The FBI's 62-HQ-83894 case file includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and fl…
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Office >Memu,,,,,,,rlum • UNITED ST.
f v~OVERNMENT
TO : DIRJYJTOR, FBI DATE: October 9, 1947
c,JoM : SAC, PORTLAND
l SUBJECT:[ FLYrnG DISCS
SECURITY MATTER - X.
Reference is made to Portland teletype dated September 13, 194?.
Records of the Radio Dispatcher, Portland Police Department, reflect
that first notice of unidentified objects in flight over the city on September 11,
1947 was received from officers in District 18, which is in the extreme north
east section of the city, at 5:21 P.M. The log further reflects that at 5:23 P.M.
the radio requested District 14, which is further south, to attempt to locate
and identify the objects and that at 5:24 P.M. a report was received from the
car occupied by Chief of Police JENKINS, reporting that they had sighted some
objects. District 14 at 5:27 P.M. reported seeing nothing unusual in the sky.
ROBERT D. ADAIR; 4325 S.E. Madison Ave., Portland, advised that he was
one of the two officers on duty in District 18 on September 11. 'lhe car was in
the vicinity of N.E. 25th Avenue and Saratoga Court when ADAIR and his fellow
officer noticed a number of people looking upward and pointing. Upon looking at
the sky ADAIR observed the very bright reflection of the sun on some object
which was apparently made of silvery metal. The object was coming from the east
and made a wide turn over the city and disappeared to the south. ADAIR estimated
its speed at about 150 miles per hour and its altitude at about 5,000 feet.
He watched it for a period of about two minutes and during that time it gradually
disappeared in such a manner as to appear that the angle was slowly changing,
so that the sun was no longer reflected into ADAIR's eyes. He says that the
shape appeared to be round but that the glare was so bright that it could have
hidden the true outline of the object. '!here was no oscillation visible - only
steady flight. ADAIR believes it was an ordinary metal airplane reflecting light
of the afternoon sun. , , 1 :mnau:r, 1t'l'-'l
J. R. CALDWELL, 7652 S. E. Lincoln St., Portland, Oregon was ADAffi's
partner in District 18 on September ll. CALDWELL states that the object appeai
red to him to take the same course as that described by ADAIR. He pointed out
that the speed, height, and size of the object were difficult to judge, because
of the interdependence of the three factors. However, he believes that the
obj ect vrhen first sighted was about three miles away and about two miles high.
He believes it was traveling at a much greater speed than a conventional aii
plane and was a great deal larger. It appeared t o him to be elliptical in
shape, and inasmuch as it did not bank or tip he could not judge its thickness.
It was of a very bright silver o~ ~ su tanco.
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PD 62-1531
Chief of Police LEON V. JENKINS advised that he was travelling south
on N. Williams Avenue near Russell St., when he and Officer H. s. RANEY, his
driver, received a call on the police radio requesting District 14 to attempt
to observe an unknown object in the sky reported by officers in District 18.
JENKINS observed what a ppeared to be a round silver object, about 10,000 feet
high, travelling northeast to southwest. It was directly to JENKIN's left ffllen
observed first . He thought it was a weather balloon. Further observation con
vinced him that it could not be a balloon because of its speed which was extreme
ly great . As JENKINS watched, it turned gradually until it was travelling due
south, and as it did so, its shape seemed to change until it appeared to be
egg-shaped. It disappeared in· about 30 seconds.
Patrolman H. s. RANEY stated that when he first observed the object
it was straight ahead of him and travelling straight away from his car.
RANEY was driving south on N. Williams Avenue. To RANEY it appeared to be just
a glare of sun on some object, and he was unable therefore to tell its shape.
It appeared to be very high and travelling extremely fast. It was out of sight
after he had travelled 4 or 5 city blocks at a speed of about 25 mph. RANEY
stated that he has never seen an object at such an extreme height before and
that if the sun had not reflected from it he could not have seen it at all.
He believes it could possibly have been a reflection from a large airplane at
great altitude.
ROBERT W. SHAYLOR, 4810 N. Fessenden St ., Portland stated that he was
on duty in District 14 with Officer DONALD r'l. CO,JLit{G on September 11, 1947
and received the call to watch for the object flying over the city. SHAYLOR
and COWLING-immediately scaMed the sky f rom a vantage point in open territory
where they could see the entire sky. They saw nothing in the sky at that time,
SHAil.OR stating that they did not even see any airplanes.
A short article in "'lhe Oregonian", Portland daily newspaper, for
September 12, 1947, describes the object as seen by Chief of Police JENKINS and
also states that 11The Oregonian" received several calls from other persons
reporting the object. FRED M. WHITE, Assistant City Editor, advised that the
paper has no record of the identities of the people making the calls.
62-1531
IHK:tkw
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TO
te Memor
,, -
Director, FBI
• m • UNITED ST/i
DATE:
JVERNMENT
10/18/47
c:!Jr--aoM SAC, Anchorage
(
SUBJECT: REPORT OF FLYING DISCS
--
This is to advise that we have been able to locate a
.flyer, JA~K, who is employed by the Al Jones Flying Compa.cy in
Bethel, .Alaska. It bad been ~ported to Military Intelligence that
Mr . PECK and his co-pilot VIN AJJi bad observed sane flying object
near Bethel, Alaska, in July, 194 Eff or ts previously to contact
Mr. PECK were negative until the above instance.
He related that the occasion of seeing the flying object
near Bethel was on a July day when the sky was completely clear of clouds,
am it being during the early part, it is daylight the entire night.
The time of bis sighting this flying object was about 10 FM and the sun
had just dropped beyom the horizon. Flyir€ weather was extremely good
am he, with Mr . DALY, was coming into the Bethel Airport with a DC-J.
He observed the flyiq,; object immediately to his left alli stated that
it apparently was observed at approximately the same time by Mr . DAIX
am both of them· manipulated the controls of the plane ma.king efforts
to miss the object inasmuch as they could not tell in which direction
it was going. They made a forty-five degree t urn in order to get out of
the way of the object arxi then noted that it appeared to be going away
from them. He described the object as appearing to be some flying wing arxi s
said that it appeared to be about the size of a C-54 without any fuselage .
He could not see any propellor or any exhaust f r om jet propulsion or any
vapor trails arxi could not estimate the size due to his failure to be able
to estimate the distance he was away from the object . He was flying at
1 , 000 feet and stated that he tried to catch up with the object am in
creased his manifold pressure to approximately 42 inc hes am was traveli!)g
at the rate of 170 miles per hour. ~t.A-,,L-
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He called on his radio to the Civil Aeronautics J,dminis
tration station at Bethel, asking what aircraf't was in the vicinity am
they bad no reports of any aircraft . The object he s ighted vras
some five or ten miles from the airport before his arriva l and sta ted
that the path did not go directly across the airport. He, of course, could
not tell whether the object was making aey noise arxi stated that it was
flying at a thousand foot altittrle am estimated travel at 300 miles per
hour. It was travel ing in the direction from Bethel to Nome, which is in
a northwesterly direction. He noted no radio interference and is unable to
describe the color other than that it appeared da rk but of definite shape
a nd did not bl erxi into the sky but had a definite, concise outline . a oth
he and Mr. DALY clearly observed the object at this time.
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,
Anchorage File 100-1406
It may be stated to the Bureau that Mr. PECK is a well
known flyer as well as Mr. DALY am both are known to be very reliable
and responsible people• am it appears def'inite that they observed
something.
The above is being submitted for the information of the
Bureau.
LOT: I1,1R
100-1406
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TO Diraotor. FBI DATE : llovember 1. 1947
/
/j)1-noM SAC, Albany
SUBJECT: FLYING DISCS./
A. COURTNEV'.i?ARKER., INFORMAm
Reurlet dated 9/25/47•
.An. Agent of this office contacted Mr. A. COURXNEY PARKER at his resi•
denoe in South Royalton. Vermont and he stated that all the information he has con
cerning the flying disos he saw. is set forth in the letter that he sent to the
Bureau dated September 17• 1947.
Ur. PARKER advised that as far as he knows~ no one else in South
Royalton saw these flying discs., and that he believes ha saw them inasmuch as he haa
wiwmally good eyesight and th.at he can see bees. etc. further than anyone else. He
stated that possibly these flying discs '\'18re out 0£ the range of llOrmal vision. Jlr.
PARKEB was asked to furnish any additional information that comas to his at'..ention
conoa:-;1i~ t.hase flying discs directly to the Air Forces since they now handle matters
of this type.
No further action ia being taken by this office.
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62-689
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' 31 NOV iQA1
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llouenber 1, 1947
Sa 'J ? ll'-J! L/ •
Mrs. A..1fcCaul
70-33 68th Place
Glendale
Brooklun, New Tork
De ar Urs. l!cCaul:
You r lett er postriark e d Octobe r 28 ,
1947, has been received and l want ~o ezpress
nu a pprectatton to you .tor havt ,ig written as
you, d id.
S i ncere ly yours,
John Edgar Ooove r
JJi rsc-tor
NOTE: This woman rambles on and furnishes no
specific information about anything.
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B? 9/ /2November 10, 1947
Mrs. Milo A~u1:·and
Elizaootntown, New York
Dear Mrs. Durand:
Your letter postmarked November 5, 1947,
has been received and I do want to thank you for
writing as you did . The patriotic motives t'lbich
prompted your suggestions concerning the subject
about wh1ch you ho.ve written are indeed app1•eciated.
Sincerely yours,
John Edgar Hoover
Director
(
COMMUNICATIONS SECTION
MAILED 11
* NOV 10 1947 P.M.
f£DWL IWREAU OF IHVESTISATION
u. s. DEl'ARTtmrr OF JUSTICE
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noucnbcr a, 1947
!Jr. Joseph . / 41~nc
8071 69th Auc~~a
Rtdgouood
Brooklyn 27• llco York
Dear !Jr. Ontltnc:
t~ Your letter datod llo1.1enber 2:, l9d7_,
hao bean recetved. The tnj'.o'l"CUJ~ion contatncd
1IIIOORDIW
& tn the .ttZco oJ ~hto Bureau hew boon declared
?NDEXED conJ'tdenttal and avatla~le .t,or of.ftctaI :uoc
only, and I cm unable ~o bo of any aaatatance
ir- to you . I cm eure vou wtll dr.aw no in)'.e7"encc
.f:ron ny inability to conply with your reguent.
Stnccrely yours~
John Edgar Hoover
Director
NOTE: Thia tndtvtdual aaked 1uesttons concerning
O flytng sa~s and the Bureau 3 tnvesttgat~on of
Russ tans .
Postal Gutde re/lectsJjtdgewood ts a
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--- PAGE 21 ---
' e
Port Allegany, Pa•
lonmber 18, 19,1.
Pederal Bureau ot Inveatigation,
Pittsburgh, Pa•
Gentlemen,
~l~owing the appearance in thi• town on Jbvember 6, 1947,
or a Mr• J~~ppincott~ .Director of the Eaatern Area, Red Cross,
Pittsourgn.Jlia., aa speaker of the eve~r,", at the annual looal
\J Red Croes dinner, I aa told by Dr• H. B, Cro~, local pra.otioing
den ti at, that in a personal connrea 1 n, lowi:ng the dinner, !lr•
Lippincott told him that the •aauoere" reported as seen in "Tarioue
parts of the country, were aotually tror:. Spain. He eaid that Mr•
Lippincott said tha.t thil! had oeen aeoertained by the Government in
r..aahington, but that it 110.a not being made known. He said that.
