DEC LASSIFIED
Authority:
NND 90986
IN REPL Y
REFER TO:
/>- 5'3 ZW - S3 ^
HEADQUARTERS
AIR DEFENSE C OM M AND 
M ITC HEL FIELD, NEW YORK
13 Septem ber 1947
SU B JEC T# U nidentified F lying Object 
(Interview - A lpheus 0* Pow ell)
SW A H Y OF INF OR M A TION#
The follow ing inform ation w as received 12 A ugust 1947 from  M r# 
A lpheus 0# Pow ell, 28 R edw ood R oad, New H yde Park, L ong Island, relative 
to the sighting of a possible flying diso 4 A ugust 1947,
On 4 A ugust 1947, M r Pow ell, an A irlines C aptain w ith Pan A m erican 
A irw ays, Inc#, w as the first pilot of a C onstellation type aircraft on a 
flight from  G ander, New foundland, to L a G uardia F ield, New York# M r# Pow ell 
took over the aircraft at G ander, New foundland and departed at approxim ately  
1230 P#M ,, Eastern D aylight Saving Tim e for L a G uardia F ield, New York# A t 
1600 P#M #, at a position approxim ately m idw ay betw een the Everett (M ass) F an 
M arker and the B edford R adio B eaoon (Everett is 3 m iles NW  of B oston, M ass#, 
and B edford is 15 m iles NW  of the sam e city) both M r Pow ell and M r W . hlte, 
navigator on this trip, sighted unidentifiable flying objects# To the best 
of M r# Pow ell* s know ledge, the follow ing w eather conditions existed at that 
tim et Visibility w as good) cloud coverage w as from  6-8/1 Oths, w ith tops at 
10,000 feet# end the w ind at the 8,000 foot level w as estim ated as being 
27 0/2 5 m iles per hour. The aircraft w as at 8,000 feet) airspeed 265 m phs 
and the course w as 244 degrees, m agnetic.
M r W hite, w ho w as sitting in the co-pilots seat (the right side of 
the cockpit) first called M r. Pow ell’s attention to a bright orange object,, 
w hich w as on the right side of the plane, and slightly below the level of the 
aircraft# M r Pow ell w as unable to see the object, as he had no visibility to 
the right and dow n, from  his position, M r Pow ell im m ediately gh need out his 
side w indow and noticed, at a 45 ° angle to the left, and unidentified flying 
object, It w as about one ndle aw ay at an altitude of approxim ately 7,800 
feet, M r Pow ell banked to obtain a better view of the object# The object 
w as under observation for approxim ately 30 seconds, and during this tim e w as 
view ed by M r Pow ell, M r Pow ell described the object as being about the length 
of a P-40 fuselage, blunt at both ends, cylindrical in shape, and having a 
bright orange hue# M r Pow ell stated that the object had a definite shape, and 
that there w as no suggestion of gaseous dissipation as there w ould be if the 
orange color w ere the exhaust from  a rocket, or a jet aircraft# M r Pow ell 
estim ated the course of the object to be 200° m agnetic, and that the object 
w as travelling at approxim ately 15 0 m ph# M r Pow ell lost sight of the object, 
w hen a cloud cam e betw een the aircraft and the object# The pursuit of the 
object w as not continued, inasm uch as it w ould have necessitated a departure 
from  the established airw ays.


C ONFIDENTIAL
IN REPL Y
REFER TO:
SU B JEC T t
HEADQUARTERS 
AIR DEFENSE C OM M AND 
M ITC HEL FIELD, NEW YORK
16 Septem ber 1947
U nidentified F lying Object#  
(interview - W alter I. W hite)
SU M M A R Y OF INF OR M A TION:
The follow ing inform ation relative to the sighting of a possible 
flying disc 4 A ugust 1947, w as received 10 Septem ber 1947 from  M r. W alter 
I. Thite, 19-5 7 79th Street, Jackson H eights, H ew fork#
On 4 A ugust 1947, H r. W hite, Pan A m erican A irw ays Ino., w as the 
navigator of a C onstellation type aircraft on a flight from  G ander, lew - 
found land to L a G uardia F ield, M ew York. A t 1600, at a position approxi­
m ately 10 m iles M W  of B oston, M ass., M r hits sighted a flying object w hich 
ho w as unable to identify. A t this tim e M r W hite w as sitting in the co­
pilots seat, and looking out the right side for other aircraft that m ight 
bo in the vicinity, M r W hite stated that w hen he first sighted the object, 
it appeared to be about 3 m iles aw ay, and at least 1,000 feet below the level 
of the C onstellation. M r ?7hite believes that ho studied the object for alm ost 
30 seconds before he called the pilot1 s attention to it. M r W hite described 
the object as being a deep gold in color, and that its’ surface reflected 
light. It appeared to be about 15 feat in length, and from  2-3 feet in depth; 
elliptical in shape and blunted at the ends. M r W hite estim ated the speed of 
the object as being 175 m iles per hour, and that it w as travelling in an east­
erly direction, on a course of approxim ately 110° m agnetic. M r W hite then 
told the aircraft com m ander that there w as an unidentified object to the right, 
and again glanced out to observe the object, catching a m or rotary glim pse of 
it before the pilot banked the plane to the left, •hen the aircraft banked 
M r W hite lost sight of the object. A t this point, M r Pow ell, the aircraft 
C aptain, exclaim ed that he w as able to see a sim ilar object on his side. 
H r W hite w as unable to see the object on M r Pow ell’s side. H e stated that 
he does not believe that it w as the sam e object that he had view ed inasm uch 
as the one he saw if it had rem ained on the sam a course w ould have been 
hidden from  view by that tim e by the w tnga and tail section of ths C onstella­
tion, M r W hite stated that the pilot then righted the plane. The entire in­
cident transpired in less than a m inute and one-half,
M r Vhite describes the w eather condition at the tine of sightings as 
follow s: about 5 /10th scattered cum ulus, w ith tops at 10,000 feet; visibility  
10 m iles# ind at flight level, W est at about 15 m ph, he li ht level of the 
aircraft at this tim e w o# 8,000 feet, TA S 270, and the m agnetic course w as ST,
A G ENTS NOTES: M r W alter I. W hite has been em ployed by Pan A m erican A irw ays 
for the past five years as a Navigator, and during the w ar w orked w ith PA A


in conjunction w ith contract flying for the A A F . M r ^hite states that he 
has flow n w ith M r Pow ell on a num ber of occasions, and he considers him  
to be a very stable person: com pletely reliable, and not given to 
"flights of fancy".
R elated R eport: See Sum m ary of In orm ation, 12 Septem ber 1947, H q A D C , 
subject, "U nidentified F lying Objects" (interview - A lpheus 0. Pow ell)
Previous D istribution: 
- lone
Evaluation
D istribution
- A A F (5 copies) 
- A D C  (2 copies)
of source 
C
of Inform ation
2


A G ENTS NOTES: M r. A . 0. Pow ell is a graduate of the A viation C adet F lying 
Training Program , having graduated from  M axw ell F ield, A labam a, w ith the 
C lass of 41-C . Since graduation, M r. Pow ell has flow n for Pan A m erican 
A irw ays and, at this date, has over 4,000 com m and pilot hours to his credit, 
M r. Pow ell appears to be a calm , intelligent individual, not given to 
flights of fanoy, or easily sw ayed by w hat he has previously read in the 
new spapers as regards reports of this type, M r, Pow ell has a fear of publi­
city and seem ed hesitant to even tell his story lest he becom e the object of 
ridicule. M r Pow ell w as questioned as to the possibility that w hat he 
sighted m ight have been a tow target, a pilot balloon, or a radiosonic device 
used for m eteorological purposes, M r Pow ell stated that he has seen num erous 
pilot balloons, radiosonic devices and tow targets, w hile on flights) the 
object observed on this flight definitely w as not one of them .
Previous D istribution!
None
Evaluation 
ofsource of inform ation 
C 3
D istribution
- A A F (3 copies)
- A D C  (2 copies)


B 1STB I0T1D
3A SIO: L tr. B q. B A IR ), B lralnghaa A A F , B lralnghaa, A la., A U  8 July M , 
subjt R eport on L ocal "F lying D ice.*
'H B A D qjB B SB B S, F OU R TEB TH A IR  F OR M , Orlando, F lorida,
TO: C oanandinc G eneral, A ir D efense C osuoand, M itchel F ield, B ow York.
1. F orvardod for Inforaatlon of your H eadquarter*.
2. Thio H eadquarters has m ade no Investigation of "F lying D isc” 
reports because this Is an Isolated case.
F OR TH E C OM M A TOIH G  M OR A L :
3 Incls: n/c
' 32715
B 1STB IC T1B


^  - ^ 3 S’7/ - /36


R  E  S T R  I C T E  D
HR i-D QU A PTE R S
BIR KiTGHA U JR  P.^J2,'~ Tr_.iHIIE D -T J~ J'T
E I^’E rGE l!! T.Y u • 1IT) 
Birxainghaxa, laba -a
SU BJE C T: R eport on Local "F lying D iac”
TC  : C onona ndi ng jenere1
F ourteenth A ir F orce, 
C rl& ndo, F lorida 
A ttn: A -2
./J C V^ 1 o
6 July 1947
7795
1. Indios d herew ith is ” ;hot gr--.h -- t?,? ul1 icx’ud U jing 
disc,” w hich w as reportedly v5 tnesr A ever „1” iry.nr. *n t.. i.,--^
of Sunday, 6 July 1947 . -
2. ttenticn i I ‘ j
the light trail follow ing the tw o 1 - . The p of the
photograph indicates the direct! n ex F li h+. This .its Loon c, ...l! cd
^7 p rofessicr.? x ’hotog radars in Sir • gh”” an ’ tn*ir uner< 1 . i* i a 
is that the tw o epets show n on the 11 ht tn il^aM gn _ fl 5 . 
negative, . ut instead, un'ac^unl ^ho+ogra^h ci 4M ystori.us disc.
3 In cis.
1. 1 hot ogre th
2. Statenen -*
3. C l if Xx ;□
3. T h e u n d eraig n ed  - flig h t
nj disc, h ev -, in vie? of the nu the
citizens-of F inain^n, it !■ the general crir ior. u. _irmir A ... '■hut 
"a oft sth > , ■ ii the 1-." '■'•.■ - Li losur u& U e........o is
a stater-mt cade by the only -ilit ry e-'on.. 1 ex 4his or, ni"4_ n 
w ho pc’Sen*11 ly w itn®-"es the x ' i ,-1 ex tno ynt-.rVus IS c. .or addi­
tional inforen4-! n attached ” s ir.closur r.w .—  ..r Vruu - •_ clip in ;u .-«; 
one pf t ho looa 1 ne-cpow ers giving an t <-c u..* ox 4 he .. n. ; e- ... ; ' uo ”c- 
i or tod c pln?j th' —  ny -ystcricus objects.
4. The intelligence ofii r of the ' traa I'ilitsrj 
icr-'rded a simil- re ^r throu-h greuw ’ xcrcc ci»r'nnuls tc ho Jon.’.nC inj 
General, Third ..rry, ..’lant” ~, Georgia.
4
R  - TR I C T J j


i? r <: i ?Huq I I
( C^
R eport on L ocal "F lying D iac"
D 333.5 ID (8 47) - 2nd Ind
H Q., A IR D EF ENSE C OM M A ND , M itchel F ield, New York, 25 July 1947.
TO: C om m anding G eneral, A nny A ir F orces, W ashington 25 , D . C .
A TTN: A C /A S-2
F orw arded for your inform ation.
F OR TH E C OM M A ND ING  G ENER A L :
3 Incle: 
n/c C olonel, G SC
A sst C hief of Staff-Intel1


City Is Baffled By 
Dazzling Display 
Of Spo o ky Discs
The strange things that have 
b een in night skies since June 25, 
were o ver Birmingham last night.
On o ne thing everyo ne who has 
seen the mysterio us o b jects agree 
—they are ro und, saucer-like. After 
that, every sto ry differs. Each o f 
the hundreds o f callers who re­
po rted witnessing the b affling sky 
demo nstratio ns here last night had 
a different versio n ot what they
o b jects were
TH E W Ea.
M FiaraW M S Sy the U . 8. W eether
Fo r Birmingham ang Ylc’nrty- 
Partly clo udy and warm to day,'to - 
night and to mo rro w with a few 
scattered sho wers this afterno o n. 
H igh to day M , lo w to night 7 0, high 
to mo rro w 90.
large, so me small. They were mo v­
ing at great speed. They were sus­
pended in the air. There was so und 
alo ng with their mo vements. They 
mo ved no iselessly thro ugh the b lack 
sky. They were at great distance 
fro m the earth. They had fallen to  
the gro und. They were in perfect 
fo rmatio n. They were co lliding 
with each o ther.
But whatever the things are that 
have set the natio n ago g since first 
repo rted 12 days ago b y a man in 
W ashingto n State, they definitely 
were o ver the M agic City last night 
It seems, in fact, that mo re Bir­
mingham residents saw the o b jects 
than in any o ther place.
REPORTS BEGAN co ming into 
the Age-H erald city ro o m aro und 
8 o ’clo ck last night. Fo r mo re than 
an ho ur thereafter, the place was 
b edlam. The switchb o ard o perato rs 
were swamped with calls. Repo rt­
ers, o ffice b o ys, co py readers — 
everyo ne in the place was called 
into actio n.
Repo rts came in fro m Edgewo o d, 
M o untain Bro o k, Avo ndale, So uth­
side, Fairfield. Pratt City, W est 
End, Central Park, Bessemer.
There was fear, excitement, ho r­
ro r, skepticigmU n the wf.eg. One
saw.
So me said


5 —thi ^^ingw A M  n ews
M ysterio us Flying
I Saucers Repo rted 
In Birmingham Skies 
...Co ntinued Fro m Pim f 
bJ^JW 01? 2*25 to Th* Age- 
!b o ut.* pra • there *"’ Baal call 
•een the o b ject* o ver the *o uth- 
eM tern lectio n. Thi* mo rning, there 
^n^0? ^I? ’ mwe Queries 
co ming into The News.
,M U *d • menage to Birmingham residents: “W e'!] do 
everything the Army Air Fo rces ft 
« -°W*r^ S do t0 run do*n the 
^» ?! °£ th* dU c*- TO* thi«< 
»eem* to have go tten b eyo nd the 
Po int o f *peculatio n. Birmingham 
kee/7 n th*“”? th* S’ ^ wlU  ^“X*" ““ ““ w
6 ’J
f E


AVONOW


Charles F. Bradley, Birmingham! 
weather man. said b e did no t b elieve 
the spectacle was a weather phe- . 
no mena, "I have instructed my 
staff to b e o n the alert fo r any in­
fo rmatio n thqy might gather o n the 1 
matter," he said, v
GREATEST EXCITEM ENT o f 
the evening came when a man re- . 
perted so me o f the discs had fallen : 
In a ravine near Avo nwo o tL A re- , 
po rter and pho to grapher went to , 
the scenes—and fo und no thing. 
Residents o f the district said the 
discs had passed lo w and appeared 
to have fallen in the trees.
Ro b ert Cno ssland, Age-H erald 
co py reader, rushed fo r b is camera 
when the o b jects passed o ver his , 
residence o n 29th Street and H igh­
land Avenue. H is develo ped film 
revealed two ro und, white spo t* o n 
the b lack, elo se to gether, o ne larg­
er than the o ther. H e said he gave 
the picture a 15-seco nd expo sure. 
Five o ther perso ns were with him 
when the picture was made.
But witnesses aren’t needed any 
lo nger to b ear o ut repo rts o f the 
strange demo nstratio n. To o many 
perso ns—go o d, so lid citizens—have 
seen the things. In fact, they’re 
thinking o f calling the sho w o ut at 
M unger Bo wl to night, “The Disc­
light Opera."
Sco res 0/ People R eport 
Seeing M ysterious D iscs
Residents o f East L ake, So uth­
side, W est End, W o o dlawn and Bes­
semer repo rted seeing the flying 
discs o r saucers last night. One disc
was repo rted seen yesterday after­
no o n o ver the W arrio r River. The 
numb er seen at o ne time varied.* * •
Nine o f the discs were seen b y 
Co nnie M urdo ch, 512 So uth 10th 
Co urt. "They were go b s o f light 
mo ving aro und the sky," she re­
po rted.
H . E. Reago r. *1318 45th Street, 
said he and neighb o rs saw "40 o r 
50" U ght spo ts in the sky. apparent­
ly o ver the Central Park Airpo rt 
area. • • •
One resident o f East L ake, hear­
ing o f the flying saucers, rushed 
into his fro nt yard. "I saw the land­
ing light* o f a DC-3 and 17 light­
ning b ugs,” he repo rted.
_ M rs. James Bain, 1225 So uth 29th 
Street, saw three discs traveling 
fro m east to west Two mo re were 
spo tted later, fo llo wed b y a single 
disc, as neighb o rs gathered.
• • •
J. L . Kardus, 2100 Clanto n Street, 
Bessemer, repo rted seeing "strange 
lights" mo ving thro ugh the sky b e­
tween Bessemer and Red M o untain. 
'They were go ing very fast," he 
said.
"W hirling saucers" were repo rted 
seen b y Dan. Smlrl, 14, 1429 10th | 
Place, So uth, and M arvin Pharo , 15, 
626 10th Avenue, So uth. "W e 
weren't lo o king fo r them,” the b o ys 
repo rted. "W e were standing in the 
yard when we saw ro und silver 
flashes circling aro und. They came 
o ne at a time at first, then the num­
b er increased. They seemed to go 
o ver the mo untain."« • •
At po lice headquarters, Officer 
E. E. M cNeal said repo rts o f the 
discs b egan at 8:10 p.m. and ceased 
ab o ut 20 minutes later.* * •
“Streaks o f light flying very 
slo w" were repo rted seen b y M rs. 
H . M . So ckwelf, 1360 M eado w L ane 
Green Acres. She said she rushed
into her yard as so o n as she b eard 
the repo rt o n the radio . She and 
her husb and and five neighb o ra saw 
six o f the discs flying "fairly lo w." 
She said they were the size o f a
“BIO AS TABL ES"
“I called to find o ut if Tm 
crazy," said M rs. Go rdo n M ize, 
o f the Bessemer Super-H igh­
way, who telepho ned The 
News this mo rning to repo # 
seeing mysterio us flying discs. 
/ M rs. M ize said she and her 
husb and and their b o ats saw 
the “b alls o f fire” as they pre­
pared to get into their car 
after a visit with M r. and M rs. 
Go rdo n Bush at Brighto n, b e­
tween 9:30 and 10 last night.
She said the flash lights, 
which appeared as b eaco n 
lights co ming o ver a hill, came
from the directio n o f Peese-
The lights wo uld co me at 
lightning speed and then sto p 
dead still and hang in the sky, 
they said. Then they wo uld 
dart o ff again, sb me returning 
in the directio n o f Bessemer 
and so me go ing o n. So me 
wo uld circle. Others wo uld 
pass each o ther and scarcely 
avo id co llisio n.
"They were ab o ut as large 
as my dining ro o m tab le," she 
said.
b aseb all and traveled In a "b ig 
curve fro m so uthwest to so utheast. 
The saucers came at intervals o f 
ab o ut five seco nds.


H e b ased his th o ver-
said the flying discs came o ver his] 
residence at a speed o f ab o ut 1,500 u . .. , _ --------.------miles an ho ur. “They wo uld go in “r: •“ M ™ J R- M artin and M r.
noma
o f natural pheno mena, like the 
Auro ra Bo realis.
searchlight
Frank S
eral minutes.
A cit
o ppo site directio ns, sto p, and b ump 
into each o ther," he repo rted.
Gene Plumstead, pro gram man- 
er o f W SGN, repo rted the flying
J. A. H afner. 3301 Avenue I, Ens­
ley, said the lights appeared like a 
spo t thro wn b y a huge searchlight 
H e said, ho wever, he co uld
b eam such as wo uld co me fro m a
A numb er o f ' “white ro und 
things” were seen in the skies o ver 
W est End b y M ra. Alfred H ack- 
b arth. 17 00 M cM illan Avenue.
L . M . Cadenhead. 2000 48th
Street Central Park, saw the lights
o ver Po wderly.
“They lo o ked like saucers," said
and M ra. Frank Arno ld, 7 32 47 th 
W ay, So uth. “So me o f them went 
aa fast aa b ullets, while o thers 
flo ated aro und. They were the size 
o f an auto mo b ile tire.
M r. and M rs. W illiam H o well. 
1004 East Co urt, So uth, repo rted 
seeing U  discs ab o ut 8:30 a.m.
Ab o ut 15 o f them passed o ver 
o ur b o use sho rtly b efo re 8,” said 
M rs. H elen M allo ry, 1404 No rth 
12th Co urt M rs. M allo ry said the 
o b jects were first sighted b y her 
so n, M ilo , who called the rest o f 
the family. “They lo o ked like a 
flash o f light that went b y in such 
a hurry yo u co uldn't describ e it. 
she said.
the Tennessee
ro ad Co mpany, repo rted seeing 
eight o r 10 o f the o b jects. "They 
lo o ked ab o ut the size o f a dishnan."
he said.
so utheast and whirled aro und sev­
8-Sgt I. L . L ivingsto n, o f the Bir­
mingham Army Airfield, o b served 
the diacs fro m his Green Acres
R. H . VAU GH N, H I, who served
as an anti-aircraft gunner in Eu-
sho t at anything mo ving aa rapidly 
they were," he said, Vaughn b e­
lieves the discs” are so me so rt
Jimmy Dewb erry, 11, o f 1030 16th 
Avenue. So uth, said he saw a “fly­
ing saucer” while visiting at his 
grandmo ther's 
So uth. “It lo o
---------- 14th Avenue, 
“It lo o ked like a sho o ting 
star.” Jimmy said, "b ut it was to o
lo w fo r that It had a lo ng red tail
Searchlight R eflection
Theory It A dvanced
The mysterio us “flying diacs" o b ­
served in Birmingham last night 
may b o a carnival b eaco n light at 
Siluria. ab o ut 20 miles so uth o f Bir­
mingham
That was a so lutio n o ffered this 
mo rning b y W illiam B. H ayes, o f 
the Reco nstructio n Finance Co rpo ­
ratio n in the Co mer Building here.
M r. H ayes, who served in the 
Army In the Pacific, said he and 
o thers there had seen similar sights 
thro ugho ut the So uth Pacific is­
lands caused b y search!
and said the
b eaco n at the Siluria carnival pro b ­
ab ly struck the high clo uds and 
gave the Indicatio n o f


R ESTR I C T ED
S-T-A -T-M -'M -T
I, Staff Sergeant Ira L . L ivingston, R A  1U  15 3 °72, A ir C om s, have 
approxim ately 25 0 heirs flying tim e as m int "nd A rm orer thinner have 
the follow ing statem ent to m ake concerning the annearence of "F lying D iscs" 
in the vicinity of B irm ingham , A labam a.
A t 20^5 hours, 6 July 19U 7, w hile I w as eating sr.pper at m y residence 
at IX ^h M eadow L ane, G reen A cres, B irm ingham , A labam a, m y next door neighbor, 
M r. H erm an M . SookW el1, called for m e to com e to the front door that there w ere 
som e "F lying D iscs" outside. Im m ediately I w ent out in the front yard, to 
observe the objects. The objects appeared to the W est of B irm ingham  traveling 
in a South Eastern direction. They "poeared. to be approxim ately 2000 feet 
above the horizon at a ,l5 degree angle from  w here I w as standing at an un­
estim ated distance aw ay. The objects appeared to be approxim ately tw o (2) 
feet in diam eter, round in shane, producing a dim  glow of light end traveling 
at an estim ated.sneed of five (5 ) to six (6) hundred m iles per hour.
The objects or object appeared to be traveling in a definite arc rather than 
straight and as soon as one w as out of sight another w ould appear behind 
it, but not alw ays In the s m e path. I saw one that seem ed to com e straight 
un. The view of w here it cam e from  w as obstructed by a nearby house; and 
w hen it reached the altitude of approxim ately 2000feet, it started off in 
the sam e direction as the others. I did not at any tim e see any m ore than 
one at the tim e and even though there could have been only o .e, m y "epeon"! 
belief Is that there w ere seven (7) to ten (10). The D iscs w ere silent and 
appeared to be com posed, of a single light.
Ira L . L ivingston
Staff Sergeant, R A  1U  1*5 972
Subscribed end sw orn to before m e this 7th day of July 19h7.


