence is made t o Bureau Bulletin #57, Paragraph n~ dated October 1, 1947, and SAC Letter lf:38, dat ed March 25, 1949, in the captioned matter. \ It is noted that some Bureau field offices ar e not fur­ nishing to OSI local ly complaints regarding flying discs , pursuant to existing Bureau instructions. Upon recei pt of information by your office relating to the sighting of a flying disc, you should endeavor to determine from the complainant details of the type referr ed to in the Air Force memorandum, which was furnished to your office as an enclosur e to SAC Letter #38. The information should then be promptly fur­ nished to OSI locally by your office. As you are aware, the in- \ vestigation of so-called f l ying discs is the r esponsibility of the Department of the Air Force . ,-.,.,... e-/QI/ 1r -­ NOT-RmooRl>~U 80 SEP ,."-? 1952 ----- ... STA,~ ARD FORM NO. 64 • Office Mem(/,w,~Jum TO JIR. HARBO {?df'f) FROM D. J,. PARSONS, • . UNITED S1'ATES GOVERNMENT DATE: August 29J 1952 (\~ TOlSon+ SUBJECT: UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJEC~ ~~ ALLEGEDLY CITED BY MR. D. S~ ESVERGERS, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA By letter of Aug~st 26, 1952, the Air Force requested that we examine the cap of Jlr. Desvergers, a scoutmaster at West Palm. Beach, Florida, who claims th.at he obserued ~ /.. unidentified flying object in a desolate area. He report f t?l~l / that upon his investigation, a ._- object 30 feet in diam te&,- ,: hovered over his head and shot a "red blob" which causedrhimt:,,to /l_i__ · ,. lose consciousness. The cap has some holes burned in it and it~ is reported that the hair on Desuergers' arms was singed. The f Air Force requested that we determine, if possible, from any 1 • 1 residues left the nature of the residual material . 1..7 The Air Force desires an oral report on this tonight. ?o-,,,.,.>-d>"_«, ~e have finis hed the e xamination and are prepa r ing to advise the fr, V) Air Force as follows: 1. There is no residue which would permit a determination as to the nature of the material which caused the burns in the cap. In addition to the obvious burns, there is one minute burned area which is probably too small to have been caused intentionally but more likely by a s•all hot ember. 2. The bill and a large part of the edges of the cap are singed but the singeing is not uniform as would be expected if it had been caused at one time by a single flash of flame. The front edge of the cap bill is more severely singed than other portions of the cap. This condition ux,uld not be expected if the source of the flame was directly overhead. ff 3. When the cap is obser ved from the front, the left edge of the insignia and the fold in the bl ue cloth, there is an absence of singeing noted under the fold suggesting the possibility that the cap was not being worn when the singeing took place. It is noted that this fold "smooths out" when. the cap is placed on the head. RECOMMENDATION: c..c. i ~.~.i DJP/mek Tracy__ Harbo__ *~--- Tele. Rooa_ :: That in response to the request, ~I Colonel Free rlof the Air Force, it is recommended that he be ~ t:_::lly a1'lised of the above. / v-2 t5q 1Y... 3/6 6~ - J R11- c1 -- ~ ··-tzr -03X3al~· G?~ : - - "" 1 , / . " SEP 1 i ,/r HEWRDED -m 7 ((M J> 1',, 1{ flft.£; t,f / ;:JtrllorJ • .... t C ·, - ' ·~ ~ '\ C: I '' 0 () '-"?­ :z w ..., V) .. r ,. I ­ ' ' < () ::E. , , . _, Q­ 0\ 'Z. N (0 ~. ,.. ~ I- ,­ L,_ .., ('V") C t'"' .., ../) C-,. 0 (' • y ' ff ~ c.., ' -;. -. ~ ~ C I r ~ ' r- l...> l> ,.,, ~ CD ;o 0 IJ . . r'f1 ::0 C") ► ) ,<..,,,J rn < ·- -j _ , · 1 (; , .., - ( 0 rr1 ... ~m 0 ~ o- I ..i::­ \0 < ' ~ < :x:. . , )> t :::3: :l:" C • a ') 2: '-" c.~ } "'-J ~ 62 nnu (' t flf . .:!0 d;, ., I B .:4 • -, v7-03t L3 3B.., ~"J il Sflr :W '.Ld30 ·s r 'tl ·~ 1952, of your communication agencies, coptes of it Ctutl o/ Com.m.erce, The Secretar y =- ,.,., ;;; ;., September 11, 1952 ; Air. Ro~ l well Roadstown, New Jersey Dear ZJr. Elwell: Your l etter postmarked September 6, has been recetued, and I appreciate the interest prompting you to l et me haue the benefit obaeruattona . Si nce the contents of your may be of interes t to other governmental I am taking the l i berty of ~o r vc r dtn9 to the Admi nistrator of Ci utl Aeronautics, Aeronaut;i cs Administrati on, ])epar tn.en t Washington, D. c . ., and t o The Hono r abl e, of Defense, The Pentagon, »ashington, ]). c. Sincerel y yours, J ohn Edga r Boouer i recto r Ctuil Aeronautics Administrati on Secretary of ])efens e /·~y W . SEP 251952 SE;P 12 1952 MAILED 19 'l'ol■on__J ....___ . C: l:tobol a ..lal)nt~ .,..,,__. 01a,1n__ ......