'r• Lippincott had been in &.trope and interred that he had been in
Spain and kr:ew conditions ovor there. Dr. Cranwell ie a man active
in the Methodist Chruch and the looal Protestant ens Club, and it is
easy to see how tar thie report can be spread. The taot that the
Federal Government indorsee the Red Crose makes a atatement of an ofCioial
reprenntati ve ot that organisation almost indisputable.
Aa a repreeentatiTe tu ot the Federal Government and ae a
o1t11en interested in truth and World peace and racial and religious
harmony in our own country, I queation the ad'Yieability or an aooredit.d
repreRentatin ot the Red Crose giTtng out thi• information. even "ott
the Noord". I thought you might be able to oheok with Mr• Lippin-
cott or his organia.ti:-n.
Tours v,..ry truly,
~~
r.ll.)
a
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January 14, 1948
/j
Miss Ua rion DeuBcher
604 est Mai n Street
Menomon ee Fal ls , ¥ts constn
Dear Mis s Beusc~er:
Your letter of January 5, 1948, has been
recetued and I want to t~an k you /or fo r warding
informatton to Me rel at tn g to the su bject you
ment ioned. The facts you rel at ed, however, do not
ref lect any violation of a Fed eral statute ~ithtn
the inuestt gative jurtsdtctton of the FBI . T\e
thoughts prompting your communtcatton are tndeed
apprect at ed .
Sin cerely yours,
John Edgar Hoouer
Di rector
W'N : cm
NOTE : Correspondent reports corr es pondence she has
had with the Ziff -Davis Pub lis hinp Company i n connection
with the "flying saucers" which were observed by her
brother . She is of the optnton that thts public ation
may be trying to conceal information related to our
Nation ' s s ecu r ity and s he mentions a threat t~at ...,doer s
not re/en inju r y to pe r son or property. ri ;i;•
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ffOEll-l llll!t'.AII or ll!V£8TIOATfOI
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Dear llr . 'ar:11ial1:
Iour lette r dated ,Tammry '29., "].948, has
been raoctvcd, and I oont to e~prcaa ny approci~
atton to you Jlor llavtng i:iada 1movn yoU;r vt.et.'\? con
ccrntng the oottcr you nenttoncd.
stncore ly yours_,
~
Jolin Edgar llooucr
Dtrector
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1fcb~rtd Bun-au of fnuestigation
Uniteh itates Deparbncnt of lJustic.r
Saa Frtmc i1co t, Cd it'orr 1a
February 12, 1948
AIR MAIL
PERSCIIAI, JIM) ec1,,<1:M._
Director, FBI - ~A_t_t~e_n_t~io~n;...;..:...,;;A~a~•~i~a~t_an~t__D~i~r_e_o_t_o_r_o_._M_._LAD
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0
Res FLYING DISCS
Security ~atter - X
Dear Sir:
I b transmitting herewith for the information of the Bureau copies 0 £ an
enoloeure dated February 4, 1948 reoebed from Lieutenant Colonel DONALD SPRlll<IBR,
A-2, United States Air Force, Hamilton Air Force &ee, Califonia. Th~a •nclosuro
is a con£ident1al letter addre•a•d to the Camnanding Generals ot the First, Secom ,
Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Air Foroea, Air Defense Comnand, from Head-
quarter•, Alr De£enae Comnand , ¥1tchel Air Force Baae , New York, by oo'll'me.nd 0£
Lieutenant
Air General STRAfDtEYER . It conoerna the inveatigation ot flying d.iacs by
Foroe personnel.
You~ attention is particularly called to Paragr~~h 2, whioh indicates that
certain r•ports ~onoerntni the imeat1gation or flying disos by Air Force Intelligence
~\ll be r•por~•d
2 to ~he FBI office concerned. Your attention ia further called to
FBI Off'ice oonce---.d iud1oatea
Paragra.~h -B, •hich
- ,• . . ,
11 -that "imeatigationa will be coordinated with < the
• • •• • • • •
;> ' J,.i ..
L~i L ,,,1 -
COIJUl:a d I.naamuch as the,. recent inatruotiona of the Headquartere, Air Defense
t a.uied
~- n in • l!H.ahell Air Foroe
Bureau Bull · to the illltnictions con-
57 New York: • are contrary
t 4 - N0 b..ae,
ia indicated that 11 • .u • , Series 1947. dated Ootober 1, 1947, in which~~
referred t 0 th • ~uture report, OOIU:lected with flying diaoa should 'ti.
Eureau ~ • Air Poree and no im-eatigative action taken by Bureau agent,, t.he
offices ' 1~•q1Jeated to advlae thia oftioe, as well•• other iaterested &ireau
t
the handling 0 !,he bor there has been a challf'e in Bureau policy with r•tere'QCe to
i s atUl in effect.'' a-ia"-tera or whether P.~reau Bulletin No. 57 dated October l, 1941
) Very truly youra,
~ - f<
BMK,emo''
Encloaure ( in duplicate)
~Ol)J~~ n~c-Tn OYED
~1 ~ ~~ 1%,~ 4
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~ aoalb 3a!t11 lo nol•.a~~e~vlt.f on;:t aa,eo.aoo jl . H r~~AfiT8 L•~ea~o ~JUa~~uelJ
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e:in l.UefaI :>·101 ,.l:A "\:d'. '"ozlb ""~!'i 'io t10.U ~.tJz: evnl orlct ;, 1l ineono:::i a:t'loqe--r nlcne
o;t b ll~o ~edj~~ al ol&netja ~uo1 . bP,.,.i'l~oo:oo eol1lo 81 erl~ o: beJ~oqe-i ~J !!lw
oM f{11 .., 1~lb,ooo ed !H t.aol :t15ii.1sevnl11 ~brl:t Bsj-,eo!bnt tiol w t -s q.e-i]a"fis<!
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--- PAGE 37 ---
i
,,.
80HF fBEli'fIAb
Headquarter•
'
Air Defense CoDnand
Mitchel Air Force Base, New York
4 February 1948
D 333.5 (CIB)
SUBJECTs Invutigation and Reporting of "Flying Disc" Incident•
T01 Comnanding Generals, First, Seoond, Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth
Air Foroes, Air Defense Command
ATTNs AC of S, A•2
1. The numbered air forces of this command are responsible for the prompt
investigation and reporting of inoidenta relating to "flying disos'' which occur
within their respeotive areas. Numbered air force A•2s, after evaluating disc
incidents, will detennine the extent of investigation. Futile expenditure of military
funds and manpower must be avoided.
2. "Flying discs" will be investigated as provided for in Counter Intelli•
genoe Incident Cases, taking cognizance of the USAF Operating Intelligence Echelon
structure. Where it ia evident that witnesses, who were together at the time of
incident but who are widely separated at the time of investigation would corroborate
each other's story, only one witness need be interrogated. If there is a reasonable
indication that a reported incident ia a hoax or the fabrication of a publioity
seeking individual, no further investigative etfort will be expended. However, a
report of such eiroumstances will be auanitted to the FBI offioe concerned.
a. CIC personnel attached to the numbered air forces of this command
may be utilized to prosecute the investigation of subject inoidents.
b. Investigations will be coordinated with the FBI Office concerned
in accordance with instructions contained in letter, thi• headquarters, D 333.3 EX,
subjeot, "Cooperation of FBI with AAF on Investigation of •Flying Diao' Incidents,"
3 September 1947.
3. Report• will be narrative in style and will cov$r only those faota
pertinent to the subject. Where aouroe credibility cannot be eatabliahed, or when
an incident lacks foundation, the report will merely atate aame. Two types of report
will be subnitted on all inoidenta .
a. Spot ~•ports (fragmentary reports) will be subnitted on all incidents
and will be followed by a Letter Report.
b. Letter Reports will be subnitted to report the completed inTeatigation
of all "flying diso" incident••
4. Reports will be aul:mitted in duplicate promptly, usually be regular
mail. However, Spot reports on incidents of substantial character, 1. e., thoae in
which the patent credibility of the witness is beyond challenge and whoa )eohnical
fto,~1' ◄
I
--- PAGE 38 ---
baokg
'
,..,,_tible with his observations of an ooourreme obviously not atmo- .
spherio- G ~eft\al phenomena, may be transmitted by TWX. Reporta will be submitted
directly to J.••4~rters, USAF, ATTN: Directorate of Intelligence, Air Intelligence
Requiremed•'f'B$ol\. One 1.nformational copy of each report submitted will be for
warded to this command, ATTN, AC of S, Intelligence. Reports will be claesified at
least CONFIDENTIAL.
BY CCMMAND OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL STRATENEYERs
RICHARD W. GEUSS
Captain, USAF
Aotg Asst Adj Gen
--- PAGE 39 ---
.,. -.
SAC, San Francisco February 20, 1948
0
til ector, FBI "] • J
1ttn1W 1 LYING DISCS
,,'-\ \ G SECURITY MATTER - X
I
~ Reference is made to your letter in the captioned matter dated
February 12, 1948.
You are adVised that Bureau Bulletin No. 57 dated October 1,
1947, still applies with respect to flying discs. The Bureau is conducting
no investigations concerning flying discs. We will, however, give the Air
Forces any information which comes to our attention and will receive any
information which the Air Forces volunteer. •
The Headquarters of the Air Forces 1n Washington are being contacted
by the Bureau in order to insure that there is no misunders~ing as to the
. Bureau's position in this matter. r-..,
RGF:rb
--- PAGE 40 ---
' ...
.- ..
i
.:13/1( J0 'l<130 s·r.
I9d
H00l:l 11VI ·03Al33.3b
--- PAGE 41 ---
..
STANDARD FORM NO. e4
Office Me~ .andum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO Mr. Ladd
•
DATB : 3/1/48 IC', Tolson
:-: ~ie~ Tamn= = =
FROM V. P. Ke : : g~!;r~- - -
: : lfi~g-oIB_ _ _
SUBJECT: j FLYING DISCS : : ~~:- -
SECURITY MATTER - X : : ~.:'.="·=====
J ::: ~~~:.::,,~·-:,,,-;..-::.==
Mr . PeM1 Eon
r.io~UJ~ ~
IC'. Neas
Reference
•
is made to a memorandum to you f'rom Mr . J. P. Coyne •
L s
in the above- captioned matter dat~~
1
February 19, 1948. The memorandum
indicated that the ~an Franc:h.sco Field Di vision had re·c eived a letter from
the headquarters of the Air Defense Command, Mitchel Air Force Base, New York,
dated February 4, 1948, entitl ed, urnvestigation and Reporting of ' Flying Disc '
I ncidents . " This communication indicated that investigations should be
coordinated with the FBI.
The Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Division inquired as
to a change in policy r egarding the investigation of flying discs. A letter
was forwarded to San Francisco advising them that there had been no change in
the Bureau's policy. This matter has been discussed by Special Agent S. W.
·Reynolds of the Liaison Section with Lieutenant Colonel C. P. Martin of the
Intelligence Division of the Air Force. Colonel Martin advised Mr . Reynolds
that apparently the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field was not aware of the
fact that the Bureau was no longer conducting investigations regarding flying
discs. He stated that he would take the necessary action and straighten out
the Air Defense Command as to the present policy regarding incidents of
flying discs . . JtECO'RD~ I ~ - o·_:) / : p -J.\•~ -·
_ll-i, I vj,_;_ -1 J k ~ r
29 MAR 9 I 5./ , "{}.A~·•vv (/
--- PAGE 42 ---
•
--- PAGE 43 ---
'
STANDARl:>l'ORMN0.64
Office Memorandum • •oNI T En sTATEs GovERNMENT
TO Mr. D. M. D ATE:
FROM
J. P. Co , i~,y~
SUBJECT; ~ FLUNG DI S
SECURITY MATTER - X
1
The attached ·1H.r flom ,the San Francisco Field Division
dated February 12, 1948, raises the question as to whether there has
been a change in policy concerning the investigation of flying discs.