4 
' ---------------------
* x HEADQ UARTERS, NEW FO UNDLAND BASE CO M M AND
* _^IL ANTIC DIVISION, AIR TRANSPORT COM M AND 
-r'TOlC'T F  D ' F0*T M PPERRRL L , NEW FOU NDL AND 
^^^>1 IX J' AFO 862,1 FOSTM ASTER, NEW YORK, N. Y.
^-r- /o /
/«db
IN REFIT REFER
SU B JK Ti L etter of Transm ittal.
TO • C oanandlng G eneral,
A tlantic D ivision, A TC , 
F ort Totten, L ong Island, X . I. 
(A TTX NTIOB s A C /8, Intelligence)
R eference L etter of Trananlttal, this office, dated 28 July  
1947, w ith four (4) Inc Insures (Inclosures 1, 2 and 3, F inal R eports of 
Sightinge of "flying saucers*| and Inolosuro 4, Signed Stateaent - C on­
stable K K A R SK I), transaittod herew ith io F inal R eport of Sightly of /
•flying saucers" in New foundland, w hich occurred at H araon F ield, Stephen­
ville, New foundland at O345 Z, 23 July 1947,
F OR TH R C OM M A ND ING  G SNK R A Is
■A R ION C . M IL L A R ,
C aptain, A ir C orps, 
1 Inals A C /S, Intelligence*
' F inal R pt of Sighting, 23 Jul 47
1st Ind*
HQ, A TLA NTIC D IVISION, A TC , F OR T TOTTE N, L.I., NE T Y OR K 6 A ug 47
TO: C ommanding General, A ir Transport C ommand, W ashington 25 , D *C * 
A TTN: C hief of Staff
(


3
W ttfflm
RESTRIC TED
Organisation*
Sighting
Place i
1388th A A F B ase U nit
A PO 861*, c/o Postm aster, New York
R EPOR T OF SIC H TI
N.I.
Strange interm ittent flashes that m ay tie in 
w ith "F lying D iscs".
H arm on F ield, Stephenville, New foundland
031*5 2, 23 July 19h7
5 . A ltitude * A pproxim ately 10,000 feet high
6 W eather H igh 
than
scattered condition; visibility better 
fifteen (15 ) m iles.
8
H eading frontSouth, heading H X E (approxim ately 30° )
Speed H ighvelocity; stated to be faster than a
conventional airplane
9. D escription : The observers saw a light w hich at first appeared 
to be a shooting star or airplane. It appeared 
again, and a num ber of interm ittant flashes w ere 
seen for a period of approxim ately three (3) m inutes. 
The flashes w ere reddish in color. Observers said it 
w as not a falling star because it did not appear as 
such; ncr w as it an airplane, because m anoeuvers w ere 
too abrupt and there w as no noise of a m otor.
10. R eported by: M iss Patricia A bbott,(New foundland National) G overnm ent 
em ployee and L t. H aranakar, Navigator and Public R elat­
ions Officer.
11. G eneral : The inform ants (noted in Par.10) w ere w alking w hen they  
noticed a peculiar reddish light. B oth M iss A bbott and 
L t. R ainm aker stated that at first, they thought it w as 
a falling star,‘but if left no streak. It appeared 
again; they thought it m ight be a plane flying at a 
very high altitude. A fter observing its w enoeuvers, 
they concluded, because of the silence (no hum  of m otor) 
and abrupt darts of the light, it w as definately not 
an airplane. Neither M iss A bbott nor L t. H am m aker had 
seer, anything like it before.
W IL L IA M  H . SM ITH  
C aptain, A ir C orps, 
Intelligence Officer.
9v?mDmu


Pert Pepperrell, New foundland 
A PO 862/ e/o PM tu«t«r, New York, N. Y.
SU B JEC T# L atter of Transm ittal.
28 July 1947
TO ( C om m anding G eneral, * I 
k . A tlaoU c D ivision, A TO, 1. t J
* • Port Totten, L ong Island, M . Y. .
(A TTENTION# A C ^, Intelligence)
1. Transm itted herew ith, as inclosures 1, 2 and 3, are Pinal 
R eports of Sightings of "flying saucers" in New foundland and vicinity  
listed as follow s*
Pinal R eport of Sighting • 20002, 10 July 1947 
■ ow e. 0030Z, 11 July 1947 
• * " " " - 0015 2, 20 July 1947
2. R eference TNX  - IS 18469, this headquarters, dated 121730Z 
July 1947, regarding sightings of "flying saucers" by C onstable R IC  
K K A R SEI, lew foundland C onstabulary, at G rand Palls, New foundland, on 
the night of 9 July 1947, attached herew ith, as inclosuro 4, is signed 
statam ent ot this sighting by C onstable EEA R SEI.
POR TH E C OM M A ND ING  G ENER A L *
M A R ION C . M IL L ER ,
C aptain, A ir C orps, 
4 Insist A C /S. Intelligence.
1. Pinal R pt of Sighting, 10 Jul 47
2. ■ ■ ■ ■ , U  Jul 47
3. "■■ ", 20 Jul 47
4* Signed Statem ent - C onst EEA R SEI
\
re stricte d
41U I W IU l-J I i kR U


ass
• changed
F INA L  R EPOR T OF SIG HTING - - ;•
K am e)
2.
3.
4.
5 .
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11
12
13
erg.
Sighting 
Place 
Tim e 
A ltitude 
leather 
H eading 
Speed 
Shape & I
C olor
:
:
:
Size:
Photographs
R eported B y:
G eneral
1388th A A F K J, NB C , A TL D , A TC . H arm on F ield
F lying D isc or other airborne object.
A pprox six (6) m iles SSW  of H arm on F ield. 
2000/7., 10 July 1947 
8- 10,000 ft.
C lear, Scattered C um ulus 8 - 10, 000 ft.
NNE on horizontal course.
Very high velocity. f
C ircular like a w heel, estim ated to be sam e 
as seen from  10, 000 ft.
Translucent or Silvery, left a B luish B lack 
15 m iles long.
New foundland.
size as a 0-5 4
trail approx
Jr. R obert W . L eidy reported that he took tw o ^2) K odachrom e 
snap shots of the trail.
IT. John N. F erhm an, IW A  m echanic; Yr. John W . oodruff, 
PA A  m echanic; and Yr. R obert E. L eidy, PA A  m echanic reported 
the above facts to the Intelligence Officer on 15 July 1947 
A  F lash R eport w as TB X  ed to : A ction copy C om m anding 
G eneral, H q. A TC , A ttn. A sst. C hief of Staff, Intelligence. 
Info copies: C om -anding G enerals H q. A TL D  and H q. NB C  
M ister’s ’erhm an, W oodruff, and L eidy w ere enroute from  
Stephenville C rossing to H arm on F ield at the tim e of the 
sighting. M r. W oodruff w as the first to see the D isc, it 
appeared to rent or split the clouds thru w hich it passed 
and left a B luish B lack trail approx, fifteen (15 ) m iles 
long behind it. The trail w as sim ilar to the afterglow of 
a pow erful landing light or search light beam  after it is 
suddenly sw itched off. ihe object m aintained a straight and 
horizontal course according to M r. K erhm an and A ir. W oodruff 
M r. L eidy stated it appeared to be on a great curved course 
on a horizontal plane. The object disappeared into the 
North Northeast. M r. L eidy says he took tw o (2) K odachrom e 
Photographs of the trail. The film  has been transm itted 
to the A sst. C hief of Staff, Intelligence, New foundland 
B ase C om m and for processing.
C A PT. A .C .
Intelligence Officer
R ESTR IC TED


j^^2TR |C TE D f in ai report 0F ING
u.. t.h'. tv of C
—^— -~+— —
1. Organisation:
2. Sitting :
3. Place :
U . Tim e :
5 . A ltitude :
6. W eather :
7. H eading :
8. Speed :
9. Shape ^ 'Si ze:
10.C olor :
11.R eported by t
12.G eneral
1388th A A F R ase U nit
(None) • C M
A PO 861*, c/o Postm aster, New York N.Y
F lying D isc or other airborne object
C odroy, New foundland, 5 ^03* W  L eng.; l'7°5 O’ N
0030Z hours, 11 July 191*7
A pproxim ately 6,000 feet
C lear; at dusk.
F bom  northw est heading eastw ard
Very high velocity.
D isc shaped; w as reported as being the size of 
barrel-head, dinner-plate and size of a plane 
that is flying high. The trail gave the w hole 
object the appearance of a cone.
L at
a
F lam e colored w ith a trail of a lighter flam e c«lor.
M r. John L egge, M r. Ifa. Evans and A lbert Sam m s of 
C odroy, New found!a nd.
M r. L egge and M r. Evans w ere standing outside M r. L egge’s 
store w hen they both sighted the object. B oth m en stated 
that the disc w as very bright w ith an after-glow w hich 
m ade the object look like a cone. It w as a very clear 
night. In spite of the high velocity of the flying 
object, they said they could not possibly have m istaken 
it for a plane or a falling star. B esides the tw o m en, 
the object w as sighted by A lbert Sam m s; he reported w hat 
he had seen to his m other. M rs. Sam m s stated that A lbert 
w as in no w ay alarm ed about it, he w as alone and on his 
w ay hom e w hen he sighted it, and w atched it w hile it w as 
in sigit. A lbert w as quite convinced from  the color and 
behaviour of the object that it w as not a plane, but 
definately som e flying object.
The inform ant, M r. L egge, is believed to be reliable.
H e is a m an of approxim ately forty; has had considerable 
experience as forem an of B uchans M ine, New foundland, w here 
he w as in charge of three hundred m en. D uring the w ar, 
M r. L egge w as a m am ber of a civilian volunteer A ir 
D etection C orps. W ith that > ckground, M r. L egge stated 
that he felt sure that the object he had seen w as som e­
thing new w hich he had never seen before.


F inal R eport of Sitting
G eneral cont'di
A lbert Sasans is a tw elve year old bey. H e w as alone 
w hen he saw the flying object, he w as very definite 
ihat 't nad never seen anything like it before. H is 
m other, M rs. Sanins, is the Post M istress of the tow n, 
and after hearing A lbert’s description, felt that it 
answ ered to the description of a "F lying D isc". M r. 
L egge reported his sighting shortly afterw ards to M rs. 
Sam is b^m se he w as sure it should be m ade know n to 
her in order that the incident m ight be reported hr 
telegram  im m ediately.
There w as one other sighting reported from  a R iver 
W arden at South B ranch. The m an could not be con­
tacted at tim e of interview s w ith other parties. 
H ow ever, a second-hand description of his sighting 
w as obtained, and it agreed w ith the sittings at
C odroy
W IL L IA M  H . SM ITH  
C aptain, A ir C orps, 
Intelligent* Officer


R E S^1
eOM FfflBFRftt-
F INA L  R EPOR T OF SIG H TING
Organization: 1388th A A F B ase U nit
A PO 861:, c/o Postm aster, New York, N.I.
2, Sighting : F lying D isc or other A irborne Object.
3. Place
Tim e
5 . A ltitude
6. W eather
: On board Steam ship "PU R G EO" enroute from  Sydney, 
Nova Scotia to Port ary B asques, New foundland, 
about one hour out from  Sydney.
: OO15 Z 20 July 191x7.
i 30° off the horizon at an estim ated quartor m ile range.
: C lear and dark.
7, H eading R H B (30° East of True North) on horizontal plane.
8* Speed : H igh velocity, stated to be farter than a tracer bullet.
9. D escription : Observers did not see the object, they saw its flashes 
and all four observers agreed there w ere four (lx) or 
five (5 ) flashes approxim ately one (1) second apart 
and equidistant. The flashes w ere said to be silvery  
to reddish in color, and w ere described by tw o observ­
ers to be like those of a F ire F ly only larger and at 
onual intervals, and did not look like a shooting star 
a or airplane.
10. R eported ty: M essrs M aitland, L arkin, D ouglas and H am ilton of 
H am ilton, M etcalfe and K ansas C ity B ridge C om panies 
w hich concern is doing the construction at H arm on F ield.
11, G eneral t The four gentlem en (noted in Par.10) and C aptain G ullage, 
M aster of the "B urgeo", w ere standing on the starboard 
deck, and as the C aptain w as trying to describe a previous 
sighting, he saw the flashes; the other four gentlem en 
also saw them  as described herein, and believed that it 
w as not a m eteorite or airplane because of its speed, 
color, and evenly spaced discharges or flashes.
C aptain G ullage told the four gentlem en that he had seen 
the sam e thing at approxim ately the sam e tim e and location 
(ship’s position) on the evening of 15 July 19k7, except 
at that tim e, the object or flashes w ere traveling faster 
and frequently C hanging course (he said it changed course 
abruptly several tim es) and w as headed generally to the
5


Pina). R eport of Sighting:
G eneral cont'd : SSW . The C aptain also told the four gentlem en 
that he w as w illing tn m ake a com plete report 
if the inform ation is desired for official 
purposes.
W IL L IA M  H . SM ITH  
C aptain, A ir C orps 
Intelligence Officer.


1D -/TC
m A  it left, it# trail tahiM  it
It w as tee ri seat al
C aaatallatiaa
A ppraxiaataly 1700
(date),


R ESTR IC TED
Interrogation of John I. W oodruff (C oat'd)
q. W hat kind of a brook did it nako in the clonic?'
1. It out a otraight path right through tho aloud.
q. D id it leave a trail?
A . Too, it loft a trail dark bluoiah in color oiailar to a high pow er 
light. Tho trail w as free approxim ately fifteen (15 ) to tw enty 
(20) niloo long.
q. D o you think thio w aa a notoor?
A . Io, X  don't think so, it w ao cut too clean. Thio w as aa otraight 
aa an arrow .
q. W hat w ao tho oouroo of the object?
A . W oll, looking at tho nap I'd cay W orth W orth W ant.
q. W are you been w orking around airplaaoo long enough to know tho
cine of an aircraft and tho height fron a diotanco?
q. W ow long hare you been w orking around aircraft?
A . Som e (?) yearn.
q. W ore you in tho A ny during tho tine of tho W ar?
A . W o.
q. D id you take any pieturee?
A . W o, I did not, but one of tho boys took cone.
q. D o you think the pieturee w ill chow up?
A . Toe, it w as an ideal day for pieturee.
•w orn and oubeeribed to before ne 
thio /7 day of July 19b?.
- J
A djutant


R ESTR ^ U '
biD o ubjlabd bas b c o m m abd, atld.aw
x by bllx o x bo b o ma
A PO 86*, g/o Postnaoter, lew Tork, I. T.
16 Jdy 19*7
Interrogation of JOB  I. NB D K A B , JI., B aporw ioor and M echanic, 
Vraas W orld A irw ays, B araon F ield, B ew foandlaad, taken at 1*30 D Y, 
16 Jaly 19*7. by C aptain W llliaa 1. faith, A C , X ntolliyoaoo Officer.
q. lew lsa« haw s yaw been associated w ith aircraft aad striation! 
A . Since approxiaatoly 1938.
q. W ore yea ia the A ray dariac the W art
q. W hat did yea do ia the A ny!
A . A erial Ocaaor. a
q. B id year Job daria< the w ar satail yea to bo able to Jadyo diotaaeos 
aad sisoo of objects aad ronyes!
A . Too.
q. Oa the cw oaiay of 10 Jaly 19*7. *i* fw ••• «ao of the so called 
"Plylay D isks* or aa object ia the sky!
A . Too. w o w ore ooainy op ew er the aoaataia botw eoa hero aad Stophoa- 
w illo Orosslay. The oar vac ye lay ap hill aad w o eeald see the sky 
throe#* tho w iadshield. M r. W oodraff said "look at the eat ia the 
sky". X  looked ap aad oaw a blue!oh black vapor trail.
q. D id yoa soo the object!
A . a B o. X Jast saw tho trail as it w as left behiad.
q. C ea yoa describe the effect the object had oa tho dead foraatioa!
A . The deads w ere very scattered aad w ere aboat froa 8000 foot to
10,000 foot, tho object passed threat* and eat the dead loarlay a 
tap w hore yoa oodd seo tho bias sky, like a W aifs had ent it. The 
odyes w ere feathered siailar to a w old, as if yoa eat a w old in half.
q. D id the object appear to bo dosoondlay, aseeadiat, or horisoatd!
A . X t w as horisoatd sad seeaed to resale on atrao ooarso.
q. W hat w as year ost lasts of the ooarso!
A . A pproxiaatoly B erth B erth B ast.
q. Osa yea yiw o say ootiaato as to tho siso of tho object!
A . X  did not soo tho object.


I 9


RESTRlc^Atew
to tamffiiM  af M * V’ W * 1**M
> lew r«a ar#
•fflaU llyt 
Tm . M r.
- f -
tm lliac ^ a W aH tU  W H •* «R M  *• * ***• *••—•• •' *“
M X  (6) VM M .


X alerrecatiea ef&&££ T^’<)
Q. A re yea vU liag to #w  *• A w  • W r •* m  »l«*»ree ef ♦*•
A . Tee. .
mrvrnm-----
A tetlea M eeheale 
Tm  A aerleaa A irw ays
A ver* m A  eefceerlA eA  to W ere m  
m e / 7 A er ef Jaly 1*7.
Oertela, A ir Oerpe 
A A JaA aM
restrici


R ESTR IC T!: D
STA TE M E NT OF M R . JOBS P. LE GGE , C OR D R OY , NE W F OU ND LA ND . TA KE N BY  
M E R C E D E S BU R KE OF THE INTE L IGE NC E F F IC E , HA R M ON F IE LD , NE W F OU ND ­
LA ND . 17 July 1947 .
A t approximately 10 o'clock in the evening of 10 July 1947  
I w as standing by my store door; I happened to look up and saw  
w hat appeared to be a "F LY ING SA U C E R ". It definately w as not a 
shooting star; I'd s^en several stars shoot before, but never like 
this! nor w as it an airoplane, it w as too "lit up" and traveling 
at too great a speed. It w asn't an airoplane on fire because it 
w ould have fallen in the w ater. It w as a nioe clear night, no 
clouds, it i as just getting dark. I w ould say it w as traveling at 
the rate of a shooting star but much closer. I'd say roughly at 
6,000 feet. It w as visible lor about fifteen (15 ) seconds. It 
• ame from the North W est heading E astw ard. The circle looked to 
be about the size of a barrel head, and the trail behind looked 
to be about fifteen (15 ) feet long. The trail behind the disc 
made the w hole object look like a cone. A nother thing that makes 
me feel sure it w asn't aji shooting star is; a shooting star usually 
leaves a temporary streak, this object I saw  left no streak only 
the one that appeared to travel oehind the circle w hich looked like 
an after-glow . The circle w as a bright red, nearest I could des­
cribe it w ould be the color of a flame, the after-glow (cone-shaped) 
w as a fainter shade. W hat I saw  last Thursday night resembled a 
shooting star in no w ay w hatsoever. There w as only one.
Re stricte d


•ESTR IC TED
STA TEM ENT OF M R . W M . EVA NS, C OR D R OT* NEW F OU ND L A ND . TA K EN B Y 
M ER C ED ES B U R K E OF TR E INTEL L IG ENC E OF F IC ER H A R M ON F IEL D , NEW ­
F OU ND L A ND . 17 July 1947.
A t approxim ately 10 •'•look in the evening of 10 July 1947, 
I w as standing •utside M r. L egge's store talking w ith him . W e 
both saw this thing dash across the sky. I couldn’t be accurate 
about the directions. If it w as a shooting star, I'd never seen 
one as large before, and it w as m uch brighter than anything I've 
over seen in the sky. It looked to be a round object, I couldn't 
say it w as anything else but round; it had a tail on it w hich 
show ed yellow ish, but not as bright as the circle w hich appeared 
and nearest I could describe it w ould be sort of red and yellow . 
The streak behind, I w ould say. w as little over a yard long; the 
olrele looked to be about the size of a large dinner plate. It 
w ent so fast, it w as hardly in sight before It disappeared. I 
w ould not give any idea of the height; all I can say is it w as 
m uch closer than a shooting star and travelling at a great speed. 
W hatever it w as it w as flying through the air; it w asn't just 
» a streak across the sky. To m e it w asn't in any w ay like a 
shooting star, and I am sure it w asn't an airoplane. I called it 
a "PL YING  SA U C ER " because it seem ed exactly like w hat w e had been 
hearing ,so m uch about on the radio.


STA TE M E NT OF A LBE R T SA HM S, C OR D R OY , H3nF 0U NA LA ND . TA KE N BY  
M E R C E D E S BU R KE OF THE INTE LLIGE NC E  OF F IC E , HA xiM ON F IE LD HE W - 
F OU ND LA ND . 17 July 1947 .
Last Thursday night I w as out by our house, I happened to 
look up and saw  w hat I thought w as an airoplane. It w as flying 
at the height of a plane that is flying high. Then I thought 
it looked strange for an airoplane, because it w as all lit up 
so bright, planes do have a light or tw o, but this thing w as very 
bright - sort of a bright reddish yellow . I saw  it only for a 
minute because it w as travelling at a teriffie speed. It shot 
out of sight so quickly I thought it strange if it w as an airop­
lane. IBM , I remembered w hat I’d been hearing about "F LyiND  
SA U C E R S’* I ran in and told ay mother.
aJ^F TaO^


A lbert rushed in and tilt ne about this thing he'd Just seen, 
at fl ret he thought it w as an airoplane but then he reaeoibered 
having he#r|d about "F LY ING SA U C ^HS" and he thought that’s w hat 
it must have been. I questioned him; he said it couldn't have 
been a plane beeauee a plane w ouldn't shoot dow n like tret did, 
besides it w as too "lit up"
M r. Legge reported the sane thing to me in order that I might 
report same to St. John's in the aorbing.
M rs JOHN SA M M S.