__ Jtoten__ Te1e , ~ -­ lfOU_,,n_ ca,.,,__ .. ~:111srir :10 lcl:IO s •11 I 8 J "O 0}1 1 1 \11.i! ::i M:J :lJ'd l. MR JO~FS R lt' l: 1 ✓FO F B I u s O[Pl )I=' .rus, ICF. .. • .- . tt l - ~ ~~---.: ~,~, , \ - ~~~ :J Co~ t_ ~- ' - - l ~f -\ K _ , ....._ \ • l' ~ - . ~ ~ )o l ct ~r t Co , ~ ~ CN Et • ~ g ~i Rit - . 1't:- I ~ t ~ }f ~tlf~1 ....... _ •'. _· ·~ti l¥~( J<­ ~ ~ ~~ ~ -.,,,,,__ . . ctJt;!/4 lA) tJw . ~ ~ _r ~ &JL-JL ~ -~ • A A~TC tyv I ~ d1 ~r­ sTANOA.RO f'ORM NO. 64 • Office Memorandum • uNrTEn sTATEs GOVERN MEN T TO DATE: September Mr. A. H. BeieJ~ ))/ ( FROM C. E. HennricrC1 Y / SUBJECT: STRANGE WHITE OBJECT SEEN OVER MONTANA ON SE~~~ER 19, 1952 V. ~·'y"ti I talke~b..ASAC Plaxico of..Bu.tte on~September 20 re tbe attached news releases indicating that the FBI :was investigating a strange white object wpich reportedly streaked aero~~ skL_of M~ntana for about one hundred miles • .Mr. Plaxico stated that while a report of this object had been received at the Butte Office, that no lPvestigation was conducted regarding the matter and that U9ne was coritempiat~ ACTION: For your information. Attachment CEH:meh} .1 ~,J ~Jll•l.v ,y~1i I ~,sti7Y 20, 1952 Tolar.n~ ~ 01&v1n_ ......_ Tncy_ IIOhr__ ,,1,. Ra._ ....._ tX.·73 .f '­ 0'0(;i ti 1952 • ~Offi;;"Memo~ndwlt~~nltl\tn~• DATE: DIRECTOR, FBI 10/3/52 i \ TO FRO M NEWARK (100- 36998) 1 ~1 SAC ' RE : SPECIAL INQUIRY SUBJECT: UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL OBJECTS; Inspector General, USAF 2nd District Office ~f pecial Investigations 67 Broad Straet 1 New York 4 , New York - <-y I nb !JI .S ~ .­ For the information of the Bureau, on August 27 , 1952 , the Newark division received a request from the Inspector General , United States Air Force , 2nd Di strict Office of Soecial Investi­ gations , 67 Broad Street , New York 4 , Ne~ork, that the back­ ground of a civilian photographer, JOHN ILEY , 571 Main Street , Paterson, N. J ., and of GEORGE J~~ CK , 21 Brooks Avenue , Passaic , N. J ., be investigated in an att'crmut to determine their reliability in view of the fact that they had allegedly observed and photo­ graphed an unidentified aerial object on July 31, 1952 . The appropriate credit and criminal checks were made in this matter as well as discreet neighborhood inquiries as to both individuals ,and no information was received that either individual had criminal records or that they were known in the past to have perpetrated any kind of fraud . It was ascertained that S'l'OCK did photogreph an allegedly unidentified aerial object and that RILEY witnessed the incident and developed and printed the exposed film which was subsequently forwarded to the 5th OSI District , Air Technical Intelligence Center , Wright- Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio by Mr. CHh.RLES GHEGG , staff writer , "The rlerald News , Passaic , N. J . 11 The letter further requested that the photographer and the witness be questioned as to the circumstances under which the pnotographs were taken and that an attempt be made to locate other sources in the area that might determine the authenticity of the photos . No investigation of this type was made by the Newark division. In accordance with SAC letter #83 , Series 1952 dated ~ 8/29/52 , the results of the credit and criminal checks and the neighborhood investigations were forwarded to the local OSI Office , New York City and no further investigations have been made by this office . P.._ J. _ :ij" !, '{) / f --.3 i ,, LWR :IMH RECQRDED-12 - c""1s 1952 Y\ APPROPRIATE AGENCIE~ •, 0 ~ i , ✓ .AM>F!Er..D oFFrcEs r.... 1Nor:xEn,12 1.1 l , 'A.~ ~ "t ADVIS!J) BY Rout o. J1) , ' ·,._ ~ l ~- 'l. SLIP(SJ OF '1, 1 \ 7 - DATE ' ECURI 6 t Ol11 .t < • ..,~, H~ ZtJ I I OI 1:10· 03/\!.:JJ:)}J i ' .'· fREo. J. EEK HOUT LL.o. 1\ 49, STADHOUDERSLAAN I I T~E' AA~GUE THE HAGUE, October 6th THE NETHERLANDS Dep1.rtmen~ cf Justice ,;,edera.1 Btrreau of Investigatio"1 Pennsylvania Avenue WA SH INGTON D.~. In the care of Mr Bailey r~ l Rm 1246 Dear Mr Bailey, Excuse me please if I misspelled your name , but I never saw it in writing. On May 5th at 2. 15 P.M. of this year I paid you a visit in the F.B . I.offices, where I told you details on ~ 9e_d§.in subject yo11 will surely remember . At tpe end of the conversation I .E,r,grn_1sse<!