RECOMMENDATION:,
It is reco!!lTJ).ended that the information contained in the attached
letter be discussed by the Ll.aison Section with the Air Forces.
ACTION:
A letter is attached to San Francisco advising them that there
has been no change in Bureau policy.
RGF:rb
...
--- PAGE 44 ---
FEB ZQ I 38 P~ '~8
ilE CE P~Et: - t. A!Ii:
F BI
··' 5. 0Ef'1 OF J l ; S '!'!C f.
j
--- PAGE 45 ---
.
•
C. WAYLANO,OROOK\, ILL,
~~:iHM.;,~~..:. ~.:!·.
HOMER FE"'3USON, MICH_.1
KENNCTH S. WHERRY, NEBR.
·•
S'YVLES BRIOGES. N. H., CHAl"MAN
CHAN GtJRN£Y, C. OAK., •
KENNETH MCKE:L
CARL HAYDEN, ARlZ,
~~~~::.~~l:=~~D.
RICHARD B, RUSSELL. GA,
PAT MCCARRAN, NEV.
£NH.
•
. .
GUY CORDON, DREG, JOHN H, OVERTON, LA.
LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, MASS, JO.PH C, O'MAl-tONEY, WYO.
MILTON R, YOUNG, H .. OAK, TMEOOCUUi FRANCIS GREEN, R. I,
COMM ITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
WILLIAM P. KNOWLANO, CALIP',
HEN.RY C. DWORSHAK, IDAHO
EVERAR.D H • .SMITH, CLERK
CECIL H. TOLBERT, ASST, CL.Due
March 22, 1948
Honorable J. Edgar Hoover, Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Department of Justice
Washington 25, D. c.
Dear Mr. Hoover:
Attached you will find letter which may or
may not be of interest to your office. However, I
felt it should be passed on to you for whatever the
infortn,3tion is worth.
Kindly return my constituent' s letter
although if you wish you make a copy of it.
Cordially yours,
If
KSW:emn-3
l 'M.01~
Enc.
KEOOH,DED
&
INDEXED
I~ "4:--8-fl//-, • Itf ~
31 MAR 27 1948
--- PAGE 46 ---
v ' .>
..
C
0
p
y
• •
Benkelman, Nebraska
Ma re h 14, 1948
Mr. Kenneth Wherry
United States Senate
Washington , D. c.
Dear Ur . Wherry:
On March 13 at 2:30, M. S.T. o'clock in
the afternoon I witnessed a strange si ght in the
sky traveling at a very high rate of speed at a
very high altitude.
I was first attracted to this sight by
a noise of motor or whatever i t was. It sound_
to me like that of a train r~mbling in the distance
of from 10 t~ 12 miles on a still day.
At first glance it looked like it might
be a vapor trail left by a high flying plane. But
the white streak that was in the sky never changed
its shape or did it change in the di recti on of travel.
It traveled much faster than any plane I
have seen traveling in sky high enough to leave vapor
trai 1.
As near as I can describe this sight was
that it might appear to be a stream lined train
traveling at a very high altitude at very high rate
of speed.
This rocket or whatever it might have been
was high enough to disappear from sight while it
was yet very far above the hori2on.
I am not writing this so that it might
seem to be another disc, fan or whatever you might
call them . I just saw this and it has been on my
mind ans I thought if there was anything that I
could be of help to solve this thin g I would write
this to you and you can forward this to the proper
Dept. if it is necessary. Thanking you kindly
Yours Truly
/s/ Kenneth ~Frasier
P.S. &JCLOSURE
This object was traveling from east to west . It
looked 1i ke i t might have trave led over Denver,
--- PAGE 47 ---
. ·"' C • •
0
p
y
•
KENNETH L. FRAZIER •
Colo. or a little to the south .
I live almost due east about 180 mi. by
air and I looked to the south a l ittle to be able to
get sight of object .
This object was also witnessed by my son
who was with me at the time .
I saw the smoke cloud left by so called
meteor which exp loded ouer at Norton_Kans. This
object was not~ br ight ball of fire like it was .
The siluer streak in the sky traveled as
if it were a long connected ~t reak. This did n~t
resemble a line of smoke left by a train trave l tng
along it moued altogether as a unit . If it is not
against any regulation and if possible would like to
have answer to this object .
C
0
p
y
--- PAGE 48 ---
-.
l!arch 241 1948
Honorable K•nneth..__B.
United S:tates Senat•
Waahtngton, D. c.
JJy dear S11na-Oor:
Tour letter o/ l!arch 221 29481
wtth encZoeurs# has Men recstved. Stnoe
ths eubJ•ct aattsr menttoned tn your oon
stttuent's lettsr ts not within the scope
o/ authortty o/ thta Bursau1 I have taken
the ltberty o.f .forwarding a copy o;t hta
latter and yours to . tM ~ecrstary o/ the
Amy, llattona1 D6/,nae Butldtng# ashlng
ton 1 D. c . # /or hta tn/ormat1on. Your
thought/ulness tn brtngtng ~hje to my
attentton ta tndesd apprectat•d• I aR
•noloatng a copy o/ my letter to JJr .
Frasier whtch I thought you mtght like
to have /or your /tles# together wtth hta
lettflr.
Utth ezpreaatons o/ my h1gheat
esteea and beat regards, ..,, .
Since rely yours 1
-• Eagar
,,~
o~ve,::'.\.i1> ..
.c..
~ I
Enclo sJ_e 1
Incomi; from Frasier and cop~, of our letter to him.
VWP:jec
' ~ e-
'-""I
....
II 1
~~
COMr.UlNICATIO 'S SES'tiO~
MAILED 3
* MAR 2iJ 1948 f,;.. ,
fittliA&. BllltEAU OF IN~ESTHiATIOlt
, 8. DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE \)J-
--- PAGE 49 ---
. -
--- PAGE 50 ---
•
I •
Jiarch 341 1948
RECORDED L,,, ... 3gy ~lt3
Ur. Kennsth L. Fraeter
Benk•lman 1 Nebraaka
Your letter dated llarch l41 l948,
to tho Honorable Kenneth s. Wherry, Un ited
State• Senator, has been re/erred to me /or
attentton. Stnc• thtt mattar you i:zeni1oned
ta not wtthtn the scope oj authorttu of thta
Bureau, I have taken the ltberty o/ jurntah
tng a oopy of your communicatton to the
Secratary o/ ~he Armu, National Ds/enas
Eutldtng 1 Uashtngton, D. a., and in tha
event you haue anu addittona2 tn/or:n.atton,
j t is auggeated you aay destre to communtcats
wtth h,n.
B'incer•211 11ours1
i .. Ba&ar Hoover
..Tohn Edgar Hoouer
Dtrector
CC: Senator Wherry - ~ r1' ~ J
r-..:
~ ~
~
(r:
rr:
(O
~
..... -.
Name of to111n per Postal Gutde
..... ,_
0
t:'
~
...- ~
":'I
VWP:jec
COMM CATIONS SECTION
AILED :3
j
* ftiAR 2r, 1948 P.M.
r..
--- PAGE 51 ---
..
' •
--- PAGE 52 ---
STYLES BRIDGES, N, H,, CHAU\
CHAN GURt-&Y, S. OAK,
C. WAYLAND BROOK&, ILL.
CLYDE M, RE£0, KANS.
JCifSE:PH H. BAL~ MINN.
HOMER F'ERGUSON, MICH.
KENNETH $. WHF.RRY, NEBR.
GUY CORDON, OREG.
MILTON R. YOUNG, N. OAK.
KENNETH MC
CARL HAYDDI
ELMER THOM.
MILLARD E, T
RICHARD 8. Rl
PAT MCCARRAt., NltV.
JOHN H, OVERTON, LA.
LEV£R£TT SALTONSTALL, MASS, JOSEPH C, O' MAHONEY, WYO,
THEODORE FRANClS GRE£N, R. I.
•
COMM ITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
WILLIAM F. KNOWLAND, CALIF,
HENRY C, DWORSHA.t<, ID.AHO
EVERARD H. SMITH, CLERK April 1, 1948
CECIL H. TOLBERT, ASST. CL.ERK
The Honorable J . Edgar Hoover
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United Stat es Department of Justice
\'~ashington 25, D. C.
Dear Mr. Hoover:
'tJ:tank you very much for forwarding
Mr . Kenneth L~ asier , letter to the proper
authorities. Your cooperation in this instance
was aeeply anpreciated.
---::...-----
--- PAGE 53 ---
llnihb 8tate.s ilepartment of 1.fmitice
•
Post Office Box 1850
Atlanta 1. Georgia
August 10, 1948
AIRMAIL SPECIAL D!J'.,IV]J.RY
Director, J'l3I
Rill '
MRS. MADBLINE G ~ E R ~ ;
INFOBMA.TlOB! CONC:&RNING
Dear Sir: f-.L I;11 Co }) 1 ~ c....)
Transmitted herewith for the ltureau 1 s information are
copies of a letter, together with enclosure, froa the aboTe
captioned individual.. I:aaa1111.1ch aa there is n.o record in this
office concerning captioned person, no reply has been made to
instant letter. with the tho~t the Bureau may desire to acknow
le~e instant coll!llWlication or communicate further concerning
the matter with the Dallaa Office.
For the information ot the Bureau and the Dallas and
San Antonio Officea, the clippiDgs referred to are transmitted
herewith to the l3ureau, Dallas and San Antonio Office•, it being
noted that Wichita ll'alla i t covered by Dallas and !'ort Sam Hous
ton is covered by the San Antonio Office.
Very truly yours,
"
J
K Enclosures - 5
J ENCL ~ cc-Da.llae (Enc--3) AMSD
cc-San Antonio (Enc-3) AMSD
hI
J.J'F: SL
,: Oib. ' t. 1e Nu{
l 8I
,... Elltt r 2Et11(:UU ~.-
C1
UG'
--- PAGE 54 ---
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1r:W:tbi.ai: m1tm1-0 ~ Lxm<IAM . ~nM : ..
-Oti!ill!i;,.OliCC uCI~A~~.1I
f)'!;G l!OlJ--r:l·,£,(Jl:.il 3 1 .usawC: g{j -ro'.t ,dj.i. /~(1! l>ej;tl:lf!<'f!.B"!"T.
"v-0d'.s &rlt no'l''i ,o-:i:ucefon8 ,rl;t hi -:redfo~o;t ,'l'.e.t.tel .a 'Io t:.s.tqoo
.r;;i;!t.t .n.l. ~-xooe·r on ei e·1eJ!:t e£ sb1.1i:1M.a.I .. .f.Br1IH:-:-.1r:.a.t be.nol!cp.,o
ot efirt.ai no~rl e ~d "(;!qo·t on .00:::1:x cr beno.h.to:et. ~c1rr;raoaoo o:>1:'ilo
--woc&.io o:i e·dr.eb \;;Bil! .u.:.wwtt ed.t jd.,-:i.JJo{i;t o!'U :i,iHw • "it> ~.1 e.r j nBi1an l
• a.i:n'.t9~J.CI0.0 •.r9'.{j•u11: e;tz;.,.:.J:ItrX:::OtJ 'tO ao,i;j :.,i.rU.Jir.Wl(I:> .ta.eJSlti cli,f)~!