NEW FOU NDL AND CONSTABU L ARY >
STA TION G randi F alls, 
^ D A TE July 13th. 1947. .
SU B JEC T R e:. strange objects seen flying over G rand 
F alls on night of July Jth. at approx. 
___A ir .<k.^:._______________
Siri
X  respectfully report for your inform ation that on 
edneaday night, the 9th. inat. I arrived hom e from  
duty at approx. 11.30.
U pon arrival at hom e I Joined m y w ife, m y m other-in*law , 
and M r. John Jackm an a resident of St. Join's and friend 
of the fam ily, w ho w ere sitting on the front steps of 
the house. I w as asked by m y w ife if I had seen the 
"flying saucers" I thought she w as Joking and replied 
that I bad seen nothin^ flying. Jackm an and m y m other- 
in-law then told m e that they had really seen four objects 
flying in an easterly direction Just before X  arrived. 
X  asked them  to describe w hat they had seen. Jackm an said 
that four round shaped figures hud passed overhead at a 
terrific speed and w ere flying side by tide.
On looking skyw ards again m y w ife, Jackm an, and m yself, 
saw a object w hich I w ould describe as being a huge jelly ­
fish flash across the the sky. It w ould be difficult to 
determ ine its height *nd speed ow ing to the brief period 
it w as visible. It's colour also w ould be hard to say, 
but there seem ed to be a phosphorus glow ibout it, it 
w as round in shape and about the size of a barrel head, 
it appeared to be flying in a rocking m otion.
This sir, is about all I can say about the m atter, w e 
continued to seen the sky for about a half hour but no 
sign of them  w ere seen again. z?
/C onstable. /}
L .5 trange Esq., J.P., o L
C hief of Police.
"H e s/w c tfixl^^L ^m ii ted •
L .Strange Esq., J.P., 
C hief of Police.
R ES I R IO TED


STA TION G rand F alla • 
D A TE July 13th. 1947
SU B JEC T R e,, strange objects 
F all* on night •
—U aJL ft .lad.U stQs
over G rand 
at approx*
X  respectfully report for your inf onset ion that on W ednesday night) the 9th. inet* X  arrived hoae from  duty at approx. 11.30*
and M r. John Jac kaon a resident of St
"flying saucer*
• Jo o .
in-law then told as that they had really seen four object* 
flying in an easterly direction Just before X  arrived* ~ 
I naked then to describe w hat they had seen* Jacknan said 
that four round shaped figures hud passed overhead at a
fish flash acroaa the th* 4 
determ ine it* hA ^it ^nd ape
con' seen
onetable*
L .str 
C hief
,1 riote d


F rom  detailed study of reports selected for their inpression of 
veracity and reliability, several conclusions have been form ed:
. (a) This "flying saucer" situation is not all im aginary or seeing 
too m uch in som e natural phenom enon. Som ething is really flying around.
(b) lack of topside inquiries, w hen com pared to the prom pt and 
dem anding inquiries that have originated topside upon form er events, 
give m ore than ordinary w eight to the possibility that this is a dom estic 
project, about w hich the President, etc. know ,
(c) W hatever the objects are, this m uch can be said of their physical 
appearance:
1. The surface of these objects is m etallic, indicating a m etallic 
skin, at least.
2. W hen a trail is observed, it is lightly colored, a B lue-B row n 
haze, that is sim ilar to a rocket engine's exhaust. C ontrary to a rocket 
of the solid type, one observation indicates that the fuel m ay be throttled 
w hich w ould indicate a liquid rocket engine.
3. A s to shape, all observations state that the object is circular 
or at least elliptical, flat on the bottom  and slightly dom ed on the top. 
The size estim ates place It som ew here near the size of a C -5 4 or a C onstellation.
4. Som e reports describe tw o tabs, located at the rear and 
sym etrical about the ±bsm axis of flight m otion.
5 . F lights haw e been reported,from  three to nine 06 them , flying 
good'form ation on each other, w ith speeds alw ays above 300 knobs.
6. The discs oscillate laterally w hile flying along, w hich could 
be snaking.


4,. C ONF ID E NTIA L
H EA D QU A R TER S F OU R TH A IR F OR C E 
Office of the A ssistant C hief of Staff, A -2
Intelligence
H am ilton F ield, C alifornia
4A F D A
333.5 /1208-I
25 A ugust 1947
SU B JEC T: Investigation of flying D isc.
TO: H eadquarters, A rm y A ir forces, W ashington 25 , D . C .
ATTENTION: AC of AS-2
1# The attached true copy of the letter of M r. F . M . Johnson of 
Portland, Oregon, w as received by this officer 22 A ugust 1947.
. 2. Your attention is invited to the sim ilarity of statem ent by
M r. Johnson and H r. A rnold.
3. This letter is being referred this date to the Special A gent 
In C harge, F B I, Sen F rancisco, for any investigation they m ay care to 
m ake •
1 Incl:
C y of Itr fr F .W . Johnson 
\ (in dup)
C ONF ID E NT1A L- iy


C ONF ID E NTIAL
POR TL A ND , OR EG ON, A ugust 20th 1947
L t. C ol. D onald L . Springer, A ssistant Staff
Sir. Saw in the portland paper a short tim e ago in regards to 
an artiole in regards to the so called flying disc having any basis 
of fact. I can say am a prospector and w as in the h*t A dam s district 
on June 24th the day R ennet A rnold of B oise Idaho claim s he saw a 
form ation of flying disc. A nd i saw the sam e flying objects at about 
the sam e tim e. H aving a telescope w ith m e at the tim e i can asure you 
they are real and noting like them  I ever saw before they did not case 
verry high over w here I w as standing at the the tim e, plobly 1000 ft. 
they w ere R ound about 30 foot in dim ater tapering sharply to a point in ' 
the head end in an oval shape, w ith a bright top surface. I did not 
hear any noise as you w ould from  a plane. Jut there w as an object in 
the tail end looked like a big hand of a clock shifting from  side to 
side like a big m agenet. lucre speed as far as i know seem ed to be 
greater than anything I ever saw . L est veiw I got of the objects they  
w ere standing on edge B anking in a C loud.
Yours R espectfully
s/ F . M . Johnson
106 K o. W est 1st A ve 
Portland, Oregon
A  TR U E C OPY:
10/
C ONF ID E NTIA L


C ONF ID E NTIA LPortlan d, Oreg on
30,July 19U 7
C -2-H -T-l-K -I-C -A -T-E
»n 30 July 191*7 I'r Kichard tonkin, 83u N. a. Sinpson Street, 
Portland, Oregon w as intend ew ed by this agent and stated in substance as 
follow s :
M y name is R ichard R ankin, I ami* 7 years old and hove flow n since 
I w as nineteen years old. I first soloed in m air craft in 1912. I have flow n 
over all the w estern parte of the U nited States many times and have mapped 
all of the w estern part of the U nite ’ states during the years before the 
late w ar for the U S F orest Service. I an familiar w ith almost every part of 
the to stern U nited States. D uring a great part of my life I have done stunt 
flying for air show s and various other types of aeronautical exhibitions. M y 
brother w as "TexnR ankin w ho w as quite w ell know n in both civilian and M ilitary 
flying circles for many years before his death and during the late w ar ran 
thousands of F lying C adets through primary training schools ow ned and oper­
ated by him. To date I have accomplished 7 000 hours in the air as pilot of 
both civilian and M ilitary aircraft. I era w ell acquainted w ith most articles 
that one w ould see in the air and I feel that I an w ell qualified to say 
w hen I see articles flying through the air, although I w ould not attempt to 
say that I an infallable and state that I could definitely identify every - 
object that might be flying through the’ air. The follow ing is an account of 
w hat I saw  on 11* June 191*7 from the yard of my home at loot South HI" St, 
Bakersfield, C alifornia.
A t approximately 1200 no.n on the 11* of June I w as lying in the 
front yard of my home. There w as a lad mow ing the law n at the time. I looked 
up into the sky and saw  ten articles flying from th; South to th North at w hat 
I w ild judge to be 65 00 ft. Tic objects w ere flying at approximately w hat I 
w ould judge to be 35 0 miles per hoar. A s I hise stated b fore, I have done 
quite a lot of nap w ork for the U S F orest Service. I distinctly remember that 
at the time I saw  the articles I mentioned it to the lad w ho w as mow ing the 
law n at the time. I told the lad that the objects w ere in all probability 
some sort of A rmy or Navy test planes from the nearby test centers on the 
deserts of Southern C alifornia. Having quite a know ledge of aircraft in 
general I attempted to explain to the lad mow ing the law n that the objects 
w ere probably on sone sort of training mission for either the A my or Navy. 
A t that time I did not give the slightest’thought to anything but that the 
objects w ere sone sort of test Slip for the Government services. The c^kects 
resembled the pictures that I have seen of the gF 5 ^*l, the so silled "F lying 
F lapjack oC xxk that the Navy is testing. A fter the objects di sap eared I 
proceeded into the house and had ny noon meal. A t approximately 11*15 I w ent 
back into the yard to sit and lie in the shade. A t this time the objects re­
appeared going from S.eth to South, although this time there w ere only sever, 
of* ths articles. W hen I first saw  the oF ignal ten objects they w ere flying 
in a "V" formation w ith one oh jet seemingly startling in the rear of the 
formation. W hen th? objects apperaed he second time they w ere . till in the 
"V foraattan although there w as only seven cf the objects at this line. I 
remember 4 this time that I told the lad, * 0 w as still '.c rking on the law n, 
that pbbably three of the objects had poceeded back to that base on a diff­
erent course. I actually thought that thi w as the case, that the other throe 
objects had robsbly gone back to their base on the other side of the mountains 
from Bakersfield. .. w c I. or so later w hen I read of hr Kenneth A rnold claiming 
that he hud seen articles flying through the air over the C ascade 'contains in


C ONF ffiE NTIA k-
W ashington I realised that the articles that I saw w ere probably the sane thing. 
1 w as still reluctant to m ention this to anyone thinking that they w ould prob­
ably say that I w as crazy. A fter sore tim e I m entioned the ind dent to the 
editor cf the "Oregonian", a Portland, Oregon new spaper. A t this tim e I w as 
in Portland for the rem ainder of the sinner. The results d tie conversation ■ 
w ith the editor of the paper is put forth in the accom panying new spaper 
article. ■ *7^ ,
I fully realize that bbls Is a broad statem ent in view of the fact 
that there h s been © m uch publicity tnudm aoK  put forth in various new s­
papers of the country. 1 am  (f sound m ini in every respect and I am  fl rely  
convinced that the artdales I saw are actually som e sort of flying m achines 
although I cannot say from  w here they cam e or to there thay w ere going# I say 
w hat I have said w ith no idea of publicity or personal gain#


—--I',: - :n i .
Pilot R ecalls I 
Seeing D iscs
TR E OR EG ONIA N, TH U R SD A Y, JU L Y 8, 1947 
T%  . J • • I • •• M * ^— —
"TliE  OR E GON IX w Portland, Oregon. 
3 July lb 17
11
D ick R ankin Tells 
Of Odd A ircraft
M o re repo rts o f “flying flap­
jacks” turned up W ednesday, 
o ne fro m no less than Dick / 
Rankin, b ro ther o f the late Tex / 
Rankin, and himself an expe­
rienced pilo t o f mo re than 7 000 
ho urs* flying time.
Rankin, who is reco vering 
fro m an o ld b ack injury re­
ceived in an auto mo b ile acci­
dent. came to Po rtland o ver 
the week end to spend the sum 
mer. H e saw the “silver cau 
cers” o ver Bakersfield. Cal. 
June 23. while lying o n the 
lawn sun b athing, he to ld The 
Orego nian.
“I hesitated to say much 
ab o ut them,” Rankin said, “un­
til I no ticed ail the hullab alo o  
in the papers. I puzzled ever 
their strange shape fo r a while 
and finally co ncluded that they 
were the navy’s ne^ XF5U -1 
flying flapjacks, which are thin 
and ro und, with twin pro pellers 
and stub b y tail.”
Only One XF5U -1 Built 
• (The navy and the manufac­
turer have anno unced o fficial­
ly that o nly o ne such machine 
was b uilt and that it never left 
Co nnecticut.
“These planes were flying 
high, mayb e 9000 feet, and fair 
Jy fast, ab o ut 300 o r 400 miles 
an ho ur. I first co unted ten o f 
them in fo rmatio n, go ing no rth. 
Ab o ut 2:15 P. M . they returned 
o n the reverse co urse, headed 
so uth. But there were o nly sev­
en in the fo rmatio n.
“They were no t weaving o r 
b o b b ing in fo rmatio n I co uldn’t 
make o ut the numb er o r lo ca­
tio n o f their pro pellers and 
co uldn't distinguish any wings ' 
o r tail. They appeared almo st 
ro und. They lo o ked like pic­
tures o f the navy’s flying flap­
jack.” Rankin said.
Rankin, who plans to spend 
the summer here at 834 N. E. 
Simpso n street, is no w ab le to 
resume a little flying fo r fun. 
b ut no t co mmercially, he said. 
H e no w o perates a string o f 
auto co urts, spending his win­
ters at Palm Springs.
I 1 j . i


■rum saw
lefor teletype te the B ure* latM  A oguet If, 1M T.
W eloood «le*w find the aow opopor account carried hr the W ie 
Valle, Idaho Tine# love* on locust IS, together M th a sheet of paper oa w hich 
A . 0. U K I attem pted to sketch his 1 ■'preen io a of the instrum ent w hich ho dal* 
to have seen.
C oncerning U M fs skotahes, it nay bo noted that he believed the 
felled outer edge w hieh he attested to create in hl edraw l ng to have been about 
a foot through. OM I likew ise believed that the tubinh or exhaust flaae w hich 
ho and his eons slain to have seco w as about a foot through and extended at 
least to the back end of the device. the flaae did not appear te taper off 
net to w iden out tow ard the back.
B U T and U ITK  U M I stated that they could neo a knot on the side of 
the device from  w hich the flam es w ere shooting, and that they could see day­
light betw een the exhaust flane and the side <the device. The flam es did not 
leave any stinks or odor.
The U R II boys thought that the "side view * sketch should shew that 
the device w as noro sharply angled froa bottom  to too, w hile U R IS hiasolf 
thought that it w as m ore stream lined and curved. U M I eaid that the iastr** 
- neat oane to e pointed or rom ded top.
la hie notatione, U M I nlstahnaly eaid that ho had soon it on Thurm - 
day. D uring interview , he stated that it actually had been ex W ednesday, 
A uguet IS, 1947, M m he and hie none saw the contrivance a bo-it It 00 P.M .
U M A  explained that he had cent hie boys to the rivor to get som e 
tope fTon hie boat. W on ho thought they w ore overdue, he w ont outoido hie 
tool ehod to look tr them . Io noticed then about 300 fcutaw ay looking in 
the aky and ho blanood up to ooo w hat ho called the flying dice. K e eM d ho 
could only ooo it for a nonoat before it disappeared behind a hill thich 
oboeurod hie view .
U M S further o toted that the coat ri vaaoo w as about seventy-five 
foot la the M r. QU A  resides ia the depths of the Snake B i ver C anyon, w hich * 
10 about four hundred feet deep and tw elve hundred foot asroM  at that place. 
A ccording to hie aooom t. the contrivance w as about three hm drod feet below  
the rim  of the canyon and ho eaw it against the steep w ells of the caayea eft 
the far side. Io dossribod ite color as sky blue cad stated that he doubted 
if it could bo eoea against the A y. K o likew loe said that It w as purely by 
shenoo that ho eaw . it. X tdl aot opin like a top. .


A s the nashino vest V the IH l piano, the trees over w hiah it 
alsost directly passed (M ensa Popular#) did not Just head id th ths w ind as if 
a pleas had tone by. ted la U M I* s w ords, "spm  around on top as if they w ore 
in a vacuus.*
U ltt H ail, oi#it years of ago, said ho first sea ths noshins 
oeaing dew ths oasyw a, heading frea oast to vest and follow ing the con­
tour* of the ground. K IL T, age ten, as# it alasst 1 M ediately, loth 
w ished it fly out of si^t behind a tree in a natter of nonento. They 
•aid they then ran to their father and loaned that ho doo had ooea 
the nochlne.
U U 1 oooaed oow lotoly sincere about tho Incident. Io said hie 
w ife and daughter w ere in tho house at the tine and had not ooea the 
saohina. M o questioned his brother, w ho aloe live* in the canyon, but hie 
brother had been eating st the tine and had ooea nothing, m il and his 
tw o boys naintainod that they had never before coon one of tho discs. 
U & I1, W ien interview ed, appeared to bo a sober, m iddle-aged asm .
JOH N H R OaM A M , tho Tinea lew s* reporter W o originally furnished 
Special A gents w ith inforuation about tho Incident, likew ise stated that 
U R I A  appeared com pletely sincere about tho naoM ne.
K o further attem pt w as aado to locate L . V. M A * D IS, inasm uch 
as J. M . M 1M W X , W o w aa w ith M A X IM S at tho tine, w as interview ed. 
B R O*’a nano w as w ithheld free tho new spaper because M aW IU S and 
•R OW M  w ere fishing at M aison A ase W ile B SD  W B w as supposed to hare been 
w orking in Tw in falls.
1B 0W  said singly that ho and M A X IpS could hear a roar. H ay  
looked up and could seo tw o instr am ents flying at a great height, w hich 
> 1041 m entioned night have boon betw een four thousand sad six thousand 
feet. H ow ever, ho said ho had no idea how largo tho devices w ore and 
consequently, they any have been several silos aw ay. M o said that ho and 
H A B IB S w ere satisfied they had seen som ething and they w ere very 
doubtful that they had ooea tw o planes.
C  
0
P
I
^vf


* and 
•paper
TW IN F A LLS. ID A HO. F R ID A Y , A U GU ST 15 , 1947
H eads U p, F olks! The D iscs A re F lying A gain
Thi* l« an artist'* co nceptio n o f the flying diac that A. C. U rie saw 
sweeping thro ugh Snake river canyo n six mile* west o f Blue L ake* 
ranch. Il seemed to b e po wered b y jets emitting a fiery glo w o n b o th
¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
well b e the inspiratio n fo r so mething new in wo men's
“flying saucer" creatio n. (Drawing b y Vic Go erfjg^^
sides, and co uld 
hats, such as a 
staff engraving I
F lying Saucer R eported F lashing D ow n C anyon 
A t 1,000 M iles Per Hour; Tw o Others A re Seen
By JOU S BROSNAN
Just ns M agic Valley and the ■ 
i nation w ere starting to let go of | 
I lampposts after reeling tinder 
I w elter of flying saucer reports, tw o | canyon 
more Tw in F alls county men re- 
। vived speculation on the mystery 
w ith livid descriptions of discs they
the fast-flying objects the nation 
has yet produced
The flying saucer U rie saw  w as 
a | skimming along through Snake rivir 
at a height of about 7 5  
feet at 1 p m W ednesday. A t 9:30 
a m the same day. L W Haw k­
ins. 'tw in F ulls county commis­
sioner and former county sheriff 
from F iler, also saw  tw o circular 
objects soaring along at a great 
height near Salmon dam 40 miles 
southw est of Tw in F alls.
Here is U rie's eye-w itness de­
saw
F rom A C U rie, w ho operates 
the A uger F alls Trout farm six 
miles w est of Blue Lakes ranch In 
Snake river c anyon, came perhaps 
the mast detailed account of one of
scription of the flying discs seen by 
him and his son. Keith. 8. and Billy, 
10
"I obtained a close-up view  of 
the flying saucer as it passed by the 
trout farm at 1 p m A ug. 13 going 
dow n Snake river canyon at a height 
of about 7 5 feet from the canyon 
floor I w ould estimate the speed 
at about 1.000 miles per hour."
U rie explained that the incident 
occurred w hile the tw o boys w ere 
coming across the river from the 
north side in a boat. He had be­
come concerned about w hat w as de­
laying them, and had w alked dow n 
tow ard the river to see if they w ere 
all right. _
"1 had a side view  at a distance^ 
of about 300 feet and almost on a 
level w ith the thing." U rie con­
tinued. "Tw o of my boys. Keith 
and Billy, w ere below  me and they 
also saw  it at about a 43-degree 
angle They both got a bottom and 
a side view , and w e w ere all look^ 
ing at it from the south side of the
(Co ntinued o n Pane F. Co lumn O


‘‘Saucer’ Seen
F lying D ow n
Snake G orge
<Fro m Page One)
I river facing tow ard the north. The 
boys saw  It coming about half a 
mile up the canyon, and w e all lost 
sight of it in less than a mile."
W hile the impression w as still 
.ivid in their minds, the three got 
1 together and made rough sketches 1 
of w hat they had seen. Tliese, in I 
■ turn, w ere the basis for the artist's 1 
conception of the strange affair by 
Vic Goertzcn of Tw in F alls for the 
Times-New s.
"It w as all one color— sort of a 
light sky blue w ith a red. tubular 
fiery glow  at the side of the top or 1 
hood." U rie continued.
"The canyon floor is rough at 
that particular point, and it rode ' 
up and dow n over the hills and hoi- | 
low s at a speed indicating some 
’.type of control faster than the' 
/ of .Ta?' n ls mv °P*nion 
, that it is guided by instruments and ' 
: must be pow ered by atomic energy 
I as it made very little noise-Just a 
. s-w -i-s-h as It passed by." 
: bribed the size’as about
20 feet long by 10 feet high and 
I 10 feet w ide, giving it an oblong 
shape It might be described as look­
ing like an inverted pie-plate or 
. broad-brimmed straw  hat that had 
been compressed from tw o side-.
Pressed for his candid opinion of 
just w hat it w as. U rie said that he 
w as convinced that there w as some­
thing to this flying saucer situation. 
"I know  a number of the people w ho 
have also seer, them and I know  
that they're not Just imagining 
something or trying to get their 
names in the paper." U rie com­
. mented. »
' "I do know  that it scared the bovs 
and made me feel pretty uneasv." 
he added.
Tracing dow n a rumor that C ounty 
C ommissioner Haw kins had seen an 
unusual object in the air on the 
| same day as U rie's experience, the 
I Tlmcs-New s called him at his F iler 
home.
"Vm. I did." he replied w ithout 
hesitation. "I'll have to admit I've 
been skeptical all along until I saw  
it w ith my ow n eyes. I can't say 
w hat ft w as, but I can say there's 
something in the air "
Haw kins related that w hile at 
Salmon dam W ednesday morning, 
a sound resembling the echo of a 
motor caused him to look upw ard, 
and there he saw  tw o circular ob­
jects that reflected light. They w ere 
traveling at a great speed and 
higher than most airplanes, accord­
ing to Haw kins.
A side from this, he declined to 
. add details, except to say. "There's 
. something in the air.”
His general description, how ever, 
corresponded closely to those of 
hundreds of persons w ho reported 
seeing flying saucers after Kenneth 
A rnold. R aise businessman, had 
touched off the deluge by telling of 
coming upon nine disc-hke objects 
w hile he w as flying in his private 
plane in W ashington.
Thereafter, the nation became In- 
। creasingly flying saucer conscious. 
। creating a state of mind that tn ide 
it possible for four 'teen age Tw in 
F alls boys to cause a mild sensa­
tion w hen they built a model riving 
disc and tossed Into a local yard 
July 10. This w as subseuently re­
vealed as a hoax, follow ing investi­
gation by the army and F BI.
Thereafter the saucer reports 
tapered off into a few  scattered in­
cidents until the question w as re­
vived by this w eek's occurrences.
Speculation has ranged from 
mention that the discs could be 
army or navy guided missile experi­
ments. or that they could be similar 
experiments by some foreign coun­
try. to "something out of this w orld.”
W hatever they are a lot of people 
have seen "some’hir.g " I


M EADQU ARTERS
FL YING DIVISION, AIR TRAINING COM M AND 
Office o f the Co mmending General
Rando lph Field, Texes 
10 July W
333.5
SU B JEC T: U nidentifiable Object#
TO I C ow nsnding G eneral 
Tenth A ir F aroe 
B rooke F ield, Texas 
A ttn: A C ofS, A -2
1. The inclosed NOIC  is forw arded for your inform ation.
2. In tho event that L t. I. B . A rw strong has boon interview ed 
by your H eadquarters, request that a copy of tho M OK  be furnished 
to this H eadquarters.
F OR TH E C OM M A ND ING  G ENER A L :
1 tool H . L . C B JSIZ*
NOW  U . C olonel, O.S.C .
A sst. C hief of Staff, A -2
3 33.5  1st Ind D C
H EA D QU A R TER S TENTH A D I F OR C E, OF F IC E OF TH E A SST C H IEF OF STA F F , A -2, 
B R OOK S F IEL D , SA N A NTONIO, TEX A S, 16 July 1947
TO: C om m anding G eneral, F lying D iviaion, A ir Training C om m and, R andolph 
F id., Texas
A TTN: A cet C hief of Staff, A -2
Inclosed is M em orandum  for tho Officer In C harge in reference to 
L t. B . B . “rm strong, as suggested in paragraph 2, basic com m unication.
1 Inal ^ S.H . M OR R OW
M OIC , atd 15 July 47 C olonel, OSC
1 Incl w ithdraw n a A set C hief,of Staff, A -2
M OIC , dtd 7 July 47