_ you no~ ~,2._t~l!E, e.bo11t it un­ til_I had receive1 ..Y!.Q.,rd trorn x.,01.!., wheth~ gr po! t;he ryro per authorities were interested. It was taken ~or granted that a few months might elapse before the answer could be given. Five months have :,:>asse.d by since then, and as the subject has now become active in Euro::,e, I am really anxious to go a,'1ead with it, I have ofco11rse tried to check the theory on each aspect and while doine so I found various complementary as well as fundamental details. I have now reached the point however where I would like to discuss the who7.e w'"ith an ex')ert and! wguld ther~or cerla1nly auryr.eciate to know-whether I have to consider O.!:!!, a_g_reernent on comolete silence~§ still being valid and necessary or not It migh"""t be that you are too busy to be able to '2 write to me of that the authorities are not interested. As ) it is not my intention to bother you too much with it, i w~ll take it that t1;_,ere is no lonBe~a.EL_~cessity for silence on ~y part ~f I do not _!e~eiv~ any in~ot~ation to the contraryoy the end of this month. ~y ~his proposition I do not intend to force an issue bu.t I would like to discuss a subject like this with scientists friends of mine , which I cannot_do as long as I am bound b3t my promise to you. /" I I ., 1 With very kind regards, I • • . l , • ' .. ., '! f.bu I Rf.COROf.D •1' ~ ~r. , L (\l'G0lff9 Stadhoude' ) g • 1~ The t'\!. C.J\•ji6- Mr . Tol ■on__ .....__ 11cbol■_ ..,._,,_ _ .....__ 01.aYln __ ..,. .__ lklHn__ ...,,__ tA.1,IChl1n_ ......__ ,..1•. 11•._ Mlloun_ ....,__ Your letter dated October 6, 1952, has been received. You will perhaps recall being advised at the time of your visit to this Bureau that the matter discussed was not within the jurisdiction of the FBI. However, in view of your imminent departure from ~ashington the infor­ mation was accepted fo r transmittal to the appropriate agency, which was to contact you if interested. Full details wer e made available at that time to 01 the Department of the Ai r Force for evaluation and consider­ C ation. In the absence of some arrangement between you and the Air Force, your further use of t he pertinent facts is, of course, a matter for your own determination. Sincerely yours, John Edgar Hoover Director NOTE OJI YELLOW: Bulet to OSI, Air Force, dated 5-7- 52 transmitted data furnished by Eekhout to the Bureau 5- 5- 52 concer ning his ideas as to plans .for a workable flying disc . Eekhout was informed t hat .further contact with him, if any, would come from the interested Government agency rather than the Rureau. No mention was made of his keeping the facts secre-t pending a reply from the Bureau or the Air Force . {62- 83894-273) ;4~vc0' ~ V ~ .., <..,-, .) ~ l a.,..., October 10, 1 952 AIR MAIL ~ Fred J~ekhout ~ rslaan Hague The Netherlands Eekhout : . ' ,,.. .,, j ... , l ... .JIJ.M •J. . , ... 1 . . .. . . ,...., DEPARTMENT ~ F THE AIR FORCE ' H EAOQUARTERS UN ITEO STATES A IR FORCE WASHINGTON 25, 0. C. 30 September 1952 MEMORANDUM FOR: MR. ~ OX SUBJECT: Connnents on Article in The NEW YORKER 1. A call was made to the Air Technical Intelligence Center, 1330 this date, (Captain Ruppelt) regarding the attached article. /'-o""':,c 2. ATIC did not in any way indicate 1.o Mr. Lang_ that the FBI has an interest in flying saucers. Furthermore, Captain Ruppelt stated that the FBI to his knowledge has never been called upon to furnish reports on<l'lying saucers. ATIC is under the impression that Mr. Lang made the atofyup or picked it up from a magazine or newspaper article sometime back that definitely was not associated with their organization. 3. AfIC suggests that you check further with Mr. Al Chop, Office of Public Information, and perhaps he can supply you with the information you have requested. 1 Incl: Article fr NEW YORKER, C dtd Sept 6, 1952 Ch' gement Group n· telligence ,. • .., v J -. IS 3 t~S HHlfi a \•HHL;ltt ,~. ~d S1 s l\l 130 Q3f\\;)~;l}1 •• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION WASHINGTON ZS, D . C. The follow::f.ng infoniat1on concerning A1r Force 1nvest1gat1ons of unusual aerial phenomena 1a submitted 1n answer to your request. In the Fall of 19, 7 tho U'lited States Air Force took official notice of reports of eo--call ed "f lying sauee1"8'1 because t he reports from the public indicated t hat the problem might be related to the Air Force responsibility for the air defense of t.be lbited Stat.es. On December ;o, 19"7 t.ho AJ.r Foree d.:treoted its Air Materiel Command., a.t Wright-Patterson Air Force Base~ Dayton~ Ohio, to set up a project 'to collect and evaluate all available facto coneerning "fl.yi.ng saucer" sighti.ngB. To perform this task the Air Ma~r14ll Cczmnantl obtained the services of civilian and military aatronOIQfrs, psycholo~ate~ electronic specialists, meteorologists, aeronautical engineers., and ~hyeiciste. ~ December 27, 1949, after 375 reported a1gllt.izl&3 had been tnvestiaated, the Air Force, with the concurrence of' the Arm:I and the Navy, announced the findings of the "fl.ying saucer" project. The evidence at that time