..t'd:'::'-0 eD.u'.nO: &d;t .d,t.~w ·:to:t.tsu srla
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bt.UJ e~II.e.(I orl.t baa us&~m.~ ent ~o aolfr~~~o":Lai arlt ~Q~
,n9;tjlf!IS£1ll'lj ~'Ie o.t bane':t9'l e~.h'qi.!o eM t880:t'fi0 o!.nc):tuA .nsc:.
·'.!tieo H. ,s 0 ~J:'l:':t0 cko.tri.A .a,1i;: !l!m "'!l!.!.GCI • .:men.Rt of.J oit ~1:w!l't• 1i
~".u,-,U f!J3o .t-xo'! .61!~ as.U..:tt ~cf b9'Ievo') Bi a!.~r.r oit'.t.d.oU! ~£:.ti:t !.aacu
. s:>i'i:10 oi:.C1c:;t11A ua2 etl..'. 'ltd" bs·t3vo~ a.:. noJ-
aeMA ( f....•,nd cs.r.racr-:..:>
(t~oo~) olnojr.J~ n:.a~~o
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JV, ~ij uE 6 ll oov
QjAl.iJJI
--- PAGE 55 ---
--- PAGE 56 ---
•
100M
Authority:
NND90986
HE~DQUARTERS
AIR MATERIEL COMMAND MCIAXD-3/FWA/aw
IN REPLY ADDRESS 10TH
COMMUNICATION AND EN•
VELOPE TO COMMANDING
Wright-Patterson
,,. AF Base
GENERAL, A IR MATIERIEl l«IIJIJ(ll9 ••••••;,.-.,
COMMAND, A T T S N T I O N
FOLLOWING OFFICE SYMBOL:
9 September 1948
MCUX0..3
Director
Federal Dlresu of Investigation
Department of Justice
Washington. D. C.
FBI Laborator,y
A!l'l!N:
&IBJ'RCT: Projeet "SIGN"
Gentlemen:
Accompanying this letter is a small sample of soil. This
eoilr ~s taken from a depression reputed to have been caused
by a'-.Bflying S81l.cer11 described as being approximately two feet
in diameterand. one foot thick which. supposedly settled gently
to the ground, rebounded to a height of abou.t twenty feet and
then contimed. on its journey. Al.though. the declivity was immedi
ately covered by a large washtub a heavy rain fP.1bsequently filled ~
the depression about one/third full of water before any sample of
dirt could be taken.
In an effort to approach this incident objectively to deteI"'
mine every possible clue, it bas been deemed advisable to have
this soil sample analyzed and tested. Upon inquiry, your ~ n
representative stated that the FBI Laboratoey would accomplish
the required. tests. Dt.O. / ., /! /
£CO~ h - - ,,, / '
It is the desf re of this Head.~1.arte»s-48--&seep-t,ein, in par 1-
cu.lar, if there are traces of unusual Reme~ or &.loys adhering
to the surface of the particles, o~lf 91V :reJSnb!MaJ i ty in structure
exista aho~ that the soil ms s u ~ ; • ~ intense beat, ll"-"""
or radio-active subst?.DCes. etc. Unfor • y, in this regard,
no one thought to forward a. sample ~unding the de-
pression 80 no comparison of soils can be made at this time. ~ d
the subsequent test show qthing unusual some arrangement could be
made to procure some ,of the surrounding soil 80 that a comparative
analysis could be ma.de. The aceomp~ing sample bas not been test
ed by any other agency, nor will it be.
J ~ } 'J!v~
{J.t_p,,,v q f' ·~ ~ 'I
COPIES DESTPC''{;fl
27 0 NOV 1 81964
--- PAGE 57 ---
.-
•
Project "SIGN"
• 9 Sept 1948
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
I n the event the tests show nothing warranting further investige,.
tion you~ dispose of the sample. The report should be addressed
to this Command marked for the attention of MCI.AX0-3. This Division
will appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Very truly yours,
Incl
,~~W~
fi f ~ a~;fF
W. R. •GEE!MAN
Colon USAF
Chief, Technical Intelligence
Division
Intelligence Department
2
--- PAGE 58 ---
REPORT
of the
/_ \==f}2J t l }=7\
~ 1..A.BORA.TORT 2-s,__
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
WASHINGTON D. C.
To: OOt.obc- ?, 1948
Ca::m.Ttdi~ Oeaeral
Air U..t«riel Como.lid
Wright-Patterson AF Bue
~ , Obio At.tentiont 1JClllO.i.3
There tollcinl "1M Npc,.n ot the WI Labcrator., «i tho ~ t . i o n
Re: ot e'f"idenoe r-eceiTed .trc:im YOU' otf'iee on s~~ ~
~ ---· ·- \ ) John Edgor Hoover, Director
YOUR FILE NO.
FBI FILE NO.
LAB. NO.
Exot'Nj. . . .e~
Elracl.naUon of Soil
Re fere n,e:
RECORDED - ~ ~ -146
PC-231J.2CO
S pecim• ns: Addreu•
IAtter dated Septm'ber 9, 1948
lt1craeoopia ,, (M.rogrepbto-Geol.ogi.c)
--- PAGE 59 ---
...
L-.40
• FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGA. N
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
........OORDED
Laboratory Work Sheet
9/22/48
kag
Be: Project "SIGN" File# 9j3£ 62- 83894-146 v
Examination of Soil. Lab. II PC-23142 CO
Commanding General, Air Materiel Command, Wright- Patterson
Examination requested by: ll:f AF Base, Dayton, Ohio Attention: ~CIAX0-3
Date of reference communication: letter 9/9 Date received: 9/17
Evid . 9/14 Reg.1171535
Examination requested: Micro (Petrographic- Geologic)
Result of Examination: Examination by: JEVOJJS
~l, Sample of soil.
--- PAGE 60 ---
.. e ~ERALBUREAU OF INVESTIG
_.,.LTED S'l"ATES DEPABTMENT OF :i
Laboratory Work Sheet
RE'-0-:"ttJ'F.D
9/22/4$
Kai
Be: File II till 62-33894-146
Pro.,.ct "5 G 11 Lab. Ii
Enid.nat.ion ot Soil. PC•2Jli.a CO
Examination requested by: Comand111 General, Air Materiel Coca:,.and, flri.cnWatt.eracn
ID Ar Dan , Dayton, cJno At.tent,t en, Oll.I0-3
Date of reference communication: letter 919 Date received: 9/l?
~Yid . 9/ 14 Reg.1171,)S
Examination requested: icro (Pet.ro .r apbic-0.oloslc)
Result of Examination: Examination by: JGftlS
Specimens submitted for examination
Ql, SUlple ot ao1l.
--- PAGE 61 ---
. ' '
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RECORDED· 51 \ __: _ _ _/
F B I
~ 23 OCT 22 ,948
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--- PAGE 62 ---
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--- PAGE 63 ---
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October :1.9. 1948
J 1
ta
Xour 1.ett. r d!l't 4d UclObcr 15. 1948. bna be
r cived end J db veut to tbsnk you for the patriOUc
cot1v s tiJltch proi.,pt~ ycu to t.lritce aYa1loble 70V
~ ~ t s conce~ tho cubJect YoU tte:it1one4.
Sincerely vours,
ftOERAL BUREAU OF IHVt:SllGATIOII
U S. OEPARTr.lEIIT OF JUSIICE
--- PAGE 64 ---
•
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--- PAGE 65 ---
'
ice of Contents from
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
.•ottINGTON, D. C .
Date~------------
October '7, 1948 -
Consigned to·
• ""Co-nwn-.._,d:tlln......,'!W'"""'tl""e"""t1eral
A:tr Materiel Cormland
WrigJit-fatteraon M tmse
n,.yton. Ohio List of tJiJFe~tins lfCIAXO-.)
f:co:':MM::':U~N~IC~AT".'""10-NS--SE_C_TI_ON- ro,..23142 CO
Mr. Barbo, '1641
MA( Leo 1 Mr. Conrad, 7142 t __
Mr. Downing, 6228 B _
* OCT '!18 1940 P.M.
f'El>£RAL Bcaou Of IN\'[8Tf6ATIOH
Mr. Sizoo, '1601
Mr. Baughman, '11 1
'L I-/
~
U, 8. OEl'ARTIIEHT Of JUSTICE
79
RIDISTERrotAIL
, _ 7 c; 9' "I
.(?-__v ;./ ~~~ I o/itj,../r
r/1-{
A~••__;.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Mai ~ J-1om, place date of shipment and registry number; Shipping Room , show
1
ate of shipmrp't awjt,i t.~a.l tf~invoi ce; then return it to person whose name is checked in column at
ight. After this ''Ji?H~ect"name has been initialled, invoice should be placed in adminis trative fil e.
--- PAGE 66 ---
.. ,,
• moAl IURCAU OF tNVtSTtQATION
U. S. OEPMTMOCT Of JUSTICE
COMMUNICATIONS SECTION
I\
ANGELES 12- 28 - 48
·bo
AND SACS HOUSTON, CINCINNATI URGENT Mr. fllollr
I
1,lr. p,-,, 'i,--t
A ENTION I NSPECTOR HOWARD FLETCHER Mr Q ,., ' m
FLY G ~ , LONN IE EDWARD"-NOACK COMPLAINT . RE HOUSTON TELE~Yii, <a_ 1/
OEC . TWENTY EIGHT . MR . R. C. PERSONS, VASCO .l!bemc ELECTRIC MMTIJVlfAcfll/NG
COMPANY, LA, PRESENTLY I N ARIZONA, EXACT WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN TO HIS
OFFICE, EXPECTED TO CALL MORNING OF DEC . TWENTY NINE . MR . NATHAN
SMITH, SMITH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, SOUTH PASADENA, CALIF . ADVISED HE
-
. AND PERSONS PURCHASED AIRPORT IN MOJAVE DESERT NEAR HELENDALE,
CALIF . STATED THAT IN EARLY PART OF DEC. EXACT DATE UNKNO_#i', PERSONS
ADVISED HIM H~ HAD FOUND A FLYING DISK ON THEIR AIRPORT . MR . AND MRS .
SMITH, PERSONS, AND LONNIE~OACK PROCEEDED TO AIRPORT WHERE THEY
LOCATED DISK, TOOK PICTURES OF IT AND REMOVED . . PORTIONS
OF DISK, NOACK RETAINING SOME PARTS AND SMITH KiEPING
SOME PORTIONS WHICH ARE STILL IN HIS POSSESSION . SMITH ADvISED
THAT DAY AFTER LOCATINGfrHE DISK AN EMPLOYEE CBSERVED PARTS RETAINED
BY SMITH, AND STATED HE BELIEVED THE OB~ECT HAD BEEN MANUFACTURED
BY OLSEN AND RICE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, TOY MANUFACTURERS LA . SMITH
STATED HE THEN CONTACTED OLSEN AND RICE WHO STATED THEY WERE FIN
ANCING CLAUDE LERO~OLFERT LA IN DEVELOPING A KITE FOR •1 tlllf SALE
ON OPEN hARKET AS A TOY . SMITH STATED HE HAD PREVIOUSLY GIVEN
OLSEN AND RICE PERSMISSION TO USE HIS PRIVATE AIRPORT AT ANY TIME .
OLSEN AND RICE TOLD SMITH THEY HAD TAi~ XPERIMENTAL KITES TO SMITHS/
END PAGE ONE
(t
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--- PAGE 67 ---
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--- PAGE 68 ---
PAGE TWO
. ,
• •
AIRPORT AND UPON DETERMING KITES NOT PRACTICAL HAD ABANDONED THE PROJECT.