U VU B K IPIA B U  0B JB C T8 
W illiam  F 1A , C M M l*r, A ris. 
15 A V 1*7
m m o bas dum  yo u nt o men is o babo bi
1. Ob 11* Joly 1& 7» let L t Sri* 1. A vm tro^, 0-«o5 97O9» 170** 
M P M e* Volt* Perry D ivision, B reaks H alt, tan A stasia, Tam a raa 
iehorw lew oA  aaA  th* foilsw ing inform ation m a obtalm A i L t A rm strong 
A epartoA  M illam  F ioM , A risean at 11*00 M T am  28 A im  1*7 U  * P-5 1 
far Portland, Oregon, by the W F of W eA ferA , Oregon. A t appranim ately  
15 15 C A T a# a a aura a of JOO A egroea, aaA  groam A  spoeA  af 285 , altitaA * 
10,000 fast, apprem lm tely thirty alias northeast of L abe M eaA e, Sew nA a, 
L t A rm strong slghbeA  fiva sr six w hite, alroular objects at four o'a leak, 
altltnA a apprsm im toly 6,000 fact, oonrao approxim ately 120 A ogreee, aaA  
aa eatlm atoA  spsoA  of 285 m . L t A rm strong aalA  the objoota w are firlag 
w ary sm oothly aaA  la a alase form ation. The estim ated a U e of th* w hit* 
objects w ar* approxim ately J6 Inshoe in A lam ater. L t A rm strong stateA  
that ha 1* sore th* w hite objoata w ar* net birA a, slaea th* rate of closure 
w ae w ary fast. L t A rm strong w as certain that the w hite objects w ore m at 
Joto or eonw oB tiOB al type aircraft sins* he has flow n both types.
r<3r


U M I on TIK I A B L E OW E  "ITS 
W IL L IA M S H EL D , C ltA B OL K R . 
A R IZONA .
7 July 1947
M F M C R A ND U M  F OR TR I OF F IC E IN C HA R G E!
1. On 1 July 1947, L t K illian O. M cG inty, U SM , 19M 03, P-dO 
Student, w illiam  F ield, C handler, A rison*, w aa interview ed by 
thia A gent, and stated in substance! That on 30 June 1947, at about 
0910, M ST, ha ana flying at 25 ,000 feet over G rand C anyon, A riaona, in 
a P-00 type aircraft. H e stated that ho w aa heading aouth tow ard# w illiam  
F ield, A risons, w hen ho saw tw o round objects going at inconceivable 
speeds, straight dow n. H o further stated that hl* reaction* w ere to 
torn aw ay from  the object*. H e further stated that one of th* uniden­
tifiable object* follow ed the other seoends apart. R e further stated 
that <M w to ths speed of the objects, ho could only see that they w ore 
circular, and that they w ere possible light gray in color. H e further 
stated that it w aa his opinion that the objects w ere approxim ately  
eight foot in diam eter. In conclusion, ho stated that the objects 
w ould havuprobebly hit the ground ap roxlnately tw enty-five w iles 
south of ths South R ia of G rand C anyon, A rizona.
A G ENT’S NOTES! L t M cG inty gave hi# perw anant addreea aa: N.A .M .T.C ., 
Point R ugu, Port H uenm o, C alif.
2. On 1 July 1947, C aj tain M alsola 0. A m  strong, 0-734168, 
Instructor, A ngle Engine, W illiam  F ield, C handler, A rizona, w aa 
interview ed by this A gent and stated in substance! That hl* brother, 
1st L t S. B . A nsstrong, stationed at H q, 10th A A F , B rooks H F , Testa* 
had related to him  that he saw a fo root ion of unexplainable objects 
in the vicinity of L ake M ead, Nev. C aptain A nsstrong, further stated 
that his brother stated the objects w ere heading south, and w ere at 
approxim teL y 10,000 feet altitude.
A G  B IT’S NOTES! C aptain A m atrong oould not give too such inf caution 
on the objects that his brother had seen. L t; E. B . A rm strong can be • 
contacted at H q, 10th A A f, B rooks F ield, Texas for further inform ation.
'V’ M 1'
L ynn C . A ldrich, Special A gent, C IC -A A F , F D TB C  
TH IS IS A  THU E OOP!
n“o i^&^^


U nldantlfiaD le Objects.
0 333.5 (lb Jul 47) 1st Ind.
H Q A IR D EF ENSE C OM M A ND , M itcnol F ield, New Torn, 21 July 1947.
TO: C om m anding G eneral, A m y A ir F orces, W ashington 25 , D . C , 
A TTN: A C /A S-2.
1. F crw ardea for your inform ation ana utilization.
F OR TH E C OM M A ND ING  G ENER A L
Info cy: 
C G , A M C ,
^ W right F id,
D ayton, 0.
7 2 Inels: 
n/c


\ W W ENfp-
^^tt^trSS^J1 " 1st lad. .
ft A X B D F F EW U R OOU SA ID , M ichal Plaid, Now Tara, 21 July 194?.
TD i C oanaadlng tenoral, A m y H r F ornea, W ashington 2$, 0. C .
A TW t 1C /A 3-2. , .
1. F orw ard'd for your Infom ation and utilisation.
POM  TH E C OM PaH D IW O OB SW A L i
Info ays 
C O, A U G , 
-right F id, 
D ayton, 0.
2 Inolat 
n/c
B . M . iM Ifli 
uoloool. G M  
A aot Ohlaf of dtaff-Intoll.
Hl


IN REPL Y REFER TO!
D C 35 3.5
H EADQU ARTERS
TENTH AIR FORCE
BROOKS FIEL D, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Office of th© A ssistant Jhief of Staff, A -2
16 July 1&7
SU BJE C T: U nidentifiable Objects
TC : C ommanding General
A ir D efense C oruna nd > 
. itche1 F ie Id, few  Y ork
A TTN: as  st C hief of Staff, A -2
1. Inclosed herew ith for your information is investigation relative 
to U nidentifiable Objects w hich w as initiated at Headquarters, F lying D ivi­
sion, A ir Braining C oma nd, R andolph yield, Texas. This Office assisted, 
as noted in Inclosure 2, by completing a /omorandum for the C fficer in 
C harge•
2» Ho further action is contemplated by this headquarters concerning 
investigation of this incident.
2 Inc Is:
1. LC IC dtd 7 Jul; ^7
2. Ltr, F D A TC , w /1 Ind 
and 1 Incl, ’X1C , dtd
15 July 19U 7
C olonel, GSC
..sst C hief of Staff, A -2


f^O t- biff. e.f /^7"^i. tM7e f W* 4~ 
wj ?>;*■* /v mt
2636 flagnolia A ve. , 
L os A B geles 7, Oalif. 
A ugust 1 1947.
D irector of M ilitary Intellegence, 
W ar D epartm ent, W ashington 25 , D JJ.
D ear Siri
On Sunday afternoon, July the Sixth, I observed something very 
strange ; it is related-----at least in my ow n mind-------w ith the 
phenomena of the "F abulous F lying Saucers^ and I cannot report on 
thin second phenomena , w ithout speaking of the first*
A s I do not w ish to be considered the victim of mass psychology, 
a crack— pot or visionary , it is rathor hard for me to mJca this 
report, I am doing it because I consider it my duty,
A new spaper article spoke of the Bureau of Standards as "Having a 
finger in the pie ■ in many experiments so not know ing w hore to 
w rite or w ho to w rite to 1 w rote to the Bureau, and M r, Hugh L. D ryd 
en has suggested that you w ere the one to report to,
I had been amused at accounts of the ■ flying saucers ". E veryone 
w as talking , laughing and joking about themand I did not believe 
in them ,
^he Hollyw ood Tarzana Bus w as parked at the Tarzana end of the line 
and the driver w as busy making out his reports preparatory to making 
the return trip./ I w as the only one in the bus and I sat in the 
middle of the side next to Ventura eo the bus w as parked north and 
souths
A s I looked to my right , a "Saucer appeared out of now hereiappar- 
ently out of now here and it w as follow ed by several others ; they 
w ere of uniform size and spaced at regular intervals and it seemed 
as if they turned a corner from the W est and they rolled along 
at great speedto the Northw ard and parXallel toVentura Boulevard .
A s soon as I becameconvinced that w hat J saw  w as not an illusion 
but w hat every one w as talking about I began to study them and it 
w as right then that my eyes seemed to be draw n to this other phenoma 
in the air betw een me and the "Saucers".
.'/hat I saw  w as milky w hiter rays in the sunlight that seemed to cris 
cross like the search lights do at ixight ; it w as nothing like the 
sun shining on some bright object for the rays w ere not spaced and 
they w ere not so close together and they cris crossed. How ever, they 
did seem to converge tow ard a center but they did not meet there . 
In this center ----- a radious of about eighteen inches it seemed
from'! sat, there w ere spinning objects if some red substance


2
about the color of the semi- precious stone C ornelian; these 
fragments w ere sharp and. irregular and. shing. •‘•'hey w ere flying 
about as if flying to a magnet . This w as momentary and. I looked, 
to see if the "Saucers’ w ere still there. I saw  one or tw o but 
the same thing "happened again and 1 saw  the second phenomena for 
a second . By this time the "Saucers w ere out of sight.
A ll the w ay hoipe I w as trying to find, some logical explanation for 
the "Sa ucers" but my mind kept reverting to the second phenomena 
and as I dw elt on it I could not help surmising if perhaps these 
rays I saw  did not come out of the red fragments that w ere spinning 
in the vortex. I couldnt help w ondering if this substance had beeh 
shot from the "saucers as theyturned the corner from the w est on their 
w ay to the *‘orth/.
A s our army w ould not be shotinp deadly rays over tow ard a very 
crow eded highw ay and as this w hole thing seems fantastic to say 
the least, I thought I had better trust some ones Judgement w ho 
really know s w hat is going onand so you have my report on w hat 
x really saw , and w hat I am very curious about.
Thanks to M B. D ryden for his courtesy in letting me know  just 
w ho to relate this incident to, and thanks to you for listening 
and I hope that it makes the right kind of impression.
Sincerely yourst
M . Lenore C orey
^ f


. H QOCAM A FORM NO. B-BOB
>1 M AY IM B
A PN/K D S/ob
OKL AH OM A CITY AIR M ATERIEL AREA 
TINKER FIEL D 
OKL AH OM A CtTY. OKL AH OM A
IN REPL Y REFER TOi 
#3721*-! 30 July 191*7
M D IOR A ND U M  TOR TH E SEC U R ITI OF F IC ER , OC A M A
Subject: D A N NEL SON, A ttorney-at-L aw , 926 Perrine B uilding, 
Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a.
R e: F lying Saucer M ystery Solved,
a
On 30 July 191*7 D A N NEL SON w as interview ed at his office, 926 Perrine 
B uilding, Oklahona C ity, Oklahona, relative to his alleged solving of the 
' F lying Saucer M ystery.
Subject, w hose age is 5 3, is at present engaged in practicing law and 
is the agent for the D ual Parking lister C om pany Subject advised he is 
m arried and has tw o sons, ages seven and ten, residing at 2613 N.M . ll*th 
Street, Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a. Nelson stated he w as a sergeant in W orld 
W ar I, being w ounded in action w hile serving w ith C om pany L , 5 8th Infantry, 
and that before entering the service he had an eighth grade education. A fter 
leaving the service he finished his education and graduated from  the U niversity  
of Oklahom a in 1929. H o advised that since 1929 he has practiced general 
law In both Norm an and Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a.
Subject stated ho notified the W ar D epartm ent by letter on 19 July 
191*7, advising then of his discoveries concerning the F lying Saucer M yotory 
H o received an answ er dated 23 July 191*7 advising him  his letter had been 
referred to the A ir F orces. NEL SON stated be heard no m ore from  the W ar 
D epartm ent as of 29 July 191*7, at w hich tim e ho released his statem ent to 
the "D aily Oklahom an," Oklahom a C ity local new spaper.
Subject advised the basis for his theory concerning the F lying Saucer 
M ystery w as obtained from  sim ple experim ents w hich ho conducted w hile driving 
his autom obile. NEL SON stated ho believed that m any people had soon lighto 
or shining objects oast onto their w indshields and side ventilator w indow s 
of their autom obile and refloated as a saucer or disc shaped object. H e 
stated that the m ovem ent of the autom obile, plus the fact that the glass w as 
not a perfect m irror and passing objects could be seen in relation to the 
objects gave them  an appearance of groat opeed.
Subject advised that the vibration of the oar gave the objects an 
appearance of rotating and that the reflections caused them  to appear flat 
or saucer shaped. NEL SON stated that any num ber of objects m ight bo seen 
according to the direction that the oar is traveling and the num ber of bright 
objects being reflected onto the w indow . H o further stated that those objects 
m ight be seen in an ordinary w indow in a house according to the lighting
^lcZ  ^/ p b


<i
conditions, and that the objects sight be either vertical or horizonal. The 
subject related that any change in speed of the car resulted in a change in 
speed of the object, and that changes of direction resulted in a change in 
the angle of travel of the object.
NEL SON stated he has not talked to any persons that had actually seen 
flying saucers or discs but he believed that these reflections plus the 
exciteaent and hysteria caused by other reports has been the basis for m ost 
flying saucer reporta. Subject also stated that this saae theory could be 
true in relation to flying saucers seen from  aircraft.
A ttached hereto is a detailed statem ent by NEL SON covering his findings 
and explaining his solution to the so-called F lying Saucer M ystery.
K A L M A N D . SH EN
C .I., U .S. A ray


F H IM O SA U C ER M TSTER T SOL VED
July 12, 1947.
Th* m ost im pressive report* of th* w -called flying 
saucers or diso* w ere those from  aviators i4> o claim  they  
•aw disc-shaped object* flying through the air in various 
form ations at high altitudes and at a high rate of speed* 
The first report w as from  an aviator w ho stated that these 
so-called flying discs had a som ew hat shiny appearance and 
w ould fly in form ation and change their position from  tim e 
to tim e. M ost reports stated that they appeared in the late 
afternoon or about dusk.
M ost all reports w ere to the affect that these objects 
had the appearance of an inverted disc or saucer, and som e 
of them  reported that they appeared to be rotating in their 
flight.
The m ystery of the flying saucers or discs m ay be sol­
ved by the use of a little applied science along w ith a 
few sim ple experim ents.
These flying discs or saucers can be observed by any 
m otorist traveling along the highw ays w hen the sun is 
shining on m ost any afternoon or evening. D uring the day­
light m ost of these so-called flying discs are reflections 
from  the sun shining upon som e bright object in or on the 
autom obile driven by the observer. F or Instance, if you 
w ere driving in a north-w esterly direction w ith the sun 
shining on the handle of the front or rear door on the left 
side of the car, you m ay notice a shiny object apoear in the 
ventilation w ing of the w indow on the" drivers left, if it is 
opened to about a 45 ° angle.


Those shiny objects m ay havew rious form s and there m ay 
be m ore than one, depending on the num ber of reflections. 
They nay appear to be in the sky w hen the driver looks through 
the ventilation w ing glass. Their position in the sky depends 
upon* the angle at w hich the object is reflected in the ven­
tilation w ing and the position of the observer. They m ay have 
various form s but very frequently they are of a saucer shape 
or a flat shape w hen they appear to be in the sky.
The ventilation w ing during day-light is not of course 
a perfect m irror, therefore, it appears to the driver or ob­
server that he is actually looking through the glass into the 
sky. A s he m oves along, the bright objects appear to be 
traveling at a high rate of speed in com parison w ith the 
stationary objects on the ground, or the distant horizon, that 
he sees through the w indow , or in com parison w ith the faintly  
silhouetted objects on the landscape w hich at tim es are re­
flected in the w indow .
The flying saucer appears to be traveling in the sam e 
general direction as the autom obile but som etim es a little to 
the right w hich m akes it appear that it w ill eventually cross 
the drivers path. The apparent flight direction of the 
saucer is due to the angle of the ventilation w ing glass in 
its relation to the direction in w hich the car is traveling. 
The num ber and position of the saucers reflected in the glass 
depend upon the num ber and contour of objects reflected there­
in by the sun. B right objects on a car approaching from  the 
rear m ay cast such reflections on your ventilation w ing in 
the daytim e.
(2)


If the ventilation w ing w indow w ere a perfect m irror the 
objects causing the reflections w ould appear therein,as w ell as 
all other objects w ithin range, but the ventilation w ing being 
a sort of a sem i-m irror, does not reflect the object but only  
the bright spot, w hich leaves the im pression that the observer 
is actually looking through the glass and that the object act­
ually aopears to be in the sky, or at tim es a long distance 
aw ay. These insults are best obtained in the late afternoon, 
or after sun dow n.
The aviators w ho reported seeing flying discs or saucers, 
undoubtedly w ere seeing the reflection of bright objects in or 
on their ow n plane. They saw them  as reflected in their canopy 
or w ind shield, but failed to recognize them  as reflections. 
Otherw ise they w ere reflections from  other air craft.
A s the aviator traveled along observing the m ovem ent of 
the disc in com parison w ith the m ountains, clouds or station­
ary objects on the earth, m ade them  appear to be traveling at 
a high rate of speed. The sloping angle of the aviators 
w ind-shield and his position L n the plane m ade it appear that 
the discs w ere in the sky. The position of the discs also 
depend upon the position of the observer and the angle at w hich
they are reflected in the glass.
Som e of the reports stated that w here there w ere m ore 
than one flying disc, they appeared to be fastened together 
and frequently perform ed a dipping or rising m otion and w hen 
one w ould dip, they w ould all go through the sam e m otion sim ­
ultaneously. The sim ultaneous m ovem ent is due to the reflect­
ions all com ing from  the sam e object. F or Instance, if they
(3)
4 A


are reflected from  som e bright object in or on the car or plane, 
the up and dow n m otion of the car or plane causes the flying 
discs to appear to be going through a dipping and rising m otion, 
or, if the reflecting object is stationary and the car m oving, 
the results w ill be the sam e.
The statem ent that the discs appeared to be rotating as 
they sailed through the atm osphere is due to the vibration of 
the autom obile or plane. Vibrations m ake them  appear to be 
rotating at a very high rate of speed. Vibration is w hat gives 
them  a flat or disc-like shape also.
If you w ish to see som e flying discs, m ake a drive at about 
dusk or at night, open your ventilation w ing w indow at about a 
45 ° angle from  the drivers seat and w atch the reflections of 
the stationary electric lights th t appear on your left, if you 
are driving, after you pass them , and see how m any discs you can 
observa flying through the air. If there are not too m any lights 
to your rear, you m ay have a perfect form ation of beaufiful 
flying discs w hich m ay be red, green or silver according to 
the color of the electric lights w hich you have passed. They 
appear m ost realistic w hen traveling about forty-five or fifty  
m iles per hour. If you do not get satisfactory results from  
your first experim ents, try again. A fter you have learned 
w hen and w here to look for them , your observations becom e m ore 
pleasing and interesting.
Even ths lights of an approaching autom obile frun your I 
rear m ay appear as one flying disc in your ventilation w ing. 
The reflections of the approaching lights w ill appear in your 
ventilation w ing unless the side of your car protrudes out so 
fur as to prevent the light beam  from  shining on the w ing.
(4)


These appear best w hen the approaching car is som e distance
aw ay, perhaps a quarter or half a m ile. The results at night 
m ay not be as im pressive as those in the late afternoon because 
at night your ventilation w ing w indow m akes a m ore perfect 
m irror and the passing landscape is not as pronounced, therefore, 
the reflections therein are m ore easily detected as reflections. 
In the late afternoon, how ever, you have a feeling that you are 
actually looking through the glass and the reflected objects 
appear uore real. The sun shining on a bright ring on your fin­
ger w ith your hand resting on the steering w heel m ay cast disc­
like reflections in your w ind shield. The form  of the reflect­
ion w ill depend upon the ornam ental decorations on your ring.
The rear door handle on m y autom obile reflects nine beau­
tiful, little, silver, flying discs in the bright sun-light. 
These appear in the low er part of the ventilation w ing and w hen 
traveling on a level highw ay, they appear to be racing along 
w ith m e at the road side. These nine discs appear in a form ­
ation of tw o row s of four each, w ith the ninth one in the lead 
at the center of the form ation. They appear as w hirling pro­
pellers in a vertical position.' These discs also have stream ­
ers w hich are due to the curveture and decorative pattern on 
the handle. W hile traveling north in the early afternoon under 
a bright sun, these nine discs appeared far below to m y left, 
I 
racing up the valley at a terrific rate.
Tou m ay be able to see flying discs in your ow n hom e. 
If you w ill turn on a sm all electric light in the hall-w ay 
and then took through the w indow at the other end of the hall,
(5 )


you nay sae as m any as three flying discs from  one electric 
light bulb, w hich m ay have m ore or less of a ball shape. These 
discs m any tim es appear as inverted saucers, and if you w ill 
change your position slow ly you w ill see that they change their 
position also. These are best observed in the late afternoon 
or betw een sun dow n and dusk, uben it appears to you that you 
are m erely looking through the w indow pane at the discs sus­
pended in the distance. A s darkness com es on, the w indow pane 
becom es a m ore perfect m irror and your discs appear as reflect­
ions in a m irror.
To w atch the discs, through your ventilation w ing, sail 
along w ith you as you drive through the country, becom es very 
fascinating, especially if you use a little im agination. It 
m ay absorb your thoughts com pletely, therefore, I vould adm on­
ish autom obile drivers w atching the flying discs, to be cautious 
and not run off the road or into som e other car.
Som e of the reports on flying saucers, heretofore not ex­
plained in this article, such as those reported seeing bright 
flashes in the sky, w ere no doubt reflected sun-light from  
planes. These light beam s chanced to cross the line of vision 
of the observer. They frequently appear very brilliant and 
m ay m ore or less blind the observer for an instant. If the 
plane is very high it m ay not bo seen by the observer, w hich 
m ay be due to im paired vision or the great height at w hich 
the plane is flying. W e very often get these sam e blinding 
flashes from  autom obile w ind-shields* M any of the reports 
around July 4th. w ere incited by various form s of fire w orks.
(6)


Sone report* stem m ed from  pure im agination or hysteria, w hile
others w ere deliberate hoaxes. A ny other reports can be ex­
plained if all the surrounding facts are know n.
M ost all of the reports and descriptions of the flying 
saucers coincide so clearly w ith the findings herein, that 
there could be no doubt but that w e hare the correct solution.
The foregoing statem ent m ay not be coached in precise 
scientific term s, and m ay not be scientifically exact, how ­
ever, w e believe it is so w orded that the average laym an can 
understand it and that it is sufficiently correct to prove 
the proposition.
Personally, I do not believe that the so-called flying 
saucers or the solution thereof, are of any m ilitary value, 
unless the G overnm ent w ished to retain this inform ation for 
the psychological effect upon any potential enem y nation, 
such as G erm any did in regard to their so-called secret


SU B JEC T: "/lying Saucers'*
TO: A sst C hief of A ir Staff-2
C ollection B ranch, A A F  
W ashington 25 , D . C .
1. The inclosure is an excerpt from  a letter to 
D r. E. Tousey, M icron W aves Section H ead, Naval R esearch L abora­
tory, from  M r. John /. C ole, pertaining to sone unidentified objects 
w hich M r. C ole reports to have seen som e tine prior to the first 
reports of "flying saucers" in the New England area.
2. D r. Tousey states that M r. C ole is a w ell-know n astronom er 
and a reliable observer as a result of his training.
3. The inclosure is in addition to inform ation contained 
in previous letters to your office taken from  interview s at the 
request of L t. C ol. G . D . G arrett, A A F A -2.
1 Incl.
Excerpt fn Itr to
D r. Tousey 2
W IL L IA M  P. M EL L EN 
M ajor, A ir C orps 
A M C  L iaison Officer
Naval R esearch L aboratory


Excerpt from  latter to D r. R . Toueey from  
M r. John T. C ole
South B rookeville, M e.
July 28, 1947.
H aving In m ind the ridicule w hich has been heaped on thoee Innocent 
or perhaps gullible Individuals w ho have reported disks, I w ould be a little 
cautious In Interpreting. B ut It Is safe to say truthfully, that som ething 
unusual attracted ay attention, and I w as In a perfectly sober, condition, 
barring the m ild stim ulation, afforded by cool spring w ater filtering through 
North H aven greenstone cracks. It should be easy to determ ine if the "disks" 
w ere a new type jet plane, or bom ber, or rocket. The fact thgt It w as July  
3, about 2:30 P.M . (sum m er tim e) or G reenw ich C ivil tim e 1830 m ight suggest 
that they w ere engaged in som e naval dem onstration from  Eastport, B ar H arbor 
or B elfast. The group appeared to be at an altitude of about 5 0° — I suffer 
from  a m ild cervical arthritis— but m y eyes are w ell corrected for astigm a­
tism  and hyperm etropia, and I doubt if m y cerebral cortical L esions are suffic­
iently advanced to affect m y balance. W hat flret m ade m e look up w as the un­
usually loud roar and I w as surprised not to see a w ell defined group of planes 
quite near. Instead. I had to look rather sharply to see the bunch-of very  
light colored objects, in a general northerly direction and travelling roughly  
in a NW  (true) direction. This w as reasonably correct, as I w as on C ox's 
hill, and looked over tow ards B ackw ood's M ount, that is the conspicuous flat 
top planated hill at H arborside. The group could hardly have covered m ore 
than 1|° angular diam eter in the sky, and bunched rather closely w ith no 
regular form ation. There m ight have been 10, I couldn't say and w ith 90* of 
arc spread, w ould easily be w ithin the lim it of visibility for discreet ob­
jects. A s a group they w ere going so as to cover 30° of arc, estim ated of 
course, in perhaps 10 or 15 seconds. If one of them , say, subtended 1/10°, 
w ith a possible w ing spread of 100 feet, it w ould put it at a distance of 
over 10 m iles, and quite invisible for a light object. B esides, w ith 30° 
arc of travel at a 10 m i. distance w ould be roughly 5 m iles in 15 seconds 
or 20 m i. per m inute or 1200 m l. per hour!!— rather fast for a bom ber— hl. 
A  5 0 ft. object,- at 5 m iles dist. w ould be about 600 m l. per hr.— also fast 
going. The only concrete evidence of form  appeared on the left tangent of 
the group— tw o dark shaped form s: Q)^ w hich m ay have been tail w ings. 
D oesn't the D ouglass bom ber have these? A nd since they w ere in no regular 
form ation, but seem ed am ong them selves to be m oving Irregularly like a sw arm  
of bees, w hy shouldn't all of them  have show n w ings? The loud roar suggests 
they m ay have been m uch closer, and rather sm all. The sky background w as 
hasy blue, and the sun behind m e. One plane tow ing a lot of balloons, I 
believe, w ould have been easily recognized. H avy any m eteorites been re­
ported? A t that tim e of day, has there been any abrupt change of radio field 
strength? or ionization?