ind!cated that the majority of the reports of unidentified flying objects could be accoWlt~d for aa misinterpretationa of "farious conventional objects, a mild fonn of byateria, meteorologioal phenomena, 11~ aberrations, or hoaxes. There r emained, hov~er , a number of unexplo.inad eightings., and the Air Force has continued it.8 1nveet1ga.t1ona i:nrumnich as it is an A1r Force responsi­ bility to identify and anal.yze aerial phenomena that could poesibl.J be a menace to the United States. Subsequent to December 19li-9, these investigations have been conducted aa a normal intelligence function, :-ather than a special project, by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, Wright-Fatterson Air Force :Base, l>ayton, Ohio. To date, the Air Force has undertaken to investigate and analyze .ab~ut 1500 reports dealing with these phenomena. AB before, most of the reports were identified and disposed of as friendly aircraft erroneously reported, known electronic and meteorological phenomena, light aberrations, hoaxes, and other lmown natural occurrences or man-made objects. The unexplained reports, however, which are in the order of 20 percent of the total, cannot be definitely associated with these familiar things. Difficulty in Evaluating Reports The difficulty in disposing of these unexplained reports is based largely upon the insufficiency of accurate basic data such as size, shape, composition and flight characteristics (speed, acceleration, altitude, exact maneuver pattern, etc.) of the objects. Although some instruments which are useful in obtaining more accurate data of this type have been available, the reports baaed on sightings with these instruments have been very infrequent and comprise an extremely small percentage of the total. Moreover, even these reports have not included much of the information required. Because of the inadequacy of this basic data, the Air Force has in the past devoted its efforts primarily to determining whether these unexplained sightings indicated the existence of a menace to the United States. Initially it was believed that some pattern might evolve from tho study of a large volume of reports. To date, no pattern has materialized to reveal anything whatsoever which can be interpreted as indicative of purpose or consistency or which can be construed as a menace to the United States. Nonetheless, since these unexplained sightings persist, the Air Force will continue its investigations, giving the problem adequate but not frantic attention. It is now felt, however, that reports from people whose training and experience in observing aerial objects qualify them to obtain essential data are the only ones likely to produce material suitable for systematic analysis. The Air Force is planning to provide additional tools to help these observers obtain the basic data it needs. Reports of similar phenomena go back to Biblical times. There have boen flurries of them in various centuries. The current series of sightings began generally in 1946. -There are many reasons why the volume of these reports has increased materially during the past few years. Aerial activity originated by man ha.s increased, and people today have a greater curiosity about this activity than before. Also, our present efficient connnunication facilities and news media provide an incentive for reporting unusual observations, for publicizing them and for recording them. However, the ability to measure these phenomena does not seem to have advanced in step with opportunities for observing them. Tho Air Force believes that moat of these phenomena will gradually be understood . as more 1~ lmown about occurrences in the upper atmosphere. •• Source of Reports ( The majority of reports of aerial phonomena havo come from civilians. About 8 percent come from. civil airlines pilots, whilo approximately 25 percent are reported by military personnel. Reports have boen received also from highly qualified scientists, Although primary significance is attached to reports from qualified observers, there is no intention to discredit untrained observers. Radar Sightings The Air Force has r eceived many r eports of unusual images on radar scopes. It is fairly well established that some of these images are ground objects reflected from a layer of warm air above the earth (a temperature inversion) . Temperature inver sion r eflections can give a r eturn on a radar scope that is as sharp as that received from an aircraft, Speed ranges of theso r eturns are reportedly from zero to fantastic speeds. The "objects" also appear to move in all directions, Such radar sightings have resulted in hundreds of fruitless inter