SMITH STATED HE HAD TAKEN SIXTEEN MM PICTURES WHICH ARE PRESENTLY BEING
DEVELOPED . STATED WOULD MAKE PICTURES AND PARTS FROM OBJECT AVAILABLE
TO THIS OFFICE . SMITH DESCRIBED OBJECT AS APPROXIMATELY SIX FEET IN DIA
METER, CONSISTING OF DISK MOUNTED ON AXEL WITH BEARINGS, WINGS
ON EITHER SIDE, TAIL SURFACE SUPPORTED ON BOOMS, CUP MOUNTED
ON EACH WING TIP RESEMBLING ROCKET POWER CONTAINERS . SMITH STATED DID
NOT OBSERVE ANY CHEMICAL OR OTHER MATTERIAL IN CONTAINERS WHICH COULD BE
USED AS SELF PROPELLING FORCE . MR . HENRY T. RICE OF OLSEN AND RICE MAN
UFACTURING COMPANY ADVISED CLAUDE LEROY WOLFERT FINANCED BY THEIR COMPANY
IN DEVELOPING TOY KITE, THAT WOLFERT HAD PROACHED IDEA OF MAKING LARGE
MODEL TO BE USED AS TOW TARGET FOR AIRPLANES BUT RICE DECIDED
THAT HE MAKE . ONLY KITE SUITABLE FOR SALE AS TOYS . JIU Ill( HOWEVER,
WOLFERT MADE LARGE MODEL APPROXIMATELY SIX FEET IN DIAMETER, WEIGHING
FIFTY POUNDS, WHICH TOGETHER WITH OTHER MODEL HAD BEEN FLOWN IN DC THREE
OWNED BY OLSEN AND RICE TO PRIVATE AIRPORT OF ..MU:llllli PERSONS AND
SMITH . RICE COULD NOT RECALL EXACT DATE, BUT_, STATED MWllf IT
WAS IN EARLY PART OF DEC . RICE STATED DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN
FLIGHT OF KITE, AND THAT IN VIEW OF SIZE OF LARGE MODEL IT WAS NECESSARY
TO TOW IT BEHIND PLANE TO OBSERVE FLIGHT . STATED MODEL CRASHED AND OLSEN
AND RICE ABANDONED EXPERIMENT LEAVING AIRPORT WITH WOLFERT REMAINING BE
HIND TO CONDUCT FURTHER EXPERIMENTS . RICE STATED DID NOT KNOW THAT WOL
FERT HAD LEFT THE LARGE MODEL AT THIS AIRPORT UNTIL ADVISED BY SMITH
END PAGE TWO
--- PAGE 69 ---
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PAGE THREE
THAT THEY HAD FOUND THE OBJECT . CONTACT WILL BE MADE WITH SMITH, RICE,
AND WOLFERT, TO SECURE PHOTOGRAPHS AND SAMPLES . BUREAU WILL BE ADVISED.
HOOD
END
A IN ORDER
PLS
A 7- 45 PM OK FBI WASH DC WJR
HKBllUMilVHBH
~SMR OK FBI HO UICF
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--- PAGE 71 ---
...
RE'CEIVEO TELETYPE UNIT
• ....
Dre 29 7 a.1 PH •~8
F.8.1. DEPT. OF JUSTICE
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--- PAGE 72 ---
STAN0...~0 ~OR,-, "° 6A •
Office M emor! ndum • uNtrno sTATEs GovERNMENT
'¼..ITO , MR. D. M. LA: _& ~ December 28, 1948 DATE ,
IC'". Tolson_ _
FROM : H. B. F I . E T C ~ Jlf llr. ~legg
wr. Glavin_ _
::: ~~~:~1~·===
SUBJBCT: O FLYING DISCS Yr. Rosen_ _
Mr. Tr&CY_ _
::: =:= ..=---=---_-
Mr. Harl>o_ _
Mr. ll<>hr.~......--
wr. Pennlngtori_
Mr. QU!llll tam_
At J..0':bo
a .m. today, SAC Willis, Houston, called in and stated Tele . R o o •
llr. Nease_ _
WISS llolJIIJO_ _
that Full~ackwell, a busin?ss man~ Housto~, Texas, had furnished Go.nc!y_ _ WleO
certain pictures taken by a friend of his, Lo~ack of the Humboldt
Oil Company, Houston, Texas, and had related that Noack had been flying
with a friend in a private plane from California to Houston and that at a
point about 30 miles east of Lone Pine, California, some object lying on the
ground made a very strong reflection and they made a check to determine what
would cause this bright reflection. They finally landed the plane and found
an object which could be described as being 8 1 in diameter with wings about
4' long. The object is about 1 1 in thickness and in the center there appears
to be some type of gyroscope. The wings apparently are fitted with some type
of jet propulsion. An examination was made by Noack and his friend and they
could find no identi.f.'ying marks and took photographs of the object they
observed.
SAC Willis stated he had informed Lieutenant Robert Fleming of the
ill', Ellington Field, and Captain Bush, the Army representative in Houston,
of this object and that Noack would be interviewed that morning in the Houston
Office with Lieutenant Fleming being present. Lieutenant Fleming wanted the
statements of Noack taken down by a stenographer and he will furnish the
stenographer for that purpose.
I instructed SAC Willis to funti.sh complete details of this matter
by idr mail special delivery, including a copy of the photograph. I further
instructed that he furnish the same details to the proper field office because
unquestionably the Bureau would want to run this thing out.
After talking with you, I phoned SAC Willis back and told him to
insure the presence of a Bureau Agent at the time this object was examined by
the Army Air Forces and that he should make proper arrangements with the office
in California to see that an Agent was present. I also told him to adVise me /I _
of the developments. f~
HBF:cmw
--- PAGE 73 ---
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--- PAGE 74 ---
•
fEDEIIAl tU"lAU OF IIW(STIQATION
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Mr. Tolson. ..... . -
•
COMNUNICA~:N~ ,HIN 1\lr Cle;' .• /
"1r. G",ivl , ✓ ··_
DEC ~
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TELETYPE • r
FB_y1IOUSTON 12-28-48 1- 12 PM CST
£rRECTOR , SACS CINCINNATI AND LOS ANGELES URGENT
~ ENTION IN.SPECTOR HOWARD FLETCHER
s-<vrNGl?rsK. LONNIE EDWA~ OACK, COMPLAINANT . COMPLAINANT
RESIDING TWO NINE TWO ONE CHICAGO STREET, HOUSTON, CONTACTED THI
OFFICE DECEMBER TWENTY SEVENTH ON CAPTIONED MATTER AND IN SIGNED
\
STATEMENT TODAY SUBMITTED THE FOLLOWING. NOACK , EMPLOYED#AS A
MACHINIST BY HUMBLE OIL COMPANY, HOUSTON, LEFT HOUSTON BY COMMERCIAL
AIRLINE DECEMBER FIFTH LAST ON BUSINESS FOR HOLLYWOOD , CALIF . ON
MONDAY, DECEMBER SIXTH, CONTACTED R. C. PERSON , FOUR ONE ONE SIX AVALON
BLVD . , LA., AN ACQUAINTANCE, WHO REMARKED OF HAVING SEEN ON THAT DATE,
SOME DISTANCE FROM HOLLYWOOD IN A DESERT AREA , WHAT APPEARED TO BE A
FLYING DISK. PERSON OPERATES VASCO ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING CO . , LA.,
ADAMS FIVE TWO EIGHT ONE . ON DECEMBER SEVENTH , NOACK , PERSOM, AND
MR. AND MRS . NATHAN SMITH, ONE NAUGHT FIVE SOUTH PASADENA AVE ., SOUTH
PASADENA, CALIF . , DEPARTED BY PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOB I LE IN SEARCH OF
DISK . SAME LOCATED APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES NORTHEAST
OF PASADENA AND ABOUT TWENTY MILES NORTHEAST OF LONE P~, CALIF .
PERSON , SMITH, AND NOACK TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS OF D l t ~ ~ • MOV ~ NJ)t fJC/lf_ ,.. 5'tJ
SPEEDGRAPHIC CAMERAS . THE NOACK FILM WAS EIGHT~1Ik~METERS IN SIZE.J
~ '- IM 4 1949
AND CAMERA MADE BY REVERE . DISK LOC.ATED DESERT~ EA NEAR NINE HUNDRE
~ • :<.'
ACRES OF LAND OWNED BY PERSON AS PRIVATE AIRFIELD . NOACK HAD HIS FIL
DEVELOPED BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY AT UNKNOWN ADDRESS LOS PALMAS ST . ,LA .
END PAGE ONE
~'V \'It, , ,~1 l.\i ~
--- PAGE 75 ---
RECEIVE0-1..MHl
FBI ·
u. 5. DEPT. OF JUSC!CE RE'rEtVED
Or.c 28 3 ss PM 'if8 JAN 6 2 ss PM '~(
~ i c k Nh, -~ tt 1 . •N
n~cE1vEn--01REC,
r.: B I
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Dre 28 ~ 52 PM '~8
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--- PAGE 76 ---
.,.
PAGE TWO
THESE FILMS RECEIVED NOACK, HOUSTON, BY MAIL DECEMBER TWENTY THIRD
LAST . f!!:: SHOWS DISK TO BE APPROXIMATELY SEVEN FEET IN DIAMETER
AND APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET THICK IN MIDDLE WITH FEATHER EDGE ON RIM .
ABUTTING SAUCER IN MIDDLE AND ON BOTH SIDES ARE FOUR FOOT WINGS
RESEMBLING CONVENTIONAL AIRPLANE TYPE . NO MARKINGS, NO RADIO, AND
APPEARED TO HAVE LANDED AT GREAT SPEED . DISK IN COMPARATIVELY GOOD
CONDITION . THE ENDS OF BOTH WINGS HAD ATTACHED A SMALL ALUMINUM
CYLINDER APPARENTLY FOR JET PROPULSION . ONE OF THESE CYLINDERS OBTAINED
BY NOACK AS SOUVENIR AND CURRENTLY IN POSSESION OF r_::: OH~cg FILM
SIMILARLY MAINTAINED . SA ROBERT FLEMING 1 OSI REPRESENTATIVE , .E,l.LINGTON
FlELD~ TEXAS, NOTIFIED DECEMBER TWENT¥ SEV.E.N.IH . NOACK FILM EXHIBITED
THIS OFFICE INSTANT DATE AND SHOWS DISK IN ALL POS ITI ONS AND ARE
AUTHENTIC . MR . FLEMING, OSI , ON DECEMBER TWENTY EIGHTH NOTIFIED
DISTRICT COMMANDER , FIFTH OSI DISTRICT, WRIGHT FIELD , DAYTON , OHIO .
-
SAC R. B. HOOD , LA., NOTIFIED TELEPHONICALLY OF ABOVE INFORMATION
WITH REQUEST THAT HE MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH R. C. PERSON IN ORDER THAT
-----
BUREAU AGENTS MAY ASSIST OR ACCOMPANY OSI REPRESENTATIVES IN ACTUALLY
OBSERVING AND RETR I EV I NG FLYING DISK .
INSTRUCTIONS .
- .. THIS ACTION TAKEN PER BUREAU
NO FACILITIES AVAILABLE HOUSTON FOR REPRODUC I NG MOVIE
FILM OF NOACK, HOWEVER, STILL SHOTS CAN BE DEVELOPED BY COMPETENT
END PAGE TWO
--- PAGE 77 ---
RECEIVEO-l. /l nfl
F BI
U. S. DEPT. OF JU ST!CF. RFrEtVED
Or.c 28 3 ss PM '118 JAN 6 2 55 PM'iJI
N r .:kNA , , r, . ' ' ~ N
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--- PAGE 78 ---
..