OF F IC E  OF THE  A IR  INSPE C TOR  
25 JU LY  1& 47
M E M OR A ND U M  TO« A C /A S-2, C ounter Intelligence Branch
1. Information contained herein and opinions expressed are based 
upon conversation w ith and request by M r. Butler of your office. A ll 
pertain to certain phenonema connected w ith recent w idespread talk of 
"flying saucers".
2. A pproximately three w eeks ago, on or about 7 July 1947 , I 
prepared to go to bed around 2230 or 2300 E D T. I w as living at 2807  
North Glebe R oad, A rlington, Virginia, w ith ray w ife. Illustration No. 1 
show s the general layout of the room w e occupied at that time. See 
Illustration No. 1.


3. I had just turned off the light by m y bedside, but sat dow n 
on the side of the bed to listed to the end of a radio program  before X  
reclining. In the m eantine, m y w ife and I w ere having som e conversa­
tion about the selection of certain furniture for a hom e w e had just 
purchased. A t the tim e of these events, as I sat facing the w indow s, 
a light appeared at the right-hand edge of the extrem e end w indow and 
m oved rapidly along to disappear below the trees or horizon, or to be 
extinguished in sam e fashion at sene place in a general southerly  
direction. This is Illustrated on the follow ing page by a very tenta­
tive sketch. See Illustration No. 2.


4. A t the tim e, since m y attention w as divided and absorbed am ong 
the subjects m entioned, m y reaction w as sim ply that "a light passed by," 
and I gave no further thought to the m atter until som e m om ents later, 
w hen the thought cam e to m e that I had never seen such an object before, 
and that although the first explanation w ould have been that a m eteor had 
fallen tow ard earth in that direction, it did not have the appearance of 
any m eteor or "shooting star" I had ever seen. Thinking of the then- 
prevalent talk of flying disks, I reflected that probably som e such 
thing as I had just seen w as the source of a large am ount of new spaper 
and radio publicity on the subject. The next m orning I jestingly  
announced In the office that I saw a flying saucer the ni^it before and 
thought that it w as enroute to A lexandria,w here som e of our officers 
live. I then w ent on to say that I supposed it w as a shooting star, 
but that It did look som ew hat peculiar. A fter w e had discussed the 
general topic for som e tim e, I dropped the subject, not w ishing to add 
to the supposed rum ors, w hich I envisioned as a source of serious panic 
over the country.
5 . A  description of the light, or object is alm ost im possible, 
since observation of it w as so lim ited. A s show n in Illustration No. 2, 
the object appeared to pass in closest proxim ity to m e at the tim e it 
cam s into view . A ll of m y m ental calculations w ere based upon som e 
im pression or conception of its distance at the closest point, (A C ). 
I had no w ay of judging this, except in the form  of very crude depth­
perception. If this by any chance w ere correct, and instead of e dis­
tant m eteor som e object had passed near-by, I w ould assum e for purposes 
of description that the distance A C  on the sketch w as som e three quarters 
of a m ile. One factor w hich I could judge quite reliably w as the angular 
elevation. This m ust have been approxim ately 3 or 4 degrees; at any 
rate, the light w as interm ittently behind the tallest trees forw ard of 
m y position as It passed, and these trees are of a norm al height, perhaps 
sixty or eighty feet at a distance/several blocks. B ased upon a m ild 
assum ption as to distance, and a reasonable assum ption as to angular 
elevation, the object w ould be at a low altitude, considerably bolow  
5 00 feet, and of a else approxim ating a sm all airplane, say 30 feet 
across. The shape m ay have been round, oval, discal, or Irregular; at * 
the speed w ith w hich it travelled, I could only perceive it as a "blob." 
I do not consider the distance m entioned to be less than 3/4 m ile, 
because had It been, I feel sure that, late in the evening and w ith all 
m y w indow s open, I w ould have heard som e sound, w hich I definitely did 
not in this case. It m ight be w ell to poin| out here the relative 
sim ilarity in site, altitude and airspeed of >  firefly at a distance of 
30 feet, an airplane at about 3/4 m ile, and a m eteor at several hundred 
m iles. M ost of us are fam iliar w ith this illusion.


6. A lthough I oould not accurately judge the tim e, I seem  to 
recall the object or li^it w as visible for a couple of seconds* 
Taking this figure literally and applying It to the sketch* No.- 2* 
one oould roughly com pute the speed of the object at 135 0 m phj how ever* 
I did not sense that it w as m oving w ith such great speed as this. It 
rather appeared to m ove w ith the speed of a Jet-pow ered airplane. It 
did not deviate from  a straight course w hile I observed it* and did not 
perceptibly lose altitude.
7. In color* the subject had the appearance of a reflected w hite 
light* a cool* bright w hite light w ith no red in it* like the m oon on a 
olear night. There w as no train visible to m e* in the form  of fire* 
sm oke* or sparks. The w eather at the assum ed tim e and date w as checked 
through records of the B olling F ield w eather office, and consisted of 
scattered to broken clouds w ith visibilities of 10 - 12 m iles. The cloud 
condition is further indication that the object w as not necessarily a 
m eteor* since it m ight have been im possible to see a m eteor. I do not 
personally rem em ber the w eather condition* except that I am  sura it w as 
not raining.
8. A t the tim e of this occurrence* I w as not inclined to think of 
it seriously enough to w ake m y w ife and describe it to her* nor by any  
reasoning to m ake official report. A s tim e passed* I thought considerably  
about the fleeting glim pse I had of w hatever I saw * and am  still som ew hat 
confused* but feel that it w as som e natural phenom enon w hich occurs but 
rarely. I have flow n approxim ately 25 00 hours during the past seven 
years and being generally fam iliar w ith aspects of aviation can em phati­
cally state that (a)‘it w as no w eather balloon* (b) it w as not the flash of 
a beacon on the cloud-base* (o) it could hardly have boon an airplane on 
fire* since it w ould have at least crashed in this general area* (d) it 
w as not entirely a result of im agination* and (e) it w as not spending 
m uch tim e in one place.
L t C olonel, A ir C orps


' A D D R E SS R E PLY  TO 
DI R&TOR.’NAVAL RESEARCH L ABORATORY 
W A SHINGTON 20. D . C .
A NO R E F E R  TO:
C od# 110
A B M T L IA ISON OF F IC E 
NAVY DEPARTM ENT 
NA VA L  R ESEA R C H L A B OR A TOR Y 
W ASH INGTON 20. D. C.
28 July 1947
SU B JEC T: H ying Saucer#
TO: A set C hief of A ir Staff-2
C ollection B ranch, A A F  
W ashington 26, D . C .
Supplem ental to that contained in a letter to your office, 
dated 18 July 1947, re interview w ith M r. C . H . Zohn w ho purport#  
to have seen an unidentified flying object, the follow ing additional 
inforaation w as obtained on 21 July froa C . C . B ockw ood, w ho w a# m entioned 
in that letter a# having al#o #een the object.
C . C . R ockw ood report# the object to have been either a #llvery  
sphere or diac, w hich he w ould have taken to be a m eteorological balloon 
except for the fact that it w a# travelling at a m uch higher velocity  
than the autom obile and approxim ately In the sam e direction. The auto­
m obile w as m oving about 60 m ph. There w a# little, if any, surface w ind.
W hen first seen at an elevation of about 45 ° it appeared about of 
the sam e else a# the sun. H e could hear nothing above the noise of the 
ear. E^ saw no sm oke or contrails.
Its m otion w as apparently all horizontal. Ite aspect did not change 
so fa^as could be observed during the tine of observation. H e thought 
it disappeared by sim ply becom ing too snail to see.
W IL L IA M  P. M EL L EW  
M ajor, A ir C orps 
A M C  L iaison Officer
fl


Thia la an unparaphrased code (cypherJ ksartge. Text B oat be paraphrased 
if essential to retransm it it in another system  or to corrunicete ite con­
tents to persons outside B ritish or U ^. G overnm ent Services. Ons-tisa 
pad m essages are exoepted from  this rule*
JOINT C OM ? U NIC A TIONS OF F IC E 9421
6ECFE? • IN IESSA G E T.O.O: 080800 A ug. 1947
« r -T- R IC 'D : 1200 ID T 9th A ug.
bLbiUr .
F R OM : A .H . L OND ON
TO: F A F D EL C YPH EP. IESSA G E
A D C  6?28 A ug. 8th 1947
Your A D C  14 July 29th.
D uring norm al night flying practice at 2230 hours on 16th
January, 1947, one of our M osquitos w as vectored on to an unidentified 
aircraft at 22,000 feet. A  long chase ensued com m encing over the North 
Sea about 5 0 m iles free the D utch coast end ending at 2300 hours over
Norfolk. Tw o brief A I contrcts w ere nr de but faded quickly. The un­
identified aircraft appeared to take efficient controlled evasive action. 
2. No explanation of this incident has been forthcom ing do t
has it been repeated.
A .C .M .
A  .M .
/ec
C .I.O. (A ction)


F LY ING D ISC S
30 July 1947
F or purposes of analysis by A PB 1R -C 0, eighteen, reported sightings 
of ’’F lying D iscs” w ere selected for breakdow n into detailed particulars. Each 
report w as assigned a num ber and each num ber appears in the left-hand colum n 
of the data on the follow ing pages.
C he report. Num ber 7, has not yet been received and therefore no 
inform ation is included other than D ate, Nam e of Observer, and L ocation. The 
F ourth A ir F orce is attem pting to secure a statem ent from  this observer.
F our reports, Num bers 2, 4, 17, and 13, have not been analyzed.
The subject headings on w hich the breakdow n has been m ade are;
D ate
H our (L ocal standard Tim e) 
L ocation 
Ob server’s Kame 
Observer’s Occupation 
Observed from  G round or A ir 
Num ber of Objects Sighted 
A ltitude 
D irection of F light 
Speed 
D istance C overed 
L ength of Tim e in Sight 
D eviation from  Straight F light 
C olor 
Size 
Shape 
Sound 
Trail 
W eather 
M anner of D isappearance 
R em arks
IterrC T^


R eport 
Num ber d<|te *H our
1 19 M ay 1215
2 22M ay
3 22 June 1130
4 24 June
5 28 June 2120
6 29 June 1330
7 1 July- 
July8 4 2015
9 6 July 1345
10 6 July —
11 7 July 1145
12 7 July 1430
13 8 July 15 5 0
14 9 July 2330
15 10 July 1600
16 12July 1830
•7 •
L ocation
M anitou fringe, C olorado 
Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a 
G reenfield, M assachusetts 
M t. R ainier, ./ashington 
M axw ell F ield, A labam a 
Nera 7/hite G ands, R ew M exico 
B akersfield, C alifornia 
Em m ett, Idaho 
C lay C enter, K ansas 
F airfield-Suiaun, C alifornia 
K oshkonong, JiEconsin 
East Troy, W isconsin 
M t. B aldy, C alifornia 
G rand F alls, New foundland 
H arm on F ield, New foundland 
Elm endorf F ield, A laska
*Local standard Time


R eport 
Number Observer* 3 Nam e Occupation
Observed 
F rom
1 D . A . H ouser R ailroad Em ployee G round
F . J. Sm ith ft tt ft
L . D . Jam ison Vf tt If
2 B yron Savage B usinessm an-Pilot G round
3 E. L . D eR ose *Not stated G round
4 K enneth A rnold B usiness-m an F llot A ir
5 ■Tilson H . K ayko C aptain, A A F G round
John H . C antrell It l» ft
R edm an •t If It
Theodore D ew ey 1st L ieut., A A F ft
6 C . H . Zohn 3nployee, K id, G round
J. R . K auke M  ft tt
C . C . R ockw ood If ft ft
• Nancy R ockw ood .7ife of C .C . R ockw ood ft
7 R ichard R ankin C ivilian F llot G round
8 E. J. Sm ith U nited A ir L ines Pilot A ir
R alph Stevens " " " C o-Pilot ft
9 A . 3. B row ning M ajor, A A F A ir
10 Jas. H » B urniston C aptain, A A F G round
11 Not Stated C A P Inst ructor air
tt ft C A P Student If
12 Not Stated C A I Pilot A ir
n n C A P F  assenger II
13 A lvin E. M oorm an 1st L ieut., A C C H G A ir
14 Irie K edrsey C onstable, New foundland 
C onstabulary
G round
15 M r, W ehrm an Ti7A  R epresentative G round
M r. W oodruff PA A  ” II
16 G rahm  
and several other officers
M ajor, A A F G round
*F rom  letter received, observer 
la obviously w ell educated.


R eport 
Num ber
D eviation from  
straight /light C olor Jize
1 C lim bed, dove, hovered overhead, re­
sum ed original course
.Silver A pparently sm all
2
3 None reported Jilver, very  
bright
Jm all
4
5 Zig zag course ’’m uch like a w ater- 
bug"
B rilliance 
slightly great­
er than a star
Not stated
6 lone rej’orted .jom e solar spec­
ular reflection
Not stated
7
8 None reported A lm ost dusk; 
could not dis­
tinguish
Im possible to 
determ ine
9 None reported Very bright and 
silvery colored
30-5 0’ in diam eter
10 None reported R eflection from  
sun
C om parable to a 
C -5 4 at 10,000’
11 D escended edgew ise, stopped at 4,000’ 
and assum ed horizontal position. I ro- 
ceeded in. horizontal flight for 15  
seconds, stopped again, then disapp­
eared
Not stated K ot stated
12 None reported Not stated K ot stated
13 None reported Of light-reflec­
ting nature
A pparent depth of 
a P-5 1
14 None reported Phosphorous 
color
K ot stated
15 None reported Jilvery Jam e span as a 
C -5 4 at 10,000'
16 F ollow ed contours of m ountains five 
m iles aw ay from  observers
R esem bled a 
grayish balloon
A pprox. 10' in 
diam eter
5


R eport 
Num ber uh ape Sound Trail V.’eather
1. No definite shape could be 
determ ined
None None C A VU
2
3 Irregular; round, D is not 
appear particularly disc- 
shaped
None None Not stated
4
5 None stated; seem ed like 
a bright light
None None C lear m oonlight
6 No details other than that None Possible vapor C A VU
shape w as uniform  w ith no 
protuberances
trails
7
8 None definite, but seem ed None None C A VU
flat on base w ith the top 
slightly rough in contour
9 R ound, disc-shaped K one None C A VU
10 No shape could be disting­
uished
None None Sunny
11 Not stated, but report re­
fers to "saucer" several 
tim es
None None C A VU
12 Jam e as R eport No. 11 None None C A VU
13 F lat object, of light-re­
flecting nature w hich appear­
ed to be w ithout vertical 
fin or any visible w ings
None None Not stated
14 L gg-shaped, or like barrel 
head
None K one C A VU
15 C ircular in shape, like K one B luish black C lear w ith scat'
w agon w heel trail approx. tered cum ulus
• 15 m i. long at 8 to 10,000*
16 R esem bled balloon K one K one Not stated
6


This image contains all the 
information on the document.
R eport M anner of
Num ber D isappearance
1 C lim bed very fast and out of eight
2
3 Obscured by a cloud bank
4
5 L ost in brilliancy of the m oon
6 C annot explain, except that reflec­
tion angle m ay have changed abruptly
7
0 D on’t know w hether they put on a tre- 
m enduous burst of speed, or disinteg­
rated. H ow ever, they did disappear into 
sunset
9 U nexplained
10 D isappeared at an angle of about 30° 
above the earth’s surface
11 U nexplained
12 U nexplained
13 Pilot (at 300M PH ) attem pted to keep
object in sight, but unable to do so
14 U nexplained
15  U nexplained
16 Hot stated
R em arks
t 9
No definite shape could be deternd 
and even w ith the aid of 4 to 6 pc 
er binoculars object could not be 
brought into focus
F rom  letter this observer w rote, 1 
is obvious he is a w ell-educated 
person. Jeeks no publicity.
Observers (2 rated, 2 air intell.) 
phoned F ield Ops to ascertain no 
scheduled experim ental a/c w ere in 
vicinity. Jky chart attached to re 
Observer is A dm in.A sst, in the R oc 
et Jonde Ject. of NH L . Tw o other 
"scientists", and w ife of one, w ee 
in party and m ade sam e observation
Observers w ere Pilot, C o-Pilot, of 
scheduled U A L  D C —3* Jtew ardess als 
saw objects. Suggest reading of ve 
detailed statem ents.
W hen first sighting object near ho 
izon, observer looked at chart in 
his lap to check position, ’./hen he 
looked out w indow again, object w a 
off his left w ing at 11 o’clock 
R olled from  side to side 3 tim es 1 
its path across the sky. Jun refle 
ed from  top side, but never from  u 
erside, even w hen turning
None
None
Observer contacted bases in area w  
reported no a/c in air at tim e 
F irst 4 discs flying 1ine-a-trail 
deem ed to cut clouds open as it 
passed thru. Trail w as like be^n 
seer, after a high-pow ered landing 
].\^t is sw itched off.
Object w as observed paralleling th 
course of a C -47 then landing.
7


HE A b^LA R TE KS F IF TE E NTH « F OR C E
C olorado Springs, C olorado
2 July 1947
SU BJE C T: Supersonic Platters
SU M M A R Y  C F INF C  K.'A T ION:
The follow ing informa:ion w as related to C ounter Intelligence C orps 
Personnel at Headquarters F ifteenth A ir F orce, C olorado oprin, s, C olorado on 
27 June 1947 oy M r D . A . hauser, 24 North C hesnut Street, C olorado Springs 
C olorado, M r. F . J. Smit?., 24 rairview , M anitou Springs, C olorado and M r. L. 
D . Jamison, 241b best Kiow a, C olorado Sprin s, C olorado. A ll three of the 
men are empolyees of the F ixes Peak hailv~y, M anitou Springs, C olorado.
"On or about 19 ..ay 1947 during their lunch period \121.-131t) a mem­
ber of a train crew  called attention to a silver object in the sky a;proachinG 
from tne North E ast. It appeared to te travellin, at a great speed. A ll 
three men stated that the altitude of the object w as very difficult to deter­
mine because of its apparent smallness. They further sta ed that because of 
this it w as difficult to view  the object as being large and saving high 
altitude or small and being at a relatively low  altitude. They did say though 
that it appeared to be higher than the top of M anitou M ountain w nich is over 
1000 feet higher than toe shops w hich are situated at its base. No de finale 
s..ape of the object could be determined and even w ith the aid of binoculars it 
still could not be brought into focus. The binoculars used w ere of about 4 to 
6 pow er. The men stated that they w ere cer ain that the object did not nave 
any of tne physical characteristics of modern conventional aircraft.
The day w as discribed as being clear and sunny w ith not a cloud in the 
sky andxio ground w ind.
On reaching t; e area just North of M anitou M outain the object remained 
in tne immediate area for several minutes during w hich time it w as seen to 
execute manuvers such as climbing, divlr , and reve sal of direction of flight. 
This happened every few  seconds. The distance and locution be w een view s 
prompted tw o of the men to think that there.w ere more of the unidentified 
objects in the sky. A t times the object seemed to hoveer in tne air and then 
start on another path of fli.ht. A lien last seen t e silver object w as climo- 
ing very fast tow ards the best almost directly into the w ind.
Previous distribution:
None
D ISTR IBU TION:
Hq JA C 3 copies
* i/rf I
E valutation


HQOC A M A F OR M  NO 8 BOE
SI M A Y 1048
OKL AH OM A CITY AIR M ATERIEL AREA 
TINKER FIEL D 
OKLA HOM A C ITY . OKLA HOM A
IN R E F LY R E F E R  TOl
*3724-1
C C A PN/KD S:cp
24 July 1947
M E M OR A ND U M  TO THE SE C U R ITY  OF F IC E R , OC A M A , TIN1C R  F IE LD .
SU B JEC T: B YR ON E. SA VA G E, F ield Engineer, R adio C orporation of 
A m erica, L ailas, Texas. (R esidence: 416 N. W . 29th Street, 
Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a.)
R E: F lying D isc.
On 23 July 1947, B YR ON E. SA VA G E w as interview ed at his resiaence, 
416 N. W . 29th Street, Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a, relating to his alleged 
view ing of a flying disc over the vicinity of Oklahom a C ity, Oklahom a.
Subject, w hose age is 38, advised he is m arried and aas one child, 
and is presently the holder of a Private rilot's L icense, No. 39101, 
(single Engine, L and). Subject averred he has extensively studied electron­
ics, sound engineering and aeronautics, and his present occupation, w hich is 
F ield engineer for R adio C orporation of A m erica, offices of w hich are 
located in D allas, Texas, is that of installing theater sound equipm ent. 
SA VA G E stated that betw een the days 17 L ay to 21 L ay 1947, Just after dusk, 
he observed an object w hich he believed to be a sm all aircraft in the south. 
SA VA G E advised that the sun had just gone dow n and the m oon had not arisen 
on the horizon. SA VaG E related that he and his w ife had just departed 
their resiaence and had started to enter their car in the drivew ay at 
416 N. W . 29th Street, Oklahom a C ity. H e judged the tim e to be betw een 
8:30 p.m . and 9:00 p.m ., and the lights from  the city of Oklahom a C ity  
appeared to be shining on this object w hen he first saw it. H e judged the 
object to be about 160° in the south w hen he first saw it, and as it m oved 
tow ard him  he rem arked to his w ife that "a big w hite plane w as com ing over."
G A VA G E stated that w hen this object w as at a 45 ° angle from  him , he 
realized it w as not a conventional type aircraft, and it appeared elliptical 
at first and as it m oved closer it appeared perfectly round and w as flat. 
G A VA G E advised the object, w hich appeared to him  as a disc, had no appearance 
of being spherical and had a ratio of diam eter to the thickness of approxi­
m ately 10 to 1, appearing thicker in the center, but this cculd not be 
positively ascertained. SA VA G E Judged the object to be at an altitude of 
betw een 10,000 and 18,000 feet, and it left no trailing effects. SA VA G E 
related that it appeared to be in bulk as big as the bulk of six B -29s at 
an altitude of approxim ately the sam e height. SA VA G E advised that the object 
w as in his vision approxim ately 15 to 20 seconds and travelled at a speed 
w hich he judged to be approxim ately three tim es that of jet-propelled aircraft.
1 -9^ //^