cept efforts. One scientific theory holds that light can bo similarly reflected from a layer of warm air above the earth and, if proven to be correct, this could account for some visual sightings. Bearing out the theory of temperature inversion reflection is o.n incident which occurred in January 1951 near Oakridge, Tennoesoo. Two Air Force aircraft attempted to intercept an unidentified "object" and actually established a radar '~lock" on tho object, Their altitude at the time was 7,000 feet. The unidentifiel object, according to their radar, appoarod to be at an elevati on of ton to 25 degrees , Three pusses were made in an attempt t o clooe on the object. In ouch instance the pilots reported that their radar l ed thom first upward and then down toward a specific point on the ground. Ionized clouds ar e believed to be the causo of some unidontifiod radar retu;rns , Thunderstorm activity is identifiable by radar, o.nd radar is used for the purpose of avoiding thunderstorms, In addition, radar has picked up many objects first reported as "unidentified phenomena" which were later identified as aircraft, birds, balloons, ice formations in tho air, or other known aerial obJocts or manifestations. Policy Regarding Attempted Interception No orders have been ~seued by the Air Defense Commo.nd t o its fighter unite to fire on unidentified aerial phenomena, The Air Defense Command is charged with air defense of the United States, and its mission is to attack anything airborne which io m,wn or oppooro to be boot1le. Thio ctioul.i oot bo i nt-Orproted to goon toot o~ piloto will nro hnpbnBOl'Oly on nnyth1nc t,hat flies. - 3 ­ Attempts at interception are not made every time that unidontified ilI]tlges • appear briefly on an Air Force radar-scope. Current Air Force interceptors are short-range, short-duration, high-speed aircraft and can be employed most effectively when it is poaeiblo to track a target by visual or radar means oo that its position in the air at some futuro time may be predicted with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Methods of Evnluating The first step in evaluating sightings of unusual aerial phenomona is to collect all available data and check it against known airborne objects such as balloons, aircraft, missiles, meteors, and weathor phenomena. If still unexplained, reports from reliable sources, with sufficient details, are turned overt~ specialists in various scientific fields for further analysis. As stated earlier, there is a need for better reports from trained observers using adequate equipment. The Air Force intends to implement its present study with instruments wherever possible. The recent development of special photographic equipment may make it possible to gather data hitherto unobtainable through ordinary photographic methods. This equipment consists of a diffraction grating camera which separates light into its component parts (spectrum) o.nd registers them on film. Tho principle involved is that used by astronomers in determining the composition of tho stars. In this manner Air Force scientists may b0 able to determine the characteristics of the phenomena and subsequently identify the source. Another proposal involves the use of a continuously operating Schmidt telescope equipped with a camera. Thie telescope has a wide aperture lens and is capable of covering a cone of 150 degrees or nearly tho whole sky from horizon to horizon. This equipment will make it possible to get on a series of photo­ graphic plates a complete record of what happens in the sky at night. What 11Saucers" Are Not The Air Force has st~ted in tho past, and reaffirms at tho present time, that these unidentified aerial phenomena are not a secret weapon, missile or aircraft, developed by the United States. None of the three military departments nor any other agency in the government is conducting experiments, classified or otherwise, with flying objects which could be a basis for the reported phenomena. As far as is known there is nothing in them tho.tis associated with me.terial or vehicles that are directed against the United States, from another country or from other planets. Your interest in this matter is greatly appreciated, Please call upon us if we may be of further service. Sincerely yours, A fl r.POR. TcR. AT l f\ r> GE . " .. - I N mid ummer of 19+7, the - cd States Air Force, already concerned with such prohlem~ ;'I.:, the develop­ ment of guided mi,siles and supersonic craft, the n,..,;in3 up of radar nctworh, and its controvers} with the 1a\'} over unification, found tself confronted h\ another, and complctel} different, head~ a~he-tht II) ing ,aucer. People in everr <.ectlon ot t e c1 unti, were ,eein~ strange objects that streaked across the sk} at tremendou~ speed,, and while these people, who included such prac­ ticed students of the heavens as air­ plane pilots, farmer,, and the Lieutenant GO\ ernor of Idaho, were not ahle to identify the things they had seen, they wc.