•
PAGE THREE
COMMERC I AL REPRESENTATI VES . ACTI ON TO BE TAKEN BY OS I, DAYTON, OHIO ,
NOT KNOWN AT TH I S MOMENT AND I T I S POSS I BLE THEY MAY DESIRE FILM
FOR REPRODUCTION THEIR FACILI TIES THERE . I F BUREAU DES I RES LA OFFICE
TO OBTAI N FROM PERSON AND SM I TH THE IR FI LM AND NEGAT IVES , THIS MIGHT
BE CONS I DERED . PICTURES TAKEN BY PERSON WI TH FOUR BY FI VE SPEEDGRAPH IC
CAMERA AND THZSE PI CTURES SHOULD BE READ I LY AVAILABLE . NOACK FI LM
AND PART OF JET PROPULS I ON WI NG TIP BE I NG MA I NTAI NED HOUSTON AWA I TI NG
SUGGESTED DI SPOS I TI ON AND HANDL I NG BY EI THER BUREAU OR OS I . CI NC I NNAT I
OFFI CE BEI NG MADE COGN I ZANT TO COVER POSS IBILITY THAT BUREAU MAY
DI RECT LI AI SON WITH OSL, DAYTON . AMSD LETTER FOLLOWS TO BUREAU AND
INTERESTED OFFI CES ENCLOS I NG SIGNED STATEMENT OF NOACK .
WILLIS
END A I N O PLS
WA 225PM OK FB I WA LS
CI OK FBI CI JCL
~ 1-~
LA OK FBI LA EDS
DI SCM r~ \JJl;t;Jl
--- PAGE 79 ---
RECEIVED TELETYPE UNIT
• ....
Dre 28 2 29 PH l~8
f .8.1. DEPT. OF JUSTICE
3JHSOf :lO 'ld30 ·s ·o
• I 8 :J ·
u~Jv~·-Ql31\t 3 J 3~
03"13J3 l:i '
--- PAGE 80 ---
IUllEAU Of t1CVE.STIGATIO~
~otPAATMEMT OF )USTICE
;:MUMICATlOMS $ECTIOII
. O£C 291948
..
• Mr. ToJaon. . ......
Mr. Ce ............
Mr, Gtartu ......... .
Mr. Ladd....... . ...
Mr. Nichol,......... .
Mr. Rosou ......••••
-~ ~ ER Mr. 'I'rAOJ,' • •• . ...•••• •
lib-, E llD .••.••.• ••••
.I Mr. PenuiDJton .....
Mr. Qiunn Tiurun •••
lfr, Neue. .. . ... .. . . ,
ff/; ~H 10 FROM LOS ANGELES 29 9-07 PM
/DIRECTOR ROUTINE
r1,t · / W /1J{;_~/
FLYING DISK, LONNIE EDWAR✓NOACK , COMPLAINANT . !3/J-~~j,.<,(
TELETYPES FROM HOUSTON AND LA TWENTYEI GHTH INSTANT , 1!F7W ~ (
THREE PARTS OF SUBJECT DESCRIBED BY r:,cK SECURED FROM NATHAN j
;&ITH, LA AND EXHIBITED TO HENRY 0 rcE, OHLSON AND RICE
MANUFACTURING COMPANY , THREE THREE FOUR ZERO EMERY STREETi,~
LA . RICE POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THESE PARTS AS COMI NG FROM A\. ,
MODEL TOW TARGET CONSTRUCTED BY CLAUDE L. WOLFORD, FIVE FOUR
FIVE FOUR CHESLEY AVE . , LA. ONE PART BEING STAMPED WOLFORD
& WW PLASTICS MOLDING CO. j LA. TOW TARGET WAS TESTED BY
RICE AND WOLFORD USING RI CE, s AIRPLANE OVER NATHAN SMITH,s
AIRFIELD NEAR HELENDALE , CALIF. THE TEST WAS A FAILURE, THE
TARGET CRASHED AND WAS ABANDONED AT THE AIRFIELD. NO FURTHER
INVESTIGATION BEING CONDUCTED AND THE THREE ITEMS SECURED FROM
-
I"\
SMITH WILL BE RETURNED TO HIM UNLESS BUREAU ADVISES TO
...W CONTRARY , REPORT WI LL BE SUB!.ITTED , ff:IJ,.-----'
HOOD RECORDED. 42 I t.d.=: ',( J§_,9I~ -/,. ~
CINCINNATI _!,_AND HOUSTON AJ)V •
IN D. 4"
w.
1.. •
F"
JAN 3 1949
ACK PLSI~~
~~
~VsS,'-' ~ i~~
- ~_J.t}
✓tJJl'-~ / ~- •
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--- PAGE 81 ---
• RECEIVED TELETYPE UNIT
ll£c' 29 If 1a PM '~8
F.8.1. DEPT. OF JUSTICE
--- PAGE 82 ---
Office Memorandum • • • ..
lJN lTED STATES GOVERNMENT
~
TO ~ MR. D. M. December 28, 1948
FROM H. B. FIETC~ /J • ::: ~t! :·-
: : ~~1n_ _
rn SUBJ ECT: (1'FLYING DISCS
11r. N1cnols_
IC". Rosen_ _
.IC'. Traer_ _
:::=·=
_
·..===
llr- tte.rbo_ _
llr. llOllr__
Mr. Peph{ngw.Q_
Reference is made to the teletype of December 28, 1948, llr. Quinn Tua_
Tele. Roo■_ _
from the Houston Office. Mr. se.aae_ _
MU• Kolmiio_ _
1uee
At J:JO p .m., I called SAC Hood of the Los Angeles Office
and i~cted that he attempt to locate Mr. Person and Mr. and Mrs .
Nat~th, secure photographs and film in their possession and also
secure from them the location of the described flying disc. I als o
instructed that Mr. Hood send out sufficient Agents to find the disc~ /
and guard it until it could be properly handled by the appropriate Government -'<...._/_
authority. I also telephoned the Houston Office and told them to send
in the photographs or film in their possession, t ogether with the part which
had been recovered from the machine by the Informant Noack.
At 5 :00 p .m., SAC Hood called back and stated that all work on
this matter should be innnediately discontinued . They had managed to
reach Mr. Nathan Smith and he stated that he knew al l about this matter;
that it was not a f lying disc, but an object which had been identified
as a tow Idte, 'Which has a disc center and wings. This Idte is actually
made in Los Ange les by the Olson and Rice Manufacturing Company. A call
was made to Olson and Rice, who admitted making a kite along the lines
described by Mr. Smith and they explained that they had tried to fly it
and it had failed and they had abandoned it .
Mr. Hood stated he did not have full details at the time of his
call, but he did have this report from the Agents. Therefore, I instructed
that he call Mr. Willis of the Houston Office immediately in order that the
film and the part available to the Houston ·Office will not be forwarded
for Laboratory examination.
HBF:esb
RECORDED - 42
INDEXED - 42
a~rs
"
--- PAGE 83 ---
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--- PAGE 84 ---
...·oj;;MMemorfffltaum· -~ ..
STAT:rs- GOVE NMtENT.
: ~ --
DIRPL"l'OR FBI
~ "FLlING SAUO~" OESl!RVED O'Vm 1
~~£la-~ ....I L
......
Bt;ECT!
~
OAK RIDGE AREA
INrEmlAL SlOOURITY - X • I/ , '7:/) ·t· ·
""'"1 ~ --···
x --(;r I. ( I u J .fA /\ I I ,. ~ : ; · ~ D - · ...
There are beine submitted herm.th two photographs of ropu ''.fl " "'ns
saucers"which were seen at Oak Ridee, Tennessee, sometime during J u l , y ' f e(' . •
All of the 1.nf'ormation contained in this letter was received from Mt-. a;
RNmMAlf, Chief Investigator, Security Division, Atanio En«rS7 Ccmnias •••• a
Colonel c. D. GASSm1 Resident Jlnsineer, Air Material Carnrnarn1_., United States
~ 1 _who ie tho principal army "technioian at the Nuclear ~ ..far__tb.e Pro-
pulsion of Aircraft Research Center at Oak Ridee_, Tennessee. -
/ Mr. RATHMAN advised that the attached photogr:e.phs were taken by w. R.
/ PRl!SLEY in July of 1947. He stated that interview with PRE3LEY revealed that he
had been snappine photographs of bis f'amil.y in front of hie residence at 218
Il11no1s Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, late in the e.f'ternoon, when he l.ooked
into the sky and obs erved the vapor trail as emibited by the photograph numbered
"l." PRESLEY stated that he took a snap of this trail, was winding the film to
the next number, when he looked into the sky and" observed the ball of fire as
shown in photograph 2. Upon observine the unusual phenomena, he used his last
l film in tald.ng photograph #2. P.RllSLEY made these photographs available to re
,iportere of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and a story concerning them was run 1n
that paper; however, as shown by the photostatic copy of the newspaper clippine,
whioh is also being submitted herewith to the Bureau, the print was very indis
tinot; the news story did not contain an:r .fa ctual information; and 1t was regarded
generally by the public at the time as a ' ,◊se ~L~le tt-ick.
") 1,
Later, it w.a learned by Mr. RA~llDL.• ....nd Colonel G.ASS:HE that PRllSLEY
had made several copies of this photograph and had distributed them 8lllOJl8 his
acquaintances at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Upon Colonel GASSl!R 'e finding tba t the e__
pho"toei:apha had received some distribution, he requested Mr. RA'IBMAN as Head of
the Can:pllance and Investigations DiVision, to recover as many as possible of
the photographs, advise the persons in whose possession they were found to say
nothing to aeyone concernins them, and to retm-n the said photographs to him
f'or traDSmission to the United States Air Foroe Yii'teD..fgence 'Servica. Mr. RAmMAN
advises tnat7fe- sucoee'a.ed in rounding up twenty-four copies of these photographs,
and that, ac~ordins to the statements of P.RFSLEY, no more copies were made or
distributed. RATHMAN further stated that GASSm had appeared extremely concerned
over the matter and seemed to be quite emphatic that the mtter should be given
no more publloity than was absolutely necessary. RA'lEMAN also advised that he
studied the negatives from which the reproductions were mde, and th y appee.red A
to be authentic in that trick photography should have been apparent, ut from the ~
RECORDED • }4 i(a F~ l1
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--- PAGE 86 ---
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negatives certainly did not appear to be the case. It was Mr. RATEMAN'e
observation that had the negative been "doped" with some s ort o'f' chemical, it
would have removed the emulsion from the 'f'ace o'f' the ril.m in such a way that
the ne~tive would have been thin at the point which is supposedly a ball of
fire, v'hereas, in fact, both the vapor trail and the corona of fire are dark
on the'negative, indicati118 that it was an actual exposure. It was the opinion
of Mr•. RATHMAN that the photographs were, withn.ut doubt, authentic.
In accordance with Bureau instructions, no active investigation of
this ma.tter was made, but it was deemed advisable to interview Colonel GASSER
prior to submitting the photographs to the Bureau.