M em o to the Security Officer, OC A M A , Tinker F ield, dtd 7/24/47, F ile 
3724-1.
SA VA G E stated that there w ere no protrusions on this object and as it 
w ent by he listened for a sound of noise, and at one tim e thought he dis­
tinguished a sw ishing sound like the rushing of air. This sw ishing sound 
occurred a few seconds after this object had passed him . SA VA G E averred 
this sound w as not very loud and did not last very long, and it is very  
possible that the sound could have been his im agination or expectation, as 
he w as not sure of the sound. SA VA G E related that he called his w ife to 
see this object but it had disappeared before she could focus her eyes on 
it. Subject siated'that the object appeared to dim inish in size and 
speed as it m oved aw ay, and it w as m oving in a direction of 35 0° to the 
north. Subject further stated that the object appeared to be frosty w hite 
in color at all tim es.
SA VA G E advised that he has held a pilot's certificate since 1934 and 
has been flying since 1929. H e advised that he w ould be glad to answ er any  
further inquiries and w ill cooperate in every w ay possible. SA VA G E stated 
ha w as sure this object w as not a m eteor and in his opinion it m ust be 
radically built and pow ered, probably atom ic.
K A L M A N D . SIM ON
C .l. U . S. A rm y
2


Ill M arlU aa Street
Oreonflold, Massachusetts 
July 10, 1947
C om taanding Officer 
W estover Plaid 
C hicopee, M assachusetts
Dear Sir*
After having read several aooounts of eye-witnesses who olaln they 
had aeon the so-called "flying dlaoa", It brought to wind a strange exper- 
lenoo X had sone two weeks ago. The reason I write to you Is that radio and 
newspaper reports state that the air foroes have boon alerted to Investigate 
those mysterious objects. Assuming that you are Interested, X an making the 
following report in the belief that It might possibly bo of help to you. X 
do not desire to have any kind of publicity whatsoever In this connection.
About lit90 AM, Sunday, June 22nd, X was writing outdoors on a step­
ladder, looking up, and suddenly there appeared across ny line of vision a 
speeding, brilliant, small, round-shaped, silvery-white object at an altitude 
I would judge to bo about 1,000 ft. or more. It was moving very fast in a 
straight, northwesterly dirootion -- X would say as fast or possibly faster 
than a speeding plane. It was so unusual and strange a sight that it arrest­
ed my attention for about 8 or 10 seconds until it was obscured by a cloud­
bank.
Baturally ny curiosity was considerably aroused and I tried to think 
what this object night have boon. I doubted very much that it could have been 
a weather baloon because it was not at all like any weather baloons I had seen 
before. The object I saw, although small, reflected the sunlight very strong* 
ly as though It wore of polished alualnum or silver, and I can assure you was 
very real. Xt appeared to have an irregular round shape and while it could 
have been disc-shaped, it did not particularly impress me as such.
X have attempted to give you this information as accurately and 
clearly as I know how, free from any imagination or exaggeration. Further­
more, my experience took plaoe before I had any inkling that "flying discs* 
wore reported soon.
This information is being passed on to you for whatever it nay bo 
worth, purely and simply in the interests of national security, and onoe . 
more request that you do not publicise my name.
A  C ER TIF IED  TR U K  C OPT*
ARCHIE F. ROY 
Captain, Air Corps
Sincerely yours, 
/■/ Edward L. DeRoso
Edward L. DeRosa


H EA D QU A R TER S F OU R TH A IR F OR C E 
Office of the A ssistant C hief of Staff, A -2 
Intelligence 
H aniIton F ield, C alifornia
4A F D A
833.6 ID
17 July 1947
SU B JEC Ti Investigation of "F lying D iscs*
TO# C om m anding G eneral, A rray A ir F oroee, W ashington 25 , D . C . 
A TTESTIOHi A C  of A S-2
1. A ttached statem ents and M OIC s forw arded to your office per 
request TW X  from  H eadquarters A ir D efense C om m and, M itchel F ield, M . T., 
dated 10 July 1947.
2. This headquarters is unable to locate R ichard R ankin, how ever, 
as soon as ho is located, statem ent and M OIC  w ill be forw arded direct to 
your office.
3. Inform ation copies furnished H eadquarters A ir D efense G ourm and.
4 Inelsi
1. M OIC  16
2. M OIC  16
3. M OIC  16
4. *0IC  16
Jul/B row n (dnp)
Jul/B row n (dnp)
Jul/B row n (dup)
Jul/B row n (dnp)
D OM A L D  L . 8PR IIG B R  
L t. C olonel, OSC  
A C  of 3, A -2
Info co to A D C


Incident 
Id" 1208 I 
16 July 191*7
KW JRA'IW M W R TH a OL IOS’ TN OH AROZi
1. U n 12 July 191*7* a call w as aada at the new spaper office of 
the "Idaho ally otatosm an”* B oiso, Idaho. The aviation editor of tho 
paper* Jr. D aw id N. Johnson, w as interview ed in regard to how w ell ho 
knew M r* K enneth A rnold of oise* Idaho* and as to tho credibility of 
any statem ent m ade by M r. A rnold. Tho purpose of this Interview w as an 
attem pt to verify statem ent a aado by M r, K enneth A rnold on 26 June 191*7* 
to various national new s services to the effect that he* jt. A rnold* 
had seen 9 objects flying in the air above the ascade '.contain R ango 
of Yashington. These objects w ere subsequently referred to as flying 
sauoers or flying disks and w ill hero-in-after be referred to as such 
in this report. M r. Johnson stated that he had know n M r. A rnold for 
quite a period of tiao* having had relations w ith M r. A rnold on various 
occasions* duo to ths fact that both he, M r. Johnson* and M r. A rnold 
w ere private fliers and frequently got together to talk shop. M r. Johnson 
stated that as far as ho w as concerned anything M r. A rnold said oculd be 
taken very seriously and that ho* M r. Johnson* actually relieved that M r. 
A rnold had seen tho aforoeantinned flying disks. Jr. Johnson stated that 
after M r. A rnold reported having seen tho flying disks, that the editor 
of the paper had assigned him , M r. Johnson, the assignm ent of taking the 
airplane belonging to the new spaper and exhausting all efforts to prove 
or disprove tho probability of flying disks having boon seen in the 
northw est area. Tho results of this assignm ent to M r. Johnson and w hat 
he subsequently saw is put forth in a sw orn statem ent signed by M r. Johnson 
attached to this report as Exhibit B .
A G ENT’S NOTES: M r. Johnson is a m an of approxim ately 33 to 35 years of 
ago. F rom  all appearances ho is a vory reserved typo of person. M r. 
Johnson has logged 2800 hours of flying tine in various types of airplanes 
up to and including m ulti-engine aircraft. D uring part of tho w ar years* 
U r. Johnson w as tho first pilot of a B -29 type aircraft being assigned to 
tho Tw entieth U SA A F and stationed on Tinian Island* in ths Pacific. It 
is ths personal opinion of the interview er that M r. Johnson actually saw  
w hat ho states that ho saw in tho attached report. It is also the opinion 
of the interview er that M r. Johnson w ould have m uch m ore to lose than gain 
and w ould have to bo vary strongly convinced that ho actually saw som ething 
before he w ould report such an incident and open him self for the ridicule 
that w ould accom pany ouch a report.
1 Inoli Exhibit "B "
F R A NK  M . ^OO* S/A , C IO 5 th A F


COPY, ■% C OHF ID E F JTIA I>
Statement of D avid N. Johnson 
at Boise, Idaho, July 12, 1947
To Whom It Yay Concern:
On the sixth day of July, 1947 , I received from James L. drow n, 
general manager of the statesman New spapers, incorporated in Idaho as 
The Statesman Printing company, an assignment w hich w as in substance: 
’’C onduct an aerial search of the northw est states in an effort to 
see and photograph a flying disc. C onduct this patrol for so long a time 
as you believe reasonable, or until you see a flying disc.”
In accordance to these instructions, I took the Statesman’s airplane, 
and w ith Kenneth A rnold as passenger, flew  a seven and one-half hour, mission 
on the seventh day of July, 1947 . This mission w as w ithout result. It 
cohered at area embracing the confines of the ihnford plant in hashington, 
and territory betw een and around vt. Spinier and Ht. A dams, w here A rnold 
first reported seein objects henceforth described as saucers or discs.
On the eighth day of July, 1947 , I took an A T-6 of the 190th F ighter 
squadron, Idaho National Huard, of w hich I am a member, and flev. to northern
Idaho, into northw estern ontana briefly, to Spokane, W ashington, and back 
t
to Boise by w ay of "alia .alia, .ashington, and Pendleton, Oregon. This 
search also w as negative.
On the ninth day of July, 1947 , I continued the search, again using a 
national guard A T-6, this time centerin my efforts over the Ow yhee mountains 
w est and southw est of Boise, a portion of the fountain Horie desert on a track 
southeast of the ountain Hone army air base, t .once into the Saw tooth moun­
tains, and back in the general direction of Boise on a lino carrying mo w ell
to the north of the Shafer butte forest service lookout station, into the
Horseshoe Bend area, and thence back in a southw esterly direction to a point
—


betw een Boise and the village of eridian, w est of oisc a few  miles.
D uring this search, w hich lasted approximately tv/o ana one-half 
hours, I flew  under and around rc pidly forming cumulus clouds over that 
area know n as the C amas Prairio, east of Boise. The clouds w ere rear the 
village of F airfield in that valley, and F airfield is 7 5 riles airline 
distance east of Boise. A t that time I saw  nothin- in the vicinity of 
these clouds.
A t the time I reached the point betw een Boise and eridian, I w as 
flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet mean see level, w hich w ould be a mean 
average of 11,000 feet above the earth in this area, not considerin'; errors 
in the altimeter induced either by barometric changes since my takeoff, or 
by the temperature at that altitude.
I turned the aircraft on an easterly heading, pointin tow ard C ow en 
F ield, and had flow n on th'-1 course for >erheps a minute w hen there suddenly 
appeared in the left hand nortion of my field of vision an object w hich w as 
black and round.
I immediately centered my -aze on the object. A t tr^at time, due to its 
erratic movement, I thought I w as seein; a w eather balloon. 1 celled the 
C A A’s communication station st Boise, end "sked if the w eather station had 
recently released a balloon, .he reply fro® communicator *1 rtson w as that 
the bureau had not. I do not remember his exact w oras; ami under the 
impression he said ’’not for several hours” or rave me th exact time of t.ie 
previous release, w hich w as around 06:30 t..* t day.
T’pon hearing this response , T turned the aircraft broadside to the 
object, pulled beck the plexirlnss coverin to avoid any distortion, took 
my camera from the men er sc, and exposed about 10 seconds’ duration of eight 
millimeter motion picture film, curin’ the tire the canera w as et eve level,


I could not see the object because of minuteness of scope introduced by the 
optical view  finder w ith w hich the camera, tn f.1.9 E astman, w as equipped.
Taking the camera aw ay and once again centerin’ my gaze on the object, 
I observed it to roll so that its edge w as presented to me. A t this time it 
flashed once in the sunlight. It then appeared as a thin black line. It 
then performed a maneuver w hich looked as if it had begun a slow  roll, or 
a barrel roll, w hich instead of being completed, w as broken off at about 
the 180-degree point. The object rolled out of the ton of the maneuver at 
this point, and I lost sight of it.
This entire performance w as observed against the background of clouds 
previously forming over the Varies Prairie. The object appeared to me, 
relatively, as the size of a tw enty-five cent piece. I do not know  how  
far aw ay it w as. I do not know , nor can I truthfully estimate, its speed. 
I can only say it w as not an airplane, end if it w as at a very reat dis­
tance from me, its speed w as -reat, taking into consideration that apparent 
speed is reduced to the view er if an object is a very great distance aw ay.
I forgot to look at my clock to determine the exact time I saw  the 
object. The C A A’s log of radio contacts show s my first contact to have been 
mace a^l2:l? hours. dut a few  seconds elapsed betw een the time I first saw  
the object, and the time I called the C A A’s station.
I subsequently related over the radio a description of w hat I saw , and 
communicator A lbertson may remember it. The control tow er may have a record­
ing of the conversation. I lave not checked to determine that.
The purpose of my rolatin over the air w hat I saw  w as to enable rapid 
transmission of the report to the new spaper, for at that time I w as on 
assignment and my energies thenceforth w ere devoted to (1) transmitting the 
information and (2) conducting a further search, w hich I did aftor landing 
for fuel and to make some telephone cells.
C ONR llJitNlIA L 7 t


The next search, be an w ithin half .'n hour after lundin from the
first one, consumed ano th r tw o hour.., but w as negative. 1 -plorcd thoroum- 
ly the rerion w here I saw  the object.
Immediately after signtin^ the object, I • sked if th. re ..ere other 
aircraft in the area. iere w as a P-5 1 of the 190th squadron racticinq 
maneuvers in the vicinity 1 buna, 4 t w ... h. * • ■ • A 3-82 massed 
over oise, but I saw  that aircraft go beneath me by so e 2,003 feet.
The P-5 1 In the vicinity of Kuna proceeded to the area w here I saw  
the object, at ny request, and conducted a search. It w as negative. 
Ourinr the afternoon, flights of P-5 1s w ere sent out to cover the area, 
and sone of them flew  high altitude missions on oxygen. These searches 
w ere negative.
I w as subsequently informed that personnel on both the U nited A ir 
Linos side of <cw on field, ar.u on the national guard side, observed a black 
object maneuvering in front of the same cloud formation, w riich by now  had 
grow n so that the clouds readied a robable height of 19,000 or 2 0,000 feet 
from a mean base of 13,5 00 or 14,000 feet, mean sea level. Throe of these 
men w ere national qua rd 'ersonnel and I talked to them, askin t.oT to 
describe w hat the sa.., before telling them my story, in order jo avoid 
su ggestion or inference of a leadin nature. They saw  the o jeot ^from 
the ground) w hile I w as on my second search. They believed the time to 
have been 14:00 hours. The object performed in the same erratic manner, 
they said, as I observed.
The above is the extent of the story, and information concerning 
myself is now  in order.
I have approximately 2800 hours of flying time in equipment ranging 
from primary trainers to d-29s. Of course, that does not increase my 
pow ers of observation except as to those practiced daily bj an airman.


•^-eONHD E NTIA I#
It does not make my eyesight any sharper except again as to the incidental 
demands upon the eyes of a pilot*
A t the.time of the experience related above, I had flow n fourteen 
and one-half hours on an assignment to find a disc and if possible, to 
photograph it. In all frankness, 1 w as tired* I may have been suffering.
although slightly, from w ant of oxygen.
Prior to sighting the object, I had concluded there w as no point in
pressing the search, that I probably w ould never see tho diso-like objects 
referred to by A rnold and by C aptain Smith of U nited A ir Lines.
A t all times during the search, both on that day and the tw o preceding 
days (particularly w hen I w as w ith A rnold) I had literally talked to*myself 
to keep beating into my head that I w ould not fall victim to the pow er of
suggestion or self-hypnosis arising from a naturally very intent desire to 
find a disc and bring success to the assignment given me.
I therefore do not beliove that I w as the victim of suggestion or 
hypnosis* I am familiar w ith the optical illusion of a fixed object begin­
ning to move after it is w atched a sufficient length of time. I know  w hat 
tricks the eyes w ill play as to moving bod.es, and have learned of this 
particularly during r.i ht for nation flyin;.
I saw  tho object appear suddenly* If it had moved in e Jerky fashion 
(as it did at first) for the full length of time I observed it, I vould not 
be so strong in saying thet I saw  something not m aircraft, net a balloon,
and not a corpuscle moving across the retina of cipher eye* -he maneuver
described by the object w h?n its cuo w as presented o no convinces mo t..at
I saw  an object actually performin tn ar. erratic flight pat •
The question remain;,- of course, r X 80 ' .
film, developed rooosesd by . •• Si hr in the Bastnan laboratories at


C ONF ID E NTIA L^
241 Battery Street, San F rancisco’, show ed no trace of any object. Stohr 
saye that if it w as more than a mile distant from ne at the size I described, 
the object w ould not have registered sufficiently on the film to be show n# 
He said it probably w as too far aw ay to be apparent even through groat on- 
largement of the negative, and enlargement in that case is limited becauso 
of the site of the film and the fact'I did not have any telescopic equipment 
on the lens. The exposure w as f#16, stop set at infinity, at a speed of 16 
frames per second#
I have‘w orried over this matter a great deal since seeing it. I "took 
myself aside” and said, "come now , Johnson, don*t be stupid#" 3ut I cannot' 
bring mysoIf to the point of thinking I did not see anything# The impression 
of the moment w as too vivid, too realistic, and I knew  in th© air w hen I saw  
that partial slow  roll or barrel roll, that I w as not a victim of illusion.
I trust this matter w ill be of help to those investigating the flying 
disc phenomena w hich have been reported#
A chart is attached depicting the movements cf the object as I saw  it# 
This statement is made voluntarily and freely, in response to the 
request of M r# 3row n and C aptain i^avidson, w ho called on me this r.orning#
/s/ D avid K# Johnson
Subscribed end sw orn to before me, a"notary public, this 12th 
day of July , 1947 .
/8^ Plahei*ty
Notary public for A da 
county luaho# ’’y 
commission expires Jan 2, 1949#


C hart to w hich reference is 
made on page six, statement 
of uavid • Johnson.
This aesirn portrays the movements of the object to 
w hich reference is naue in the attached statement# A t 
all times the object appeared as black. Positions (1), ^2) 
and (3) show  the jerky, risin” motion. Position (4) is w here 
the object rolled, presenting its edge to me. It then 
follow ed the dotted line, rolling over the top of the maneuver 
and disappearing at nosition (b;. t
—  ■ ' ):'?. HA L


InoIdeat 
U r uo8 I 
16 July 1*7
W atOR A M D U M  W  TH S 071011 H 041011
1, On 12 July 1*7, M r, K enneth A rnold, B e* 387, B oise, Idaho, , 
w as laterriw w od la regard to the report by M r. A rnold that ho saw J
strange objects flying over tho C ascade M ountain R ange ef W ashington 
State on July 25 th. M r. A rnold voluntarily agreed to give the interview er 
a w ritten report of erectly w hat ho had seen on tho above nentionod date. 
The w ritten report of M r, A rnold is attached to thia report as K xhibit A ,
A SM T'S W OTB St M r, A rnold is a nan of 32 yean of ago, being serried and 
% o father of tec children. R e io w ell thought of in tho ooncunity In 
w hich ho lives, being very each the fam ily sen and free all appearances 
a very good provider for Ide fam ily. »• A rnold has recently purchased a 
hom o on tho outskirts of B oise, recently purchased a $$,000 airplane la 
w hich to conduct his business to the extent of w hich is explained in tho 
attached, exhibit. It io tho personal opinion of tho interview er that H r, 
A rnold actually saw w hat he stated that be saw . It is difficult to believe 
that a nan of M r, A rnold*# character and apparent integrity w ould state 
that ha saw objects and w rite up a report to the extent that ho did if ho 
did not soothen, To go further, if M r. A rnold can w rite a report of tho 
oharaster th di ho did w hile not having aeon tho objects that he claim ed ho 
saw , it is the opinion of tho interview er that dr. A rnold la in the w rong 
boniness, that ho ahould be w riting B uck logon fiction, M r. A rnold is 
very outspoken and som ew hat bitter in his opinions of tho leaden of the 
U .S. A rgy A ir F oroos and tho F ederal B ureau of Investigation for not having 
m ade an Investigation of thio natter sooner. To put all of ths statem ents 
node by M r, A rnold in tM a report w ould nako It a vcluuinous volum e. H ow ever, 
after having checked an aeronautical nap of tho ana over w hich H r. A rnold 
claiam  that ho saw the objects It w as determ ined that all statem ente node by 
M r, A rnold in regard to the dlstanceo involved, epood of tho objects, course 
of tho objects and also of ths objects, could very possibly bo facts. Tho 
dlstanceo m entioned by M r, A rnold In bls report an w ithin a chert distance 
of ths actual dIstancss cm  aeronautical charts of this area, although Of. 
A rnold has novar conceited aeronautical charta of tho typo tho A rm y uses. 
M r, A rnold atetod that his business hsd suffered greatly since his report 
on July 2$ ba to ths fact that at ovary stop on his business routes, L argo 
crow ds of people w on w elting to question hie as to just w hat bo had soon, 
W , A rnold stated farther that if he, <t any tins in tbs fuSuro, saw anything 
in the sky, to quote M r, A rnSM  QA roetly* •« I saw a ten story building
W M  *> C l H "^
PR A M S M . M OW , S/A , QIC  M b1^ 2R 10IH


flylac U rach Um air X  w aaM  aarar mt a w r« atoab it", tot to too 
fast M M  ha haa baaa riM aala# by Um jreaa to M to aa avtoat W at to 
la praatioolly a aoroa la M a a/** * Um aajarlhy af ua popalatlaa at 
Um Volta# Stataa.
a
H U M ! i. toon, s/i, 0hj1& a f 
v'm  to® ^
^TW ^—
fi


COPY
^NF ID E NTIA b ^
SOM E L IF E D A TA  ON K ENNETH A R NOL D
I was born M arch 29, 1915 in Subeka, M innesota. M y father’s name w as 
E dw ard E rb A rnold: my mother’s maiden name w as Bertha £• Barden# I w as a 
resident of M innesota until I w as six years old w hen my family moved to 
Scobey, M ontana, w here they homesteaded. M y grandfather, R oland C . A rnold 
also homesteaded in Scobey, M ontana, and became quite prominent in political 
circles along w ith Burton K. W heeler, the famous M ontana senator.
I w ent to grade school and high school at M inot, North D akota. I 
entered scouting at tw elve years of age and achieved the rank of E agle scout 
before I w as fourteen. ’^y former scout executive w as h. H# Prescott, now  a 
regional commissioner for the oy Scouts in Kansas C ity, Kansas.
A s a boy, I w as interested in athletics and w as selected as an all* 
' state end in 1932 and 1933 in the state of North D akota. I entered the
U . 3. Olympic trials in fancy diving in 1932; I w as a R od C ross Life Saving 
E xaminer during the years of 1932, *33 and *34. I taught sw imming and diving 
at scout camps and the municipal pool in inot, North D akota# I w ent to the 
U niversity of M innesota, w here I sw an and did fancy diving under Nells Thorpe 
and also played football under Bernie Bierman, but upon entering college I 
w as unable to continue my football career because of an injured knee, 'y 
high school football coach w as Glenn L. Jarrett, w ho is now  the head football 
coach of the U niversity of North D akota. I had little or no finances, and 
my ambition in furthering my education In college w as through my athletics. 
A s a boy in inot, l.orth E lkote, I did a good deal of do; sled racing, placed 
first w ith my dog in 195 0 in the Lions C lub D og D erby.
In 1933 I w ent to w ork for R ed C omet, Inc# of Littleton, C olorado, a 
manufacturer of automatic fire fighting apparatus. In 1939 I w as made 
district manager for then over a part of the w estern states, and in 1940 I
E XHI3IT "A *
C ONF ID E NTIA L


C ONF ID E NTIA L ^
established my ow n fire control supply know n as the Great astern F ire 
C ontrol Supply. 1 have been w orking ns an independent fire control 
engineer since, and I handle, distribute, sell and install ell types of 
automatic and manual fire fi Siting equipment in the rural areas over 
five w estern, states. ’
1^ flying experience started as a boy in Hi not, U orth D akota, w here 
I took my first flyinr lesson from E arl T. Vance, w ho w as originally fron 
Great Prlls, M ontana. D ue to the high cost at that time, I w as unable to 
continue my flying and did not fly of any great consequonco until 1943.
. I w as given my pilot certificate by E d Leach, a senior C A A inspector of 
Portland, Oregon, and for tne last three years have ow ned my ow n airplane 
covering my entire territory w ith same and flying from forty to one hundred 
hours per month since. D ue to the fact that I use an airplane entirely in 
my w ork, in January of this year I purchased a new  C allair airplane, w hich 
is an airplane designed for high altitude take-offs and short rough field use.
In the type of flying I do, it takes a great deal of practice and 
judgment to be able to lend in most any cow  pasture and get out w ithout 
injuring your airplane; the runw ays are very limited and the altitude is 
very high in some of the fields and places I have to go in my w ork. To 
date, I hove landed in 823 cow  pastures in mountain mdadovzs, and in over 
a thousand hours a flat tire has been my greatest mishap.
\
C ONF ID E NTIA L
4-v/CC
75


3Y  KE TJE TH A R NOLD
The follow ing story of w hat I observed over the C ascade mountains, 
as impossible as it may seem, is positively true# I nover asked nor w anted 
any notoriety for just accidently being in the right spot at the right time 
to observe w hat I did# I reported something that I know  any pilot w ould 
have reported. I don’t think that in any w *” my observation w as due to any 
sensivity of eye si~ht or judgment than w hat is considered normal for any pilot#
On June 24th, Tuesday, 1947 , I had finished my w ork for the C entral A ir 
Service at C hehalis, ..ashington, and at about tw o o’clock I took off from 
C hehalis, W ashington, airport w ith the intention of -oing to Y akina, W ash# 
M y trip w as delayed for an hour to search for a large marine transport that 
supposedly w ent dow n near or around the southw est side of M t. R ainier in the 
state of W ashington and to date has never been found.
I flew  directly tow ard M t. R ainier after reaching an altitude of about 
9,5 00 feet, w hich is tho approximate elevation of the hi h plateau from w hich 
M t. R ainer rises. I had rw .de one sw eep of this high plateau to the w estw ard, 
searching all of the various ridges for this marine ship and flew  to the w est 
dow n and near the ridge side of the canyon w here A shford, W ashington, is located.
U nable to see anything that looked like the lost ship, I made a 360 degree 
turn to the right end above the little city of M ineral, starting again tow ard 
M t. R ainier. I climbed back up to an altitude of approximately 9,200 feet.
The air w as so smooth that day that it w as a real pleasure flying and, 
as most pilots do w hen the air is smooth and they are flying at a higher 
altitude, I trimmed out my airplane in the direction of Y akima, W ashington, 
w hich w as almost directly east of my position and simply sat in my plane ob­
serving the sky and the terrain.
^/^
C OM F ID E NTTA I. ^6


e^^w ^+4^1^^
There w as a D C -4 to the loft and to the rear of me approximately 
fifteen miles distance, and I should judge, at 14,000 foot elevation.
The sky and air w as as clear as crystal. I hadn’t flow n more than 
tw o or three minutes on my course w hen a bright flash reflected on my 
airplane. It startled me as I thought I w as too close to some other air­
craft. I looked every place in the sky and couldn’t find w here the reflec­
tion had come from until I looked to the left and the north of t. R ainier 
w here I observed a chain of nine neculiar looking aircraft Plying Prom north 
to south at approximately 9,5 00 foot elevation and going, seemingly, in a 
definite direction of about 17 0 degrees.
They w ere approaching ft. rainier very rapidly, and I merely assumed 
they w ere jet planes. A nyhow , I discovered that this w as w here the reflec­
tion had come from, as tw o or three of them every few  seconds w ould dip or 
change their course slightly, just enough for the sun to strike them at an 
angle that reflected brightly on my plane.
These objects bein’ quite far aw ay, I w as unable for a few  seconds to 
make out their shape or their formation. Very shortly they approached Vt• 
R ainier, and I observed their outline against the snow  quite olainly.
I thou ht it w as very peculiar tnat I couldn’t find their tails but 
assumed they w ere some type of jet plane. I w as determined to clock their 
speed, as I had tw o definite points I could clock them by; the air w as so 
clear that it w as very easy to see objects and determine t leir rpproximate
shape and size at almost fifty miles that day.
I remember distinctly that my sw oeo second hand on my ei ht day clock,
w hich is located on ray instrument panel, read one minute to 3 °. • as the
first object of this formation passed the southern edge of t. tinier. 
I w atched these objects w ith great interest as I had never be* fore observed


• ^4^-rv^
airplanes flying co closo to the mountain tope, flyinn directly couth to 
southeast dow n the hog’s back of a mountain range. I w ould estimate their 
elevation could nave varied a thousand feet one w ay or another up or dow n, 
but they w ere pretty much on the horizon to me w hich w ould indicate they- 
w ere near the same elevation as I w as#
They flew  like many Limes I have observed geese to fly in a rather 
diagonal chain-like line as if they w ere linked together# They scored to 
hold a definite direction but rather sw erved in end out of the high mountain 
peaks* Their speed at the time did not impress me particularly, because I 
knew  that our army and air forces had nlanes that w ent very fast* 
rtfhat kept bothering me as I w atched them flip and flesh in the sur. 
right along their path w as the fact thot 1 couldn’t make out any tail on 
them, and I am sure that any pilot w ould justify more than a second look at 
such a plane#
I observed thorn guito sb inly, and I estimate my distance from them, 
w hich w as almost et ”i -ht angles, to bo betw een tw enty to tw enty-five miles. 
I knew  they must be very largo to observe their sh* pe at th^t listar.ee, even 
on as clear a day as it w as that Tuesday* In fret I compared a zeus fastener 
or cow ling tool I had in my pocket w ith them - holdin* it up on them and 
holdin it up on the D C -4 - that I could observe at quite a distance to my 
left, and they seemed smaller than the D C -4; but, I should jud e their span 
w ould have been as w ide as the ^urtherest engines on each side of the 
fuselage of the 1C -4.
The more I observed these objects, the more upset I became, as I am 
accustomed and familiar w ith most all objects Plying ./..etacr I am close to 
the ground or at .i her altitudes# I observed the ohein of . se objects 
passin another high snow -covered rid-c in betw een M t# R ainier and Kt# A dams,


and as,the first one w as massing the south crest of this ridge the last 
object w as entering the northern crest of the ridge*
A s I w as flyinr in the direction of this particular ridge, I c.casured 
it and found it to be approximately five miles so I could safely assume that 
the chain of these saucer like objects w ere at least five miles long. 1 
could quite accurately determine their pathw ay due to the fact that there 
w ere severe! high peaks that w ore p little this side of them ns w ell as 
higher peaks on tho other side of their pathw ay*
A s the last unit of this formation nessed the southern most high snow - 
covered crest of •:t* A dans, I looked at my sw eep second hand and it show ed 
that they had travelled the distance in ono minute and forty-tw o seconds. 
E ven at the time this timing did not upset ire as I felt confident after I 
w ould land there w ould be some explanation of w hat I saw .
A number of new s men and experts suggested that I might have been 
seeing reflections or even a mirage* This I know  to be absolutely ft* Ise, 
as I observed these objects not only through the floss of my airplane but 
turned my airplane sidew ays w here I could open my w indow  and observe them 
rd th a completely unobstructed view * (W ithout sun riasses)
E ven^hough tw o minutes seems like a very short time to one on the 
ground, in the air in tw o minutes tii;.e a pilot can observe a great many 
things and anything w ithin his si ht of vision nrobably as many as fifty or 
sixty times*
I continued my search for the marine plane for another fifteen or 
tw enty minutes and w hile searching for this merino piano, w hat I had just 
observed kept going through my mind. I became more disturbed, so after 
taking a last look at Tieton R eservoir 1 headed for Y akima.
I might add that my complete observation of those objects, w hich I 
could e/en follow  by their flashes as they passed Ht* A dans, w as around tw o
^Z^r


and one-half or thr -- ’ » . ' • ^i^ th-r' reefed ’ t# A dans
ion as far c . ter ining shape or fora#
• . r , w hen the m reflected fr ■ ■ • three its, they
appeared to <• completely rounds but, - an making a draw ing to tne best of my 
S ill*”, . ^v . ’ ots to be
as the; r ss ‘ d - .• snow  covered ridres as w ell ^s t# ainior#
• • ots w er< C lyinr approximately strel ht at . level, they
w ore just a black thin lino and w hen they flipped w r s t c only tire I could 
ct a juarr.er t ns to their size#
i'hesc co.* ots w ar hollies an al ost. constant elevation; they did net 
seem to be yoin up or to ba conin 1o ..t., such as .ould be the case of rockets 
or artillery shells* I am convinced in ny ow n .1: hat they w ere some type 
lane, oven ’ • .■ r w ith the many aspects of the
.□.thou h the so objects r vo been r norted by many other observers 
throu ;hout the U nited States, there f ve beer, six or s. ven other accounts 
w ritten by some of those observers tnat 1 can truthfully say ust Lave ob­
served the same thin thr t I did; particularly, the descriptions of the three 
W estern/A ir Lines -•es, bhe/g^€leman from Oklahoma C ity and the locomo­
tive engineer in Illinois, plus C ant Smith and C o-^ilct Stevens of U nited A ir Line 
Some descriptions could not be very accurate taken from the ground unless 
these saucer-like disks w ere at quite a qreat height and intro s a possibility 
that all of the people w ho observed peculiar objects could t.cv© seen the sere 
thin. I did; but, it w ould have been very difficult from the round to observe 
those for more than four or five seconds, end there is alw ays the possibility
of atmospheric moisture anu dust near the ground w hich could distort one’s vision# 
I havo in my possession letters from all over the U nited States end people 
w ho profess that these objects Lave been observed over other portions of the
A T


w orld, principally Sw eden, Bermuda, and C alifornia.
I w ould have given almost anything that day to have had a movie 
camera w ith a telephoto Ions and from now  on I w ill never be w ithout one - - 
but, to continue further w ith my story. W hen I landed at the Y akima, W ash., 
airport I described w hat I had aeon to ny vory good friend, A l Jaxtcr, w ho 
listened patiently and w as very courteous but in a joking w ay didn’t believe mo
I did not accurately measure the distance betw een these tw o mountains 
until I landed at Pendleton, Oregon, that same day w here I told a number of 
pilot friends of mine w nat I had observed and they did not scoff or laugh but 
suggested they might bo raided rissilos or something new . In fact several
former A rmy oilots informed me that they had boon briefed before oir. into 
combat overseas that they ht see objects of similar share and design as I 
described and assured me that I w as! ’t dreaioing or going crazy.
1 quote Sonny R obinson, a for or '-r y ..Lr forces pilot •h o is now  epera- 
tin dustin operations at Pendleton, ro on, ".That you observed, 1 m con­
vinced, is some type of jet or rocket repelled si io that is in the process 
of Jolnr tested by our government cr over it could possibly jo by so o foreign 
overnncntw  •
hew , th - . rv . • • • .
before the r.i ~h w as over - •./•s rrceivin telephone crlls fror. nil parts f 
; , ■ • • 11 or one ]
of scoffing or disbelief* • t I know of w as w hat .
printed in the ns pars.
I look nt this w hole order! as rot something funny as ., vool' 
mad© it out to bo. .o me it is *ig 
observ nothing that at least r. John* ->oe or the str • r Pete
A ndrew s on the ranch has never ^r • bout , ■ r-
exist. Sven thou h I openly invited an ir v• .■ :


F BI as to tho authenticity of my story or a mental or a physical examination 
ate to my capabilities, 1 have received no interest from these tw o important 
protective forces of our country; I w ill no so far as to assume that any 
report I rave to the U nited and A ssociated Press end ever the radio on tw o 
different occasions w hich apparently set tho nation buzzing, if our ilitary 
lntellifer.ee w as not aw are of w hat I observed, they w ould be trie very first 
people that I could expect as visitors#
I have received lots of requests from people w ho told me to make a lot
of ri Id pjosses# I w e bused w hat 1 novo w ritten here in this article on 
positive facts and as far as les it a i serve< , - as
much a rystory to ne as it is to t .o rest of the w orld#
y pilot’s license is 333487 # I fly a lallair airplmu; t is a three-
’ . . aad ■ nufaoturecl c t Lftoi ,
nal
/s/ Kenneth A rnold
3ox 5 87  
else, Idaho.
.hey seemeu longer than v.iae, t eir 
thickness w as about 1/gU th of their w idth
irror 3ri nt
.. • .' . not • ; ar be - - •. irl or spin but seemed Ln f
trav lin as - v . u-c ^r 1 •
nneth A rnold


H EA D QU A R TER S TA C TIC A L  A IR C OM M A ND
L ANGL EY FIEL D. VIRGINIA
7 July 1947
IN ■<«.* »<Ft« W
SU BJE C T: R eport of U nusual C elestial Phcncmona
TO: A ssistant C hief of Staff, A -2 
Headquarters Tactical .ir C ommand 
Langley F ield, Virginia
1
rance
A la.
Tho follw iu". reoort i ubmitted concerning an unusual occur'
observed by 
on tho nigh
w w er*?
of 23 June 194 7
Personnel at /axw oll F ield, ".ontganery.
0-33341, Hq, TA C
C A PT. JOHN H. C A OTR E LL, 0-2 5 5 404, Hq, TA C  
1ST LT. THE OD OR E D E .fE Y , 0-209417 2, Hq, TA C  
.C A PT, R E D IA L, R andolph F ield, Toxas
2. A t approximately 2120 C entral time, a light, w ith a brilliance 
slightly greater tlian a star, appeared from tho ’Tost. It w as first noted 
above the horizon of a clear moon-light night, traveling in an easterly 
direction at a high rate of speed. There w as no audible sound and it w as 
impossible to determine the altitude, except that it appeared to be at 
great height. It traveled in a zig zag course w ith frequent bursts of 
spoed^A much like a w ater bug as it spurts and stops across tho surface of 
w ater. It continued until it w as directly overhead and changed course 900 
into the south. A fter traveling in tho above maimer for approximately five 
(5 ) minutes, it turned southw est' and vias lost in tho brilliancy of tho moon, 
at 2145 C entral it w as no longer possible to observe it.
3. A call vias placed to Jaxw ell F ield operations reference this 
phenomena and inquiry made if any experimental aircraft w ero scheduled for 
a flight in the vicinity. Tho reply w as negative.
4. Ho plausible explanation is offered for tho unusual action of this 
source of light, w hich acted contrary to any com.ion aerodynamical law s. 
This report is submitted upon request, in view  of tho many recent reports 
reference unusual aerial objects observed throughout tho U . S.
5 . Tw o of the above noted observers are rated pilots and 
are air intelligence officers. A ll observers -w ore cold sober.
6. A ttached herew ith a sketch show ing approximate course
rTn  T^y 7
C aptain, A ir C orps
AO M M * AL L COM M U NICATION# TOi COM M ANDING GCNKRAL TACTICAL AIR COM M AND
tho other tw o


A M O KTIII TO:
C ode 110
A D OKSS KM .V TO
DIRECTOR. NAVAL RESEARCH L ABORATQ 
W ashingto n 20. D. C.
A R M Y L IA ISON OJTIC K  
NAVY DEPARTM ENT
NAVAL RESEARCH L ABORATORY
W ASH INGTON 20. D. C.
18 July 1947
SU B JEC T: Interview of Person R eporting U hldentIfled. A erial Object
TO: A set C hief of A ir Staff-2
C ollection B ranch, A A R  
W ashington 25 , D . C .
1. A t the request of L t. C ol. G . D . G arrett, A A F A -2, the 
undersigned has Interview ed this date Nr. C . H . Zohn, A dm inistrative 
A ssistant In the R ocket Sonde Section, NH L , w ho had previously  
released Inform ation to the press regarding an aerial object w hich 
he stated he eaw at W hite Sands, New M exico, 29 June.
2. Substance of the Interview Is as follow s:
A t betw een 1:00 and 1:30 p. m . Sunday, 29 June 1947, 
M r. Zohn, In the com pany of the follow ing: M r. J. R . K auke, NH L  R ocket 
Sonde Section telem etering supervisor; M r. C . C . R ockw ood, NEL  R ocket 
Sonde high altitude spectrograph scientist; and M rs. Nancy R ockw ood, 
w ife of the latter, w as procsedlng along H ighw ay 17 In a North-Easterly  
direction from  L as C ruces, New M exico to W hite Sands T-2 firing grounds 
in an autom obile driven by M r. K auke. A t som e tim e betw een those given 
and about one-third of the distance from  L ae C ruces M r. K auke, w ho w as 
driving the car, noticed the subject device and called attention to the 
other occupants. M r. Zohn opened the w indow nearest him  and observed 
the object m oving at an unknow n rapid velocity at an unknow n altitude, 
w hich he estim ated at about 10,000 feet, and w hich M r. K auke, w ho also 
observed it through an open w indow , estim ated at betw een 8,000 and 
10,000 feet, although the form er puts little credence in the estim ates.
W hen first sighted the object w as to the right and forw ard 
of the autom obile at an unstated elevation and w as apparently m oving 
horizontally In a Northerly direction such as to cross the highw ay from  
right to left. The object w as observed by all persons in the autom obile. 
M r. Zohn stated that he could not observe any details of the object 
other than that its shape w as uniform , w ith no protuberances such as 
the w ings of an airplane. It w as too distant to enable stereoscopic 
visualisation. There w aa apparently som e solar specular reflection 
w hich seem ed to change in intensity as the object receded until it 
w as lost from  sight after an estim ated 30 seconds from  the tim e first 
noticed. H e could not explain how it H eap neared except perhaps that 
the reflection angle m ay have changed abruptly. There w ere apparently 
no clouds or visibility obstructions at the tim e. The sun w as to the 
rear of the autom obile. M r. K auke thought that at one tim e he eaw  
vapor trails.


Ltr, A LO, NHL, 18 July 47 to A nat C hief A ir Staff-2, C ollection Br., A A F , 
subj : "Interview  of Person R eporting U nidentified A erial Object"
3. This Interview  w as made In the presence of D r. H. E . New ell, 
A cting R ocket Sonde Section Head, w ho said that M r. Z ohn had recently 
been in the Navy and is familiar w ith the appearance of the majority of 
aircraft types and w ith meteorological balloons. M r. Z ohn also stated 
that none of the occupants of the car w ere Intoxicated.
^ -z,.. / // 
W ILLIA M  P. M E LLE N 
M ajor, A ir C orps 
A M C Liaison Officer


iU TZ R VIE E  R E POR T
SU D JE C Ti Interview s w ith C apt. 2. J. SM ITH and R alph Stevens, U nited A ir 
Lines pilot*, w ho reported seeing flying d4sks.
C aptain E . J. SM ITH w as interview ed at 15 00, 9 July 194?, concerning 
the "flyinb disks", and stated substantially as follow s;
• • "W e left Boise, Idaho, st 2004 pacific Standard line. A t approximately 
2015 , the co-pilot, R alph STE VE NS, called my attention to the first object 
seen. >e w ere then in the vicinity of Bnm«t, Idaho, our altitude w as app­
roximately 65 00, and w e w ere climbing to our proposed cruising altitude cf 
3000 from there to Pondleton, Oregon. I..e heading of the plane at that time 
w as 300 degrees M agnetic North, and the object (one) w as sighted a* erprox- 
imatuly 290 degrees, cr t ?n decrees to our left. Z hen ar. additional four 
cbjacts appeared to the loft cf the main, or first, object. These io .r 
objeots appeared slightly smeller than the first object lighted, but all 
of the objects appeared on the sane plane. I '•otimated the altitude of 
the objects to be about 35 0C . Ti.ey w ^r^ w ithin our sight for approximately 
tw o minutes, then they disappeared.
"Shortly after the first greup disappeared, probably one cr tw o minutes 
later, the second group appeared about 310 degiues, or to the right of the 
plane. Their altitude w as the s-me as the first group. Throe of the objects 
appeared to bv on the came plane, and one object appeared slightly higher 
and to the right of the others. The second group stayed w ithin our sight 
tw elve to fifteen minutes, than disappeared. Te Lad levelled off by the 
time the second group disappeared.
"The objects w ere flat on the base, the top slightly rough in contour. 
The dimensions appeared the same as a D C -3 approximately five miles from 
us. Iu other w ords, it could have been ninety miles aw ay if it w ould be 
possible for an object as largo as that w ould have to be to be flying, but 
since w e didn’t know  w hat w e w ere looking at or how  largo it w as, w e de­
cided that if it w ere the size of a D C -3 w ing span (90 feet), it w as about 
five miles distent. A ctually, w e Lave no idea just how  large it w as since 
w e could not determine its distance from us. W hen w e first sighted the 
objects, w e decided they w ere either going aw ay from us or coming tow ards 
us. A fter a short w hile, how ever, w e knew  they couldn’t be coming tow ards 
us, because w e never approached them. I don’t believe they could have 
been going a great rate of speed and still stayed in sight for as long as 
they did. I w ould judge they might have been travelling about 300 miles 
per hour.
"Ky personal opinions regarding the objects are - that their speed 
varied, w as not constant. W hen first sighted, they w ere going slow  and
stayed w ithin sight for quite some time, how ever, w hen w e lost sight of 
them, they seemed to disappear practically immediately. I think they 
either put on a tremendous burst of speed and disappeared from sight, or 
else they dissipated. A lso, it appeared that only one object, the large 
one, w as controlled, and it in turn controlled the other objects, and I
think they w ere ground controlled


"In both instances, the co-pilot sighted the objects first and called 
•cy attention to them. The w eather w as cl jar and unlimited, w ith not a cloud 
in the sky. W e checked the w ind, and it w as 230-10, or out cf the Southw est 
at ten miles per hour. The air speed of the ship w as about 135 E PH. The 
sun w as below  the horizon and the objects w ere silhoueted against the sky, 
hence w e could distinguish no color or reflection."
R alph STE VE NS, co-pilot of the plane, w as interview ed at 2130, 9 July 
1947 , STE VE S corroborated the remarks made by SM ITH concerning the flight 
of the plane, the time the objects w ere sighted, direction of the flight of 
the plane, etc. There w ere tw o discrepancies in their statements as to the 
size of the smaller objects and the altitude at w hich they w ere flying* 
STE TZ E L'S stated that there w as a big difference in the size of the large 
objects and the smaller ones, and that it w as hard to distinguish the shape 
of the smaller ones. STE VE NS also stated that the objects w ere at the same 
altitude as their plane and seemed to be climbing w ith them. In addition to 
confirming SU ITE ’S stataments concerning the flight, etc., STE VE NS stated 
substantially as follow s:
"I w as flying the plane w hen I spotted the first object at 2012 on the 
4th of July, eight minutes after departure from Boise, Idaho. I thought it 
w as an oncoming aircraft similar to ourc (D C -3) about five miles aw ay, so 
turned on our landing lights, w hich is the usual signal to another plane to 
let it know  you’re in the vicinity. I mentioned this fact to SM ITH, and he 
w atched the object also. W hile w e w ere both w atching, four more objects 
appeared at the same altitude as the first. They seemed to be st the same 
altitude as our plane, about 6000 feet. They w ere heading about 290 degress 
magnetic North, so I turned to follow  them. W e w atched them for four or 
five minutes, then they all merged as one and disappeared. I don’t know  
w hether they merged in line of flight or not, nor do I know  w hether they 
w ent beyond our vision or w hether they dissipated.
"Tw o minutes later, the large object reappeared w ith three smaller 
ones on its loft and one smaller one a great distance to the right. W e 
had the second group in sight for about tw elve minutes. The last time 
seen, they w ere still in that formation and disappeared into the sunset. 
A lso, w hen w e last saw  them, they seemed to have continued climbing after
w e levelled off and w ere about nine or ten thousand feet
"A t the time w e saw  
there w as quite a bright 
couldn’t really say w hat
the objects, the sun w as below  the horizon, but 
red glow  above the horizon from the sunset, 1 
distance they w ere from us, not know ing w hat they
w ere or how  large they w ere. How ever, w hile w e w ere w atching them w e 
radiod ahead to Ontario, Oregon, about thirty miles distant, to the w eather 
station there, and told them w hat w e w ere seeing and asked them to go out­
side and see if they could see them. They radioed back end said they could
2


C OPY
see nothing, so the objects could have been beyond Ontario, since w e had 
told thorn that they w ere betw een our plane and Ontario. It should also bo 
noted that the personnel at Ontario w ould be looking at a dark sky and 
may not be likely to be able to see them anyw ay.
"I can’t say w hether they are man-made disks or nbt, w hether they are 
radio controlled or not, or anything about them. They did not maneuver much 
at all, except w hen the first group merged. A ll I can say is that they w ere 
going our direction and w ere climbing. I don’t think they w ere clouds, as 
there hadn't been a cloud in the sky, and it w ould have been quite a phen- 
-omenon as it w as like nothing I had ever seen before. There w as a big dif­
ference in the site of the objects. The smaller ones w ere hard to distinguish 
as to shape; they w ere not shiny, nor did the "flip". I couldn’t sw ear on a 
stand that they w ere not clouds, but I think it impossible. Had they bean 
clouds, they w ouldn’t have appeared and disappeared so suddenly, and w e 
w ould have approached them.
"A s w e w ere taxiing out to take off from Boise, tho tow er called us 
and asked us if w e had seen any disks lately. A s a consequence, w e w ere and 
had been talking about the flying disks w hen w e sighted thw . I don’t believe, 
how ever, that it w as a figment of the imagination, as SM ITH and I w ere seeing 
the same things, even the object far off to tho right in the second group. 
W e also called the stew ardess, w ho had not boen in on the conversation, and 
w ithout mentioning "disks" aksed her w hat she saw . She stated that she saw  
the same things w e did, w hich 3ow ned to prove to us that it w as not our 
imagination."
In addition to the above, STD 7 E NS stated, off the record, that he w as 
rather disappointed in SM ITH, and all th* publicity he res getting, He 
thought that SM ITH w as probably "grand-standing" some, and that as far as 
he, STE VE NS, w as concerned, he w as not going to ba interview ed by any re­
porters, or go on the ’•adio, etc. de stated that he w as glad to talk to 
a Tavy representative about it, or to any other government official, and 
help in any w ay he could, but he certainly didn't w art to be bothered w ith 
a lot of interview s w ith new spapers and radio stations. STE VE NS seemed to 
the w riter to be e very level headed, sensible man, ar.d not in favor of a 
lot of publicity, #1 ereas SM ITE , although a sensible man and all, seemed to 
be more in favor of all the publicity he w as getting.
- end -


Incident 
W  1208 I 
16 July 19U 7
M & C R A ND U U  F OR TPE OF F IC ER IN C H A R G E;
1. On 12 July 19U 7, C aptain Sm ith, of the U nited A irlines, w as 
interview ed at the B oise 'M unicipal A irport, B oise, Idaho. C aptain 
Sm ith w as passing through B oise on a schedule flight at the tim e and 
had a 20 m inute stop-over. C aptain Sm ith reiterated the statem ents 
originally nade by him  to the press as to w hat he had seen in the late 
evening of July U h, w hen 3 m inutes out of B oise on the route to Seattle, 
W ashington. It is tho opinion of the interview er that due to the position 
C aptain Sm ith occupies, that he, C aptain Sm ith, w ould have to be very 
strongly convinced that he actually saw flying disks before he w ould open 
him self fcr the ridicule attached to a report of this type*
F R A NK  M . B R OW N, S/A , C IC  U th A F


H EA D QU A R TER S, A R M Y A IR  F C M OS
16 July 1947
TO 'OT IT ‘A Y  C C tIC E HN
I, M ajor A rchie R . Brovr.ing, A C , do hereby sw ear, U io date, 
that ti;e follow ing statements are true to the best of ray know ledge:
•On 6 July 1947 , w hile flying from Ogden, U tah, to Kansas 
C ity, M issouri, at 10000 ft ir. a R -25 , I noticed a very bright 
object low  and to v left, approximately 10 miles aw ay. Time 
w as 1:45 P.M ., and position approximately 100 miles w est of 
Kansas C ity. M y first impression w as that it w as thd top r.f a 
w ater tank. A fter checking ray position on the map I again 
looked to .ry left (elapsed tine 5 seconds). A round, disc 
shaped object, vary bright and silvery colored, seemed to be 
flying one to tw o miles off ray left w ing at 11 oclock at 
U C W ft. The brightness of the object w hich I w ould estimate 
at 30-5 0 ft. in diameter, w as very reat. It seemed to be 
traveling in same direction at same rate of speed (210 ITH 
until I started to turn into it, then it coopletely disappeared, 
.eather conditions at that time w ere C A VU .'
«aamaa m*m i» co mmanmw (umm. mimy «m ram wmhiwto h a » &
/*/


R ESTR IC T# )
A fter having been advised of ay righto ant prlvilagec under the 
M th A rticle of M r* I, M B  1. ■tm H STOM , M yOsln, A ir tope, O-S67617, 
B oe end A ir Transport M eg (Provisional) * M ir fie ld> du lean A rar A ir B ane, 
M irfield* C alifornia* do hereby enka thia voluntary statem ent to 
C aptain M ilina J. B raaier* Jr., and Sgt. Tovy Steuart, w hoa 1 know to 
bo ■unborn of the Intelligence Office. X  ante the follow ing statem ent
of ay ow n free w ill, not under duress* prem iss of rew ard er laninlty।
On Sunday* July the sixth* at Thlrfield-anisun A ray A ir B ase, w hile 
in the o com pany of ay w ith, W e. Janes B . Star ids ton, I saw an object travel­
ing froa northw est to southeast at an eetlantod height of 10*000 feet or 
above at an ew aoeaivo rate of speed outlasted to bo faster than any type 
of aircraft soon by no flow n at that approxim ate altitude. This object 
w as in sight for approxim ately sixty seconds, during w hich tins it traveled 
approxim ately throe-quarters the distance of the visible sky. M o shape or 
definite color could be distinguished, the object rolled fron side to side 
throe tines in its path across the sky. A t ons tine ths top of ths object 
could bo seen, A on the sun ref looted strongly free its surface in a flash) 
and at other tines the batten of the object could bo soon, w ith no reflec­
tion B ren the sun. The ootiaated also at that height could bo coopered to 
that of an aircraft of ths type C -M . B etw een view ing the top of the object 
and M at appeared to bo the bottoa, there w as a period M en it w as hard to 
ooe* or it w ould alnest disappear.
A s ter as shape is concerned, there w as no w ay of recognising chape, 
due to the speed of the object and its notion through the alf. B l^t of 
this object w as loot M an it disappeared at an angle of about thirty de­
grees above the earth's surface.
X  cannot attribute any sound to this object* because of the noise 
of a distant aircraft angina.
a
The approxim ate tim e w as verified by m y w ife as being loss than one 
m inute, during w hich tim e it w as in sight.
A s to the identity of this object* it w as not the shape of any type 
aircraft know n to the undersigned. Thora w as no shape of w ings or fuselage. 
The object w as noticed at first by the sun's reflecting off Ito surface and 
then the speed at w hich it w as traveling.


■ ROADW AY 4128
C ivil A ir Pa F rol 
AU XIL IARY OF TH E U . B. ARM Y AIR FORCES 
W ISCONSIN W INO H EADQU ARTERS 
IS! W . W ISCONSIN AVENU E 
M IL W AU KEE 3,W IS.
SUBJEC T: Rc;x>rt <n El '1- Saucers.
TO:
32d AAF Base Unit 
Bolling Field
W an lington, B. C .
7 July 1UU7
^a^^
1. Fcllnwin • are statistics re ■ rdi". re jrts b" four 
witnesses while in -1 z-t in two airplanes.
2. ’.leather C ATJ. Visibility except! rally jood. Scat­
tered. altoc mil 's G o feet.
7. First reoortjti e ll^ rs C ST. Alt. of observers 
S >0 f eet above the jround. Altitude of s.-ucer U000 felt i^L. 
Observed, eriod - First sighted over Koshkonong, W isconsin. 
Flight was observed, from town of Kcshkonogj to Elkhorn, W isconsin.. 
This flijht covered, twenty-five (25} miles in fifteen (15) seconcls, 
which is a s oed of six thoug-„d (6000) miles er hvir.
U. Second, report* Tire 1' 70 hours C ST. Altitude of observers 
thirty-five hundred, feet (7^00) i^L. Altitude of saucer twenty-five 
hundred feet (2500). Observation _eriod. Observers at East Troy, 
W isco. sin, flijht observed fro . Thle, Visco .sir. to kuehejo, "i^cor-sin. 
This flijht covered *wenty-two (22) miles la twenty (20 seconds, which 
is ; speed „2 three thousand nine hudred six*/ (3?^0) miler ■ rr hour.
5« Flijht maneuvers: First obb^r" ^i-n-s-uccr descended vertically 
edjevise through altocumulus clevis, sto rd at four th. us "nd (’'00) 
feet and assumed horizont; 1 osition and Toceeded 1 . ’.orizontnl ill_l.t 
from ■ ho ri so nt'’I oeiticn for fifteen (1;) '’econds overinj twenty- 
flve (25) inilea  La ito . ->np eared.. S ecoad loai
Observed in lorizontrl •'lijht in a ■'.orina-.-.trl attitude for ? eriod of 
twenty (2C ^ seco-ds cover! ,j twe* t"—two (?.?> miles, 1” the tine the 
Hot had removed .is camera, from the jl >ve rompartmeu4, of is lane, 
the saucer disa e red '■ ’ ro in rer. e red ro."i:m tody ten (10) miles 
f rther ale g Ite covree after six (o) 3 de « fl 1 ts-
an e. rance.
6. 1 first tw o .’•:■• •-.-•r rere 1 • ctor lient* having
• • - ■ 1 . A irport. T second tw —  re, ne


W AR DEPARTM ENT ft 
O ssified messa ge ce n te r 
INC OM ING  C LASSIFIED M ESSAG E
—---------------------
—
R ESPOND ENC E F ER PA R A S 5 11 and 60s (4) A R 380
F rom : C O £B A M A  San B ernadine C alif
To: C G  A A F W ash D C  attn A C /A S 2, C ounter late Illg
D ivision: C G  Sixth A rm y, A ttn: A C /S, G  2? C G  
A M C thru Sacram ento A M A , C alif attn C hief Sec 
Section
D U G :
iran 
m ission
1.0 July10235 92
in
t approxim ately 15 5 0 F ST A lvin E M oor- 
96 F tr Sq, w hile flying routine tost 
at 20^000 feet Indicated, sighted a flat
object of light reflecting nature w hich appeared to be w ith­
out vertical fin or any visible w ings w ith apparent depth 
of a P 5 1 airplane at approxim ately 35 ,000 feet altitude 
and approxim ate location of 34_ decrees 5 M inuter l^thu^ 
J17 degrees ^O m lim teF w e^t longitude, object w as in 
olgH t TU b approxim ately 30 seconds. Object w as again sighted 
at 15 5 05 F ST at approxim ately 5 0000 feet altitude and over 
M ount B aldy approxim ate location of 34 degrees 20 m inuter 
latitude-117 degrees 47 m inutes w est longitude.
Pilot attem pted to keep object in sight but w as 
unable to do so. Speed of P 5 1 approxim ately 300 oph and 
clim bing. M arch F ield and other bases in area w ere contented I 
and reported none of their ships In the air. AAF
A C TION: A A F
INPO • ID | PuuL j S^oc 3*^# B A D
C M  IN 187^-*^ (12 Jul 47)
E nd DISC
^^^W M  M
TH E M AKING OF AN EXACT COPY OF TH IS M ESSAGE IS
D TG  10
---------------------—
FORBIDDEN
w s motor


F R OM : C G  A TL D  A TC  F OB ! TOTTEN, N.Y.
TIM S A M D  D A TS F IL ED  J 142323Z JU L I 1947 .
TO: G G  A TC  A TTM  C H IIF 07 STA F F
M ESSA G E F B OM  NEW F OU ND L A ND  B A SE C OM M A ND  SU B JEC T QU OTE F L U  M G  D ISC S U NQU OTE 
G IVES F OL L OW ING  SU M M A R Y 07 IM TEB VIEW  W ITH IB IC  K EA R SEY C M A  NEW F OU ND L A ND  
C ONSTA B U L A R Y C L N C ONSTA B L E R EPOR TED  SEEING  F OU R EG G  SH A PE PH OSPH OR U S C OL OR  
D ISC S A B OVE G B aND  F A L L S NEW F OU ND L A ND  A T TW O TH R EE TH R EE ZER O H OU R S L OC A L  
TIJ^NTH ^ A  SING L E D ISC  ONE ZER O M INU TES L A TER PD  A T F IR ST A PPEA R ­
A NC E A C C OR D ING  TO K EA R SEY F OU R D ISC S W ER E C L OSE TOG ETH ER IN A B L E L INE A  TR A IL  
F OR M A TION M OVING  EA ST PA R A L L EL  TO G R OU ND  PD  SING L E D ISC  L ESS C L EA R B U T 
TR A VEL ING  SA M E D IR EC TION PD  K EA R SEY W OU L D  R OU G H L Y ESTIM A TE A L TITU D E OF D ISC S 
A T TH R EE ZER O TH OU SA ND  F EET SEM IC L N A PPA R ENTL Y M OVING  VER Y F A ST A S TH EY 
D ISA PPEA R ED  IN A B L E F EW  SEC OND S PD  K EA R SEY SA ID  SH A PE OF D ISC  W aS L IK E 
B A R B EL  H A A D  OB EG G  SIX IC L N B L A C K  SPOTS ON TA IL END  SM C L N NO SM OK E TR A IL  
SEM I C L N A ND  H ER E R EPOR TED  TH A T A NOTH ER OB SER VER C OM PA R ED  SH jtPE OF D ISC S TO 
TH R EE L EA F  PD  END  OF C OM M U NIC A TION F R OM  NEW F OU ND L A ND  B A SE C OM M A ND  PD  ESTA B ­
L ISH ED  B Y INTER VIEW ER C M A  NONC OM  IN C H A R G E R EPEA TER STA TION G R A ND  F A L L S C M A  
TH A T C aVU  W A S W EA TH ER A T TIM ES IND IC A TED
A TO OM -IN 10044
I 6 ^>


' .a
Y V- 
F R OM # 8R B PHENTIL L B , NW TOU ND L A ND  £5 25 ?
\ • ’
n» a n d da te file d# isisisi july 1947
TO# C G  H Q A TC  W A SH 15 D C  A TTN A C /8 INTEL L IG ENC E INF O C O A TL D  A TC
? / F T TOTTB N L I M T C G  NB C  F T PEPPEB SL  A PO 862 c/o PM  NEW  TO® F R OM  C O 
1S88TH A A F B U  . 
ar R EPL Y C ITS# H R  0215
F OB INTEL L IG ENC E PD  OH B F L YING  D U C , SIG HTED
H A M ON F IEL D , NESOU ND L A ND , A T A PPR OX IM A TEL Y 10000 
W OR TH NOR TH B A ST PD  W U TH EB # C L B A B  W ITH 9C A TTB 1B D  C U M U L I® A T 8-10000 F EST 
PD  C OL OR # SIL VER Y PD  D ISC  W A S F IST 8IG HTB D  A B OU T 6. M IL ES 80U TH SOU TH A  
W B 8T F R OM  H A R M ON F IB B D  B T M B M B SM A N, IW A  IB PH ESB NTA TIVE A ND  M R  
W OOD R U F F , PA A  M PB SENTA TIVE PD  D ISC  A PPEA W D  A B OU T TH E SA M E SPA N A S 
C -M  A T 10000 F IET, W A S C IK U L A B IB  SH A PE L IES W A G ONS W H EEL , D ISC  
8B EH TD  TO C U T TH E C L OU D S OPEN A S IT PA SSED  TH R U  A ND  L EF T A  B L U ISH PL A C E 
TR A IL  A PPB C K IM A T1L Y F IF TEEN M U SS L ONG  PD  TR A IL  W A S SIM IL A R TO TH E 
B EA M  SEEN A F TER  A  H IG H POR EW D  L A ND ING  L ISHT OR SEA R C H L IG H T IS SW ITC H ED  
OF F ~PD  X OD A C ER OM E PIC TU SS W H S TA K EN A ND  A ® B R ING  D EVEL OPED  STA TE 
SID E PD  PH OTOS W IL L  B E F ONEA R ER D  A S SOON A S TH EY A S R EC EIVED  B Y
END
X -005 1
X . W  ^'co
BTRW H ® ^i^^A ^7


8PACK ABO  VS PO X SIG N AL CBN TU O N LY
M E SSA GE F OR M
^M ESSAGE CENTER NO.
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TRANSM ITTING M EANS CRYPTOGRAPH OR CL EAR TEXT
CAM S
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PBIuitl 7 1
TR A NSM ISSION IISTR U C TIOItS OM GINA TOR D A TE  TTM t GNOU PL21U«Z
July 47
acto r INFORM ATION E XE M PT OF E R A TY NG SIGNA LS GR OU P C OU NT
FROM : (A^M v) , ^^ A /C S G rOU p
F INY U Slnenaorf A laska
ACTION TO:
c o m as ats i as s t ghi*t s tait .
X X TiU X OlH ai
INFORM ATION TO:
SECU RITY CL ASSIFICATION
C uiiII.jx.2lA L
PRECEDENCE FOR
A C TION । INF OR M A TION
□ ORIGINAL M ESSAGE
REFERS TO ANOTH ER M ESSAGE 
IDfXTIH CATlOR 1 CL ASSIFICATION
OBJE C T R .^Sju <hBLILG A GiiA Y Y ISH BA LLOu B A PPku^Jtift -LY  U ma Z ah u J’xL^T
IXkF ?U D  F A Y ING Ill HOB iT^ST
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SECU RITY CL ASSIFICATION •AU TH ORIZATION
Paraphrase mt required — TT-rortr correspondence
per paragraphs ;U & uu tOa (4), A h J60->t 15 A ugust I9U 0.
SIGNA TU R E
ORIGINATING AGENCY.
D A TE -TIM E  GR OU T OF F IC IA L THU
PAGE ‘ OF
W D AGO 'M M < 1 ICO 
1> J■N 114 • I I “ I OO
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M E SSA GE F OR M 4!
M ESSAGE CENTER NO.
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TRANSM ITTING M EANS
H OU TlU A
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tJctt
A C TR SI E XE M PT
12U U 47 Z  
July **7
•R OU P C OU NT
FROM : (CM fM afcr)
M ^^^^ bb^^h srac* a*o v* ro* sig n al c*n tk* o nlt 
5 9thA A .C S G roup 
riK YX Elm endorf A laska
ACTION TO.
C u KaS
A x *x. A SSIS 2ax«T GHlxU o f SlA PF
INFORM ATION TO:
SECU RITY CL ASSIFICATION
C w s ibu. ?  1 A L
acro m I M F C * M A TIC *
□ ORIGINAL M ESSAGE
REFERS TO ANOTH ER M ESSAGE
C A TTON | OA SSinC A TTOH
OHOA C T R 4>SU t3uIa>Ii a*. A LU M INIU M  C U lU o i«D H aD .^w S aB uU 2 THua 
iitT IH D lA JU Z Sa '..A S R SPOhTA D Sa—  A T A . U iJiL-kHllU D  
A L 21TU  D i i'll Y IU  G A T A GHiA T SPl— D Li A NuR TH TO SOU TH 
D IHiiC TIOH PD QBSxA VA TIOH "A S ixA ua IA Y IC IaITY  u x’ LKix>D uHP 
Y lmLD A x U »«a 1«a TW O Ojmr Z A HU L— R u Z ^HHA SY  C U A x.l HxxiA Y  
A U D xaJjH GA Y  Sid THIS HiU lD <^x.A BTiHS PD
C OPY


Package received from  sheriff M erle T. W ilm oth, W atseka, Ill. H is 
letter states the inst rum <nt in the package w as found by a farrier at 
D anforth, Ill. It landed in the m iddle of a section of his farm  land and 
burned w eeds 2^ feet tall to fine ash ar. area of 1J feet, in diam . around 
w here the object dropped.
The instrum ent consists of:
(a) Plaster of paris body having an oval cavity thru it.
(b) A  pow er A erophone w hich screw s over one end of the oval cavity. 
The pow er .m icrophone carried the nam e, "Nathaniel B aldw in Inc.” 
Jalt L ake C ity, U tah. F at M ay 10 1910 & Jept 14, 1916. F at K os 
95 7403 (second num ber not readable)
(c) « sm all ”Polym at" filter condenser.
(d) Tw o bakelite cylinders to w hich is attached a net w ork of fire 
copper w ire. These w ere obviously coils arid the im pact has torn 
the w ire from  the core. (Our radio section definitely states that 
this is old stuff, or the coils w ere used quite som e tim e ago, 
since having been replaced by sm aller m ore efficient coils)
(e) A  piece of m etal having m agnetic properties obviously broken off 
the pow er m icrophone as a result of the im pact.
The plaster of paris body w as broken up by the im pact but som e of the 
pieces w ere held together by w ire reinforcem ent inside the plaster of paris.
M rs. Tihedon JB 274 Ext 73909 (Jig C ) w as shew n this object by M r.
Zim m er of the F B I. U rs "hedon claim s she knew w hat it w as, but couldn’t 
tell Zim m er.
'^lt 'M'i


«r»»M o  fo rm no . M
O ffice M em orandum  • u n ited s tates g ov ern men t
1947 JUL 22 AM II 4a .
: r. oxom, R egional Office A o. 1, .i,.
F R OM  * M r. ..right, . A S, R icamond, 7 a.
SU BJE C T: "F lying D isks"
D A TE : 7 /15 /47
.e hesitate to make this report concerning our pilot balloon 
observations in regards to a flying disk because of the considerable 
national skepticism regarding the subject at present. How ever, local 
new spapers infora us that the U , S. Government admits no authority for 
such a ship or object and for its flights. Then w o must assume this 
strange object to be foreign. Therefore, w e submit this report for your 
information. If sighted again, w o w onder if it w ould be a good idea to 
drop the balloon and instead make observations on this disk, 
z
M r. M inczew ski has observed this strange metallic disk on three 
occasions through the theodolite•w hile making his pibal observation 
during the last six months. M iss Baren has reported observin it on 
one occasion, hiss Baron’s report agrees w ith Y r. M inczew ski's observations 
except as to the color-w hich she reported as a dull metallic luster.
M r. M inczew ski last observed this disk in A pril 1947 at the 1100k 
Pibal Observation, w hen the balloon w as at 15 thousand feet, the disk w as 
follow ed for 15 seconds, apparently moving on level flight from.east to 
w est to the far north of the station. The object w as a metallic like C hrome 
-shaped something like an ellipse w ith a flat level bottom and a dome like-round 
top. The disk appeared below  the balloon, w as much larger in size in the 
instrument, and shined like silver. It w as impossible to estimate the height 
or speed of the disk except that it appeared to be moving rather rapidly. 
M iss Baron observed the Bisk w hen her balloon w as at about 27 thousand feet. 
A ll days observed w ere either clear or w ith very few  clouds and good visibility.
ACro 1 in fo
/ery truly yours.
22---- -
tiec as s tJ
PE^
Off’’.
TEC "
Tow
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nsc*/ 
HaTERE^ 
SEC RET AW T |
HUE _____,