-re able to descrihe them \·ividly and unforg-ettahly. The newspapers called the fir~t of these mysterrous objects a fl} in~ saucer, taking their cue from the man who reported having seen n and who descrihed it as 5:tuct•rlike, and the name stuck, althou,!h later people re­ ported seeing thin!;!, that looked like fl)­ ing chromium huhcaps, flying dime,, ff}ing teardrop,,, fl) ing ~aslicihb, flrin~ ·--~-l·ream C'0nes, and fl) ing pre plates. A~ more and more rurious thin..!s were ..e~n '.n the kie , cautiously qu,✓.zical cd1tonals began to :1ppear in the paper~, and the President and members <It Con­ gress received a deluge of letters de­ manding _an explanation. \1an) of the letter wncer:. had C'oncluded that the objects, whatever they might ht·, were manned h) Russian,, and that • :. soon as their pilob had reconnoitred ,uffi­ ciently, they would return loaded with atomic bomhs. Others thou..!ht the eanh was heing visited h) spaC'c ship, from another planet. Still other, suspected tha~ our own .-\ir Force was secretly testrng some new form of aircraft. Everyone agreed, however, that it was up to the Arr Force, as the cus­ to~1an o~ our welkin, to expla111 the Ryrng <>hJects and, if neces.sary, to repel them. The result was the launchinn­ hy the Air Force, on January 22 1948 o_f a special i1l\'estigation, an im\•,ti:ra: aon that, though it has reached 11111n­ erous conclusions, is still under way and has yet to put the puhl,c mmd at rest. It appears th~t, aside from the hope of reas,urmJ .1 Jitter} populace, the Air Fo'.·ce, in embarking upon this under­ ~krn(!', had ani or all of three thrn.zs Ill mrnd. It may well have shared the civili.rn C~>ncen: over what, if an} thin:r, the Russians m1~ht ha\·e to do with the reported phenomena, and it may even han~ felt that to frisure a thorou.,.h,,0111,, ~ ~ ~ SOMETHING IN THE SKY i1H'estigation there was certain!} no harm in assuminz for the moment that the era of inte;planetar} tra\·el l_1ad arrived and the earth had bernmc an ohjective for journeys from el,e­ where in the solar S}'Stem. Or -and this would not neces,;arily exclude the first two consideranons-the Air I orce may have hecn setting up a smoke screen to protect, in the interest of national '-l:CU­ rity, the secret of some experimental fly­ ing ohjects of its own that uni} a tru,tcd few of its mcmhers knnv ahcn1t. \\"hat­ ever the purpo~e, the investigation, with which I ha\·e heen in touch from time to time, ha-. seeminc.d} heen cxhausti\'e. The Air Force personnel originally assi;?ned to it \\'a, later au..!mented hy astronomer,, psycholo(!'.ists, physicists, meteorologists, physicians, and repre­ sentatives of the F.B.J. The investit!'.a­ tion, which soon hecame popularly known as Project Saucer, was first headed hr Lieutell.lnt Gent'ral Benja­ mm \V. Chidlaw, Commandin!! G en­ erat of the Air ~1atericl Command, and its h.1se was, and is, at \ Vr:~ht Fie Ill, DaJton, Ohio. The project's ta,k turned out to in\'olve a mixture of old-fashioned detection, scientific analpi,, puhlic rela­ tions, and the stud} of a widespread state of mind. In Dccemher, 19+9, after checking, over :1 period of two years, three hundred and se\·enty-fi\'e report:, of intruder-. m the sk}, the .-\1r Force publicly called it quits, hut Project Saucer was not actual!} dish. ndnl. :--.a­ tional sernrity, the Arr Force announcecl at the time, was not endangered. The R) mg s. ucers were apparmons, t said, all attrihutahle either to a failure to recognize conventional ohjelt~, to hoaxes, or ro a mild form of ma,~ hy,­ tcria. The Air Force, however, did not let the m:mer rest there. 1ot long after the apparent demise of Projen Saucer, I had a talk in \\'a,h­ in(!'ton wnh Bn;!:adicr General trnest ,\1oore, then cl;icf of A,r Force In­ telligence, in the course of which he m.1de four catc .i:orical ~tatemcnt$ that I felt sure he had made man} times he- Clipoed from The Nim YORK,_..R Septem~er 6, 1952 pages M through 82 page 62 t, ..- . ' . fore. '7:L. off," hes: ,f:a Russians have nothing to do so-called • I saucers· I'll swear t(. "'"' 1 a stack of Bibles,'if you like. Sec ond, we. don't have any secret new t)"I' -es of aircraft that could have started all 1 ~his commo­ tion. Third, nobody, in ourc .pinion, has spotted space ships fro~ s ome_ othe_r planet. Fourth, everything our investl­ o-ators learned has been made available 0 to the publ.1c. " T HE first saucer iro,cident occurred on the afternQ<''n of J une 24, 1947, when Kenneth Ar,nold, on a business trip for a Boise, Idatho, firm that makes 1 fire-control equipr ent, was flying his p..,~.i\'C•., .roe from ' .:::h~halis, vVashing­ ton to Yakima, \~ /ashmgton. The re­ fle;tion of a brigt 1t fl ash on one wing \ caught his eye. J- . le turned and, at a distance he tho ught was about twenty miles saw what he took to be nine tail­ less ~ircraft hr ,ading toward Mount Rainier «T ._ _could see their outli~es quite \ : .• only against the snow," Air Force Intelligence quoted him as saying. "They flew very close to the mountain­ tops, directly south to southeast, down the hog's-back of the range, flying like geese, in a diagonal, chainlike line, as if they were linked together ... a chain of saucerlike things at least five miles long, swerving in and out of the high mountain peaks. They were flat ... and so shiny that they reflected fireworks display. Dr. Paul the sun like a mirror." Ar­ Fitts, an Ohio State Uni­ nold said he watched the saucers for three minutes versity psychologist who was for a time attached to and estimated their speed at ahout twelve hundred miles Project Saucer, considered this crowded condition in an hour. the holiday skies the result Air Force technicians, consulted by newspaper- of mass suggestibility, the •men, said that any object same jumpy trait that caused Americans to see moving that fast would be invisible to the nakeo eye at Zeppelins overhead during and after the First '\Vorld Arnold's estimated distance. The press scoffed at Ar­ War. "Our graphs ~how that saucer incidents al­ nold's story, and he was re­ sentful. "Even if I see a ways increase dramatically ten-story building flying after publicity," he has through the air, I won't since told me. "The sky, say a word about it," he de­ you know, has been a clared, and when he got hack to Boise he wrote a series of ar­ ticles about his experience for a mag­ azine called Fate. No sooner were the skeptical news­ paper accounts printed than dozens of people turned up with similar re­ ports. Another resident of Boise spotted a disc over that city, "a half circle in shape, clinging to a cloud and just as bright and silvery-looking as a mirror caught in the rays of the sun." Lieu­ ": ' " -­ tenant Governor Donal<. A ,1t.-~ .of Idabo, disclosed that .. \if": he had seen a comet-shaped uojec, l1ling over the western p.:trt of the state. It finally dipped below the horizon, he said. (Later on, the personnel of Proj­ ect Saucer decided that the Lieutenant Governor had been looking at either Saturn or Mercury.) Four cops in Port­ land, Oregon, saw a group of discs "wobbling, disappearing, and reappear­ ing." Reports of other phenomena having been seen in the skies appeared in the papers almost daily. Two Army officers at Fort Richardson, Alaska, reported seeing a spherical object flying through the air at incredible speed and leav­ ing no vapor trail; some fishermen off Newfoundland saw a series of aerial flashes, silver to reddish in color; a lady in Oregon watched a group of saucers spell out "P-E-P-S-r," and alerted her neighbors to the presence of foreign agents practicing a secret code in our skies; an Oklahoma City man saw a saucer "the bulk of six B-29s;" and a prospector in the Cascade Moun­ tains of Oregon saw six saucers in a group, banking in the sun-"round, silent, and not flying in formation." On the Fourth of July, there were twelve reports of saucers in widely separated parts of the United States. One of these saucers, sighted at Trenton, New Jersey, was traced to a source of exciting visions from time immemorial, and its attrac­ tion is particularly strong in our jittery moments." F ROM the beginning, the officers in charge of Project Saucer recognized a peculiar difficulty in their assignment. "H you look out the window and see something, how can I prove or disprove what it was if I didn't see it and you can't tell me much about what you page 64 .. ' reeo,Jelwnge,-... -~vietrola'' 43 Complete Model phonograph, 45EY2, AC. "Golden Throat" $34.95 lone system. (suggested list price) • Plays up to 14 records at one loading • The only record a.nd changer designed for each other • Records change from the center-the modern way • focludes $6 worth of RCA Victor a]. bums a(no extra charge. Other " Victrola" 45 record changers as low as $16.75. On& R(;AViCTOR mahes the'-Uetrola:' ~ ~ ti Tmks. ® DivUioo of &dio Corporation of America LOVELY TO LIGHT BY . A cande la brum of Italian wrouaht Iron In atylized flower and leaf desion n t off by delicate. scroll• work and finished in silvery black for dramatic contra.st with white u...ndlH. Height 9\12", 8" across. $7.50 Postage .SO. welt of Miss..75 ' No c.o . D. 's pleue. o oen Satur day 9 .5 ft1tte; HOUSE OF ITALIAN HANDICRAFTS 217 £u t 49th St .. New York 17. PL 9•6510 1 I At leading furniture ond deportment stores. l Send 3-cent ,tomp to Dept. N for booklet. UNION-NATIONAL, DIC. • JAMESTOWN, N. v . .,, I saw?" Major ·e ~ ~gs, who was then the chief- 3<1. 1ficer between , v right Field and tl. 1igh command in \ Vashington, said to me one day shortly after Project Saucer had pre­ sumably become a thing of the past. "It would be different if flying sau­ cers were known to exist. Then we could have collected evidence indi­ cating the degrees of probability that such things were sighted and the reaso11 for their appearance at a given place. But it is impossible to prove, logically and with finality, a double negative­ that is, that there arc no flying saucers and that people have not seen flying sau­ cers. The best we could do under the circumstances was to deduce, first, from the fact that it had not been proved, that saucers had been seen and, second, from the fact that reasonable theories could be advanced to explain away all the reports of seeing them, that probably nobody had seen them at all. The fewer the theoretical explanations and the less plausible they were, the more reason there was fo r suspecting people had seen saucers." The Major shook his head, and continued, " It's a difficult concept to grasp, but so was the job we were tackling." I asked Major Boggs whether there was any way to account for the epidemic of reports of strange celestial objects. "Of course there is," he replied. "If you look up at the sky long enough, you can almost always make out something there that appears strange. And more people are looking up now than ever before. Kids don't count freight cars any more; they count airplanes. People who were trained in air observation during the war have gone right on observing. Also, the public hasn't for­ gotten that the atomic bomb was kept secret from it for three years. T his time, people want to know what's cook­ ing, so they look up." Major Boggs sighed. " T ime was when people used to make a wish if they saw a shoot­ ing star. Now they telephone the Air Force." Major Boggs and I pondered this unromantic age in silence for a moment. T hen he returned briskly to the prob­ lems that had confronted the investi­ gators. "The one tangible thing we had to work on was the fact that the sky is full of things," he said. "I can't even come close to estimating the number of commercial and military aircraft up there at any given moment. T hen, there are more than fi ve hundred outfits of one kind or another that release balloons from time to time. These range from simple weather balloons, nr • -~er than page 67. 68 ; had bt·han•tl like ;i norn,tl .1iraaft in ~hl' way it <li,1pp-A:.&1 thl· lme of,i!!ht. ~ . . ' H·cre, the expert,- profc,,ed to hope, \\ a, ,omethinf! Proje(t ·~ 1c -r, ,.ild ,..et ii... teeth into. T he whole fhing-saucer m~ ,ttT} mi;ht he e,plained: The fir:.t ,1ep wa, tu determine whether thl b­ jcct wa, an aircraft that had been par­ tialh· oh,cured b\· a cl. u<l , r wh, -.e .1p~arance had !ie'en <li,torted by a r:iin­ Morm. T \\ o hundred ,1nd twenl)-five <. nlian and militan tli:!ht <cheduk"" were analrzc:d, and·,t was found tliat one other· plan~, an .-\ir Force C-{i, had been near the Eastern airliner at the time the nt} ,teriou:, object \\,I!> ,i!!hted. Conjecture about tlte C-4i hqran to appear irrele, anr, however, when the .\lac, n ground ere.:\h ."reed with Ch le, and \ \'hitted th1t the thing the_1 h.ul -..een \\,I!> .!oin6 much fa,ter than two hundrc:<l mile, an hour, tn<l ,o, . unlc:,, it dawdled around .,ome­ wherc, woul<ln 't han: taken "n, thin,! like an hour to get from \Iacon to :\Iont,..omeq . •·\...tro111 ~tr-. went to work on the problem. Dr. Hrnck considered the po-...ihilit) that a brilliant, ,low-m, , inJ rmtl1 r mi:!ht he the explanation. Vari­ Cllh hih of the apparition\ de,cnption ent·11ur.1.!cd thi, notion-"oran.!C-red tla1m:," :'ci~ar-,hapcd," "a tremendous hur-.1 of flame.'' Unfc rtun.m:-1}, th lli~ht ••<.'hedulc,, of meteor, are not avail­ :,hle, and D r. H } nek had no mean,, ot 1c:,1in:! hi, h)pothe,i,. "It will ha,e to he ldt to the P"} chologi:.h to tc.:11 u~ \\ hcthci- the imrncdi; tc trail ' - bri,.ht mtte"r could produce the subjecuve im­ prc-..., ,n of a ,hip \ \;th 11,..hteJ w 1n­ <l11\\',-," he \\ rote in a report on his finding,. Th'- p-,_1 chologi,,t exprc:..-.cd the opinion th t ·1 m tc >r c ,uld n Iced l•e m;,t;1kcn for a ,pace ,hip.