Colonel GASSER~ redicp.ted his remarks concerning the "flyi118 saucers"
or "mystery missiles" b; fstat~ that he lmew nothi118 of an official nature
concerning them, other than the 'f'act that they were believed by air force
intelligence officials to be man-made missiles, rather than some natural
phenomena. It was his :rurther belief that a great deal of inf'ormation had been
compiled concerning these missiles by air force intelligence, and that research
on the matter was being extensively done at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio . He also
expressed. the opinion that information at the disposal of the United States Army
Air Force Intelligence had, in all probability, been made available to the
Bureau at Washington, D. C.
(Eolonel GASSER then. continued with hie own ideas as to what might be
the nature of these discs, which ideas he had formulated through review of
those known facts and theoretical conjectures of himself and other scientists
concerning the nature of flying discs and method.a o'f' propulsion for such type
of aerial mechanism. According to him, flying discs have long been a theoretical
possibility and, in fact, a possibility which would ind.i cate one of the beet
- means by which to break through the barriers of the supersonic area. Scientists
have, for many yeaxs, been attempting to develop this type of aircraft. Some
experimentation has been done even in the United States, but insofar as is
known in the United States at the present time, there have never been any
practical developments. As a second '!'actor of consideration, Colonel GASSER
stated that insofar as is known to U.S . scientists at this time, there is no
known chemical fuel which would make possible tremendous range of flight such
as is ascribed to the reported "flyi118 saucers. " There is only one possible
fuel which could be utilized. which is in accord with present theory, and that
is the utilization of atomic energy;\ As further evidence of this possible means
of propulsion, Colonel GASSER calledattention to the vapor trail and gaseous
corona described as a ball of fire, which he states might give some evidence
to the fact that a radio-active field is present. He explained that th~ corona,
or exhaust, has what appears to be layers of intensity which are circular rather
than elongated and have no tendency to trail at the extremities, as would be
the case if a normal type of exhaust from a oombustion engine was being utilized
in the propulsion of these aircraft. He continued that the vapor trail left by
the missile appears to be one single line of uni.form intensity which is extremely
slow in dissipating. It was pointed out by him that in the case of a normal
- 2 -
--- PAGE 87 ---
.'
vapor trail being left by an aircraft moving at extreme~ high speeds or extremely
high altitudes, the vapor trail usually will be from the wing tips and/or the
exhau~t of the engines, thus presenting several lines. But, in any event, even
~ouslj onJJ, one line were visible, it would be ~ther quick to dissipate. This
indif1ted to him that the vapor trail represents some atmospheric change along
t he :path or the missile, which voul.d not be the case were it any presently known
type of aircraft. "'1.1> 1.L
;e:e continued that 1nf'armat on shed b him should be
the. u;gp.oe ,gon:£'1 enia. in t he was not !E_eald.~ off c a but as a ere l
j
\ \ Datter of C~EGJ;t1gR. Re s¥atea that the mtter wasoeing g ven absolutely no
•aieeem!nation by t he air force or other JD.ilita:cy persOID1el, and that they had
not deemed it advisable to advise him of all information pertaining to the missile.
He continued, however, that in his conversation w1th representatives at Wright
Field and in re&d.ing reports returned to this country by f'ore1gn agents, he had
gathered together certain information which might be of assistance in determining
whether or not these so-called missiles were authen:tf.o, usable and of claxJser to
the United Statee. First, he pointed out that knowledge o£ such a possible
aircraft is not by aey meaDS new, it having been known as early as four years
ago that same type of flying disc was be1ns experimented with by the Russians.
In addition thereto, he stated that more recent reports have been received
from representatives of the Central Intell.igence Agency in Southern Europe and
Southern Asia to the effect that the Russians were experimenting with some type
of radical aircraft or guided missile which could be dispatched for great dis
tances out over the sea, mde to turn in flight and return to the base from which
it was launched. Thie fact was extremely worthy of notice as experiments in
this country have so far only developed to the point where we are concerned with
deliverine a missile to the required point of impact, and no consideration has
been given to imparting to that missile the ability to return. Seconcll.y, he
stated that it is a known fact that the Russians are attempting to develop
some type of nuclear energy, that they received a wealth of information concern
ing nuclear energy at the time of their occupation in Ge.rmany, and that they too
have at their dispoeal the limited supply of the necessary fissionable materials.
He stated that insofar as aey opinion as j;o hether or not they have the ability
and scientific lmowledge to create such • u - o elled missile is etrictl.J'
a matter o£ conjecture, and that he wou esitate o nite statement.
He pointed out, however, that the Russians have acme very capable scientists in
the field of atomic energy and that, in addition thereto, they took into their
custoc:'cy sane of the most advanced and capable scientists of the Ge:r,mn Nation.
Re also etated that a peculiar fact concerning the missiles exists
from reports he has received which is worthy of notice, and that is that from
all appearances, they usually approach the United States from a northerly direc
tion and have been reported as returning in a norther.cy direction. None have
ever been lmown to crash, coll.ide or disintegrate over American soil, but it
woul.d appear that they come to the United States, cruise around, and go back
over the North Pole. He states that insofar as is known to him, there has never
-3-
--- PAGE 88 ---
/
been any piece of one recovered from any source whatever in order that ~tical
study of its nature could be nade. Insofar as was known to him, the o~ actual
1fA~er1f,l which would be of~ value in determining its nature ere telephoto
:f.ho!!phs which are now in the possession of engineers at Wright Field, Dayton,
Ohi How detailed and how clear these photographs are, he was unable to state.
Hes ted that one report has been reoeived concerning a collision o:f these
missiles with another type of aircraft. This report, according to him, took
place a ehort time prior to the report of numerous discs overr the United States,
and the report 8l1Bllated from Czeohoslovalda. This report was th.at a Czecho
slovakian transport had collided with some unidentified missile while in mid-air
over the ocean, and that said missile and said transport bad been complete~
disintegrated vith.out recovery of parts or eurvivors tram eith.er. It was the
belief of Colonel GASSER that this undescribed missile was perhaps the same tY'Pe
of thing as the f~ng saucer~ Another :factor of' notice, accord.ins to Colonel
GASSm, and as is portrayed by the photographs, it would appear that the missiles
oan be maintained at a certain altitude above the contour of the ground. This
could be done by, means of acme t1"P9 of radio altimeter or radio control. Natu
rally, the path of the missile is not in emct parallel to the contour, as its
purported great speed would create considerable lag in its flight. Another
factor which is wor~ of note, according to Colonel GASSER, is that it is
normally reported as beins seen at tremendouelJ' hish altitudes and al.ways travel
ing in a straight line. He stated that he himself observed, on one occasion, a
single vapor trail coming fran sane type of aircraft at unbelievabl.7 high altitudes,
vhioh vapor trail extended tran horizon to horizon in a perfectly straight line.
He observed the vapor trail while it was in the process of :formation and states
that it vae ccmplete~ unlike ~ vapor trail he had ever observed before 1n all
of his experienoe vi th the air foroe. It was his judgment that whatever creat ed
the vapor trail vas traveliDS at an unbelievably tremendous speed. This, together
with reports that when close to the ground,the missile travels at speeds which
make possible visual observation of its actions, would refl.ect that there is
sane ability to control the speed of these missiles as well as the altitude.
( colonel GASSER concl.uded that this matter, whil.e still purely a matter
of gueeevork, is nevertheless a source of great concern to the military establ.ish
:ment of this country. Great efforts have been expended by the service to determine
Just what the nature of these missil.es might be and, upon so determinins, deci d.e
whether or not an adequate defense can be establ.ished. He also stated that it
has given impetus to the research being done by the air farce in their own pro-
gram of nuclear mert53 for the propulsion of aircraft to devel.op guided missil.es )
He also advised that insofar as was known to him, there was absolutely no con
nection betwem these missiles and the fact that they vere observed close to
Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He stated that this vas perhaps, and probably, a mtter
of coincidence and they were seen in this area merely as they vere seen in forty
six of the forty-eight states of the United States during the Month of July when
s o ~ reports were being received.
Thie inforr.ration is being submitted to the Bureau for whatever val.ue it
may be, and no further action 1n the nntter is beina contemplated by this office,
unless advised to the contrary.
CCM:bk
65-11
Enclosures - 3
-4--
--- PAGE 89 ---
. ,
. . ...
sfA.NDAAdtr0AM NO. C~
f ,..
~ .Office Memorandum •
• •
•
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
•
To ~ ~rector, FBI D ATE : 12/28/48
FR~ { \ Ac, Houston
syBJ: ~ YING PISCt;: L,
l_; LONNIE EDWo/OACK, Complainant
Attention: Assistant Director D. M. Ladd
Remytel 12/28/48 in the above captioned matter.
F9,P-"'the BU7eau's information, on 12/27/48 Mr. FULLER
"1:fLACKWELL, an attorney with offices 410 Kress BuiLding,
Houston, Texas, telepho~ically contacted the~oton
Office to advise that he had a friend, LONNI OACK,
who had some information on an object which ight be
a flying disc. Mr . BLACKWELL stated he was calling in
response to Mr. NOACK's suggestion and as a means of
determining what authorities would have an interest
in this matter . He said Mr . NOACK was a machinist
employed by the Humble 011 and Refining Company, Houston.
Mr . BLACKWELL, in calling, advised that the disc, or
object , was approximately eight feet i n diameter, had a
tail and wings, and apparently was equipped for jet
propulsion. He stated NOACK had observed this.object
at a desert location near Las Vegas, Nevada; further,
that Mr. NOACK had taken some movie film of the disc and
that this film was currently in his possession.
Immediately upon receipt of the above information,
Mr. Robert B. Fleming, Special Agent, o.s.r., Ellington
Field, Texas, was notified as was true of Captain Harold
Bush, MID representative, also Houston. As a result of
these referrals, arrangements were effected with Mr.
NO~ to bring his film to the Houston Office for a showi
~~ P.M., 12/27/48. This was done with Messrs . Bush,
~~~leming, Noack, and Special Agent Graham W. Kitchel and
~~Cj\,)~C).,, the writer observing. Arrangements were then made for ~
~ - Mr. NOACK to again a~pear at the Houston Office on the
i \\ morning of 12/28/48 in order that his information might be
&:duced to writing. Mr . NOACK in making his initial
w>pearance at the office surrendered his movie film which
~ ~ consisted of one 50 foot roll of 8 nim mov1e •f11m. Approximately
~)(_,~ <<J-fifteen feet of this roll relates e~ciusively to the pictures
{ ~~~ of the flying disc . "lliY
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(\f\ ~ S)) . C\) 4J ~ ;R.., ~ q~, / 1 V
' \ , c oP ~s DESTROYED ~ · , ~tCO~U'- - •F - I ~
2 7 U NOV 18 l~b4 .. .1l n ~ JAN 141949
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--- PAGE 91 ---
. ,
Director
• •
Re: Flying Disc
HO 12/28/48
While observing the object, Mr. NOACK noted an aluminum
cyJ1nder which had become detached from one of the wing
tips and he brought this back with him as a souvenir. This
cylinder conceivably could act as a rudder, a rocket
housing, or fuel tank attachment. Mr. NOACK initialled
the cylinder and surrendered it also.
There are attached hereto for the Bureau two copies of a
signed statement taken from Mr. NOACK dated Houston, Texas,
12/28/48. Two copies of the statement are attached for
the Los Angeles Office, and one informational copy is being
designated for the Cincinnati Division. The original is
being retained in the Houston file. One copy of the statement
is attached to the copy of this letter for the FBI Laboratory.
During the interview with Mr. NOACK, Mrs. ROSE C. ROTSEL, a
stenographer for O.S.I., Ellington Field, recorded the
statement for O.S.I . use .
Initial information obtained concerning this flying disc
was furnished telephonically to Inspector Howard Fletcher
at the Bureau, 9 A.M., 12/28/48. Mr . Fletcher requested
the Bureau be given a summary of the information by teletype,
with interested offices being similarly notified, and that
the signed statement of NOACK be submitted AMSD. He further
instructed that he did not want the Bureau "side tracked" in
the handling of this matter, but that FBI representatives
should assume an active interest in the investigation
throughout, cooperating, of course, with O.S.I. representatives.
Mr . Fleming's headquarters are the District Commander, 5th
o.s. r . District, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. On the morning
of 12/28/48 Mr. Fleming sent a telegram to his District
Commander giving a general summary of the original complaint.
Mr. Fleming was unable to advise how the 5th o.s.r. District
would handle their inquiry in this matter. He stated this
could either be handled by Wright Field dispatching a special
plane to California or by having their District Commander, 18D,
O. S.I . , San Bernardino, California handle it. He stated
1n any event it would be necessary for O.S.I. representatives
to first confer with Mr . R. C. PERSON, named in this statement,
as being the individual who initially discovered the flying
disc and would lmow also its present whereabouts.
-2-
--- PAGE 92 ---
. .
Director
• •
Re: Fl7ing Disc
HO 12/28/48
Mr. PERSON, as indicated, maintains a business at 4116
Avalon Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, telephone
Adams 5281.
To insure the Bureau's participation in this matter,
SAC R.B. Hood, of the Los Angeles Office, was contacted
telephonically at approximately 11:30 A.M. (CST)
12/28/48 with the suggestion he maintain contact with
71O _
Mr. PERSON. +t1
,,,JI., .,
Also in keeping with Bureau instructions, the roll of /
film received from Mr. NOACK, together with the aluminum
portion of the fuselage, is being forwarded separately to 1t"",jr
the Bureau, attention FBI Laboratory.
ti~
GNW:NK
~ tli-'
Encl.(2)
AIR MAIL SPECIAL DELIVERY ~ iJiqt1
CC: Los Angeles (Encl.) AMSD
Cincinnati (Encl.) AMSD
FBI, Laboratory (Encl.)
Package
- 3-
--- PAGE 93 ---
, .
•
--- PAGE 94 ---
• •
I
--- PAGE 95 ---
Houoton, Texas
Dec • ?.8, 1948
,I, LOiffiIE EDWARD )WACK, residing 2921 Cl'.1cago
Street, Houeton 17, TexaE, make the following statement to
Special Agent Robert D. Plemine and Chr1etopher R. Dradley,
reDreeentatlvcc of the Of.t'1ce ot E-pecia'l Investigat ton,
Ellington OSI Detachment, Ellington Field, Texoa, and
Special J\gents Orahain . &itohel ana Galen N. I1llia who
I know to be Special !agents of the Pederal Bureau or
InYest1pt1on.
On Monday afternoon December 6, 1948, at about
6 P.N., Mr. a.c. PERSON, Mr. YfATHAlf SJII'l'H,. )Ir. C.A. TOCK,
Mr. R01SER'J.' BROUSSARD and another man, n&Jl8 not recalled,
and I had dinner at the Old Virginia Inn, Loa Angeles,
California. After dinner we went back to Mr.. Ssnitn•a
electrical manutactur1ng company which he own.a and operates
1l1 Loa Angeles, CA11torn1a. Mr. PERSON told us about aeeing
a tlytng diac and we made an appointment to leave early
the next mom!~ by car• with our oueraa, to go to the
location or the d11c. Mr. PERSON waa detained at some
private air f.ield so we did not leave until about 2 P.M.
ml. December 7. 1948. We arrived at the acene ot the
tlyin.g diso and ~ook pictures of the d1ac which vaa still
171.ng around. Mr. SIIIITB took about 10 1'eet of 16 mm tilm
and Mr. PERSOX took five or six ahota wlth a Speed Graphic
Camera. He noticed that the t1r•t three shots were taken
when the adapter on his lens was closed too much and I
don•t icnow 1r they turned out all :right. Jllr. SMIT!I
•uggested I hold the t1ying diac up and rotate it around
and he would teke llY' p1ctu •1th 1ror came~. Atti!r
taking the picture•, we patched the fence o~ Mr. PERSOK '•
property where people had been cutting the wire to get to
a road. f left and then d~ove baok and had dinner at
Eaton •a Inn and they took me back home to Hollywood,
ca11tom1a.
I would like to recite that I loft Houston, Texan
11:30 A.M. on Sunday; December 5. 1948, tor Cal~fornia by
plane and tlew to Hollywood, California on o commercial
plane on buoinese matters. On arriving 1n Hollywood, I mot
Mr. PERSON in Holly,rood on Monday, December 6, 1948,. and
at that time he told :me about the tlylng disc he had located.
'He stated he bad gone to Laa Vegaa by h1a personal plane
and saw the disc from the a1~ on hie way back.
--- PAGE 96 ---
..
On December 7, 1948 •• went out J.n Mr. tfA'l'HAlf
SNITH'• car and ploked up h1a wife and left hia hoae in
South Pasadena about 11 A. M. We drove out to an airport
where hia plane was about rorty a1lea trom Pasadena DN
he was having the plane repaired. He wanted to be aure
the plane was on a truck betore we left for the destination
where the di•c •••. Iri aaking thia trip, we proceeded
out by a race track and ~•••done ot the Kaiser ateel
works and the Virginia Dare Wine Orchard. I would say
we went directly north or northeast tr,om Pasadena,
ca11rom.1a. We droTe through a town called Matonia
(phonetic) and tollowed a roaa through •o•e mountaina and
through. a ••11 de1ert. I would eatiute the di•tance trom
Pasadena to where the d1ac ••• tound to be about 150 mllea.
The terrain 1n wh1oh the diac waa tound could be described
•• tlat,deaert. and de■ olate.
t would like to •~lain that Jlr. PERSON haa
private ~pert,- (an airport which he purcba••d rrom the
govemaent) right by the location or the d1ac. Mr. PER.SOR
thought the di•c might have been launched tro11 hie ail'J)ort.
but whether that ••• it or not - •• don• t know. Nr. PERSON
1a1d he usually tlew at an altitude or about 8,000 te•t
and, or course, he tlew lower 1n ao• apaced. He did not
mention hia altitude at the t1M he tlrat eaw the diac .
'lbe disc waa located preot1ca117 Juat outa1de his pros:,erty
and •• were going north, •o it would be eaat or hia property.
He has about 900 acres.
When •• arr1ved at Mr. ,PERSON' • propert7, •• aaw
the d1ac, or .flying wing, and it n■ on th• ground 1n a
aeJll1-vert1cal poe1t1on, approxiJnately a 45 de~• arigle,
With the le:t"t wing babedltd in the gr9und. In loold.J:tg at
the ground, it appeared that the obJect had hit the earth with
cona1derable force and had slid 300 to 400 feet. It wa•
dent•d but was generally intact. I th1illc the picture, I took
with a Revere 8 - camera quite well ahow th• tom, shape
and size or the "wing." I am 5 ' 7" tall and 1n atand1ng next
to the object when it was in an upright poaition, 1t wae
alightl7 higher than my height. I would ••7 it waa rollgbly
seven feet in diameter, b•f ore crashing.
On each e1de or the obJect there were w1rma
approxillately t~ur feet b7 twent7 inches and three 1nohes thick
with an axle that protruded through the dlac and 1.J\to the wing■•
It waa aounted on ball bear1nge which the diac rotated on.
2
--- PAGE 97 ---
1be disc .1iielf wae approx1111ately two reet thick
in the center, tapering to a reather edge at tll• rim. On
the outalde or the disc, near the rill, there were tunnel
shaped cupa bradded on and these were apace4 all around
on both aides, each cup ti-.C approxiMtel,- twenty tnehea
apart. The openings of these cups were to the rear. The
d1ac 1teelr was natural al'UD'linum with no paint on it except
ot the type or aluminum which waa 24 S.T. and 1t bore th1a
stamp. 'l'he ·wings were painted a yellow.green cuaoutlage
color.
The wing has a leading edge similar to that ot
an airplane and tapera to the rear to a teather edge. ll'he
wing••• ribbed throughout with altiJDinum r1ba ror substantial
atrength. Each wing had a s1.m1lar rocket cartridge on each
tip tutened by two bolts. I bad one ot the winga in my
po■ aeea1on and have turned it over to the proper authorities.
'l'he cartridge on the one I had waa apparently knocked orr
1n the craeh. •
There were two strut bars attached approxi•tel7
twenty 1nchea h-011 the disc leading to the rear with an
elevator. Alao, the two struts protruded toward ·the front
with something attached, a weight or aome tow a)'Btem, which
waa during the oraeh anchored into the ground and bent
and we could not exactly determine how 1t waa weighted or
controlled. I would say the elevator wu approximately
twenty-two inches long and about 5/8 inch thick with a alight
taper to the rear and probably ten 1nchea wide. 'nle at"'•
extending trom the trailing edge or th• wing to the •levator
were •d• ot 5/8 inch steel tubing. The di■ c, in being
lifted, would J~dge to weigh rro~ 80 to 100 pounds.
With respect to the picture• taken, I took
approximately 15 reet ot colored 8 mm film. .
Tbe diec was built where they had the proper
equipment to do ttie neceeaaey work because the7 had to have
a epot welder and bu1ldµig equipment to male• the d1t'ferent
angles. I ll1ght add that I ua an in■ tru■ent Ulcer tor the
BUlllble 011 and Ret1n1ng. ColllJ)any and haYe a generally good
knowledg• of machine and metal work. There was nothing on
the object to 1nd1oate ita origin, whether .American or foreign
•ke. It would appear, however, from the alum1nwa,worlalianah1p,
etc . that it probably waa American 11&.de.
-3-
--- PAGE 98 ---
Arter we r1ntshed taking our pictures and d1scuaet.ng
the object among ourselves, Mr. PER.SOK expreaaed an 1ntent1on
or obtaining a truck and hauling the object to his ehop. I
cannot say at th1• tiJJle whether he did th1a or not or where
the object uy be at this particular ·date. Ve r1n1ehed '
our observation and picture taking at approx1.Jllatel7 5i30
or 6 P.M. on December 7.
In reaponae to Mr. Fleming'• inquiry, there waa np">
radio equipment noted on the obJect 1n any: tashion or rorm.
We returned to Pasadena, California, that evening
arriving 1n Hollywood about 9 or 9,30 P.JII. I took some more
pictures that night along BollJW00d Boule•ard on the unt1n1ahed
roll or t1lm and then wetn over the Chinese 'l'heatre an4 took
a picture or the a1anature or George "Hart and r1ntahed the 1"011.
I bought another roll or tilm, and took them to the Eastman Xodak
Company the following JIOnday which would be December 13, 1948.
A• I Noall, thia la•tman shop waa ,on Loa Palmaa Street 1n
Loa Angeles, Cal1tomia. !hey 1nfo1"1114td me they- would deYelop
the tilm and that it would be ready on Thur1da,t.. I lett -
Cal1torn1a on Wednesday so they uiled the t11a to me at IQ'
buaineaa addreaa, Bumble 011 Building, Rooa 159, Houston, Texas.
I received th••• tilma on Deoeaber 23, 1948.
After J.AY return from California I mentioned to several
~ rq bua.ineaa and •oetii.l acQuaintancea that I bad aecn t>.1•
object, a. dise or saucer or whatever 7ou Jil.1.ght call it, and
tolcl the• that I had taken pictures and would be glad to ahow
them when the picture• arriYed. Aa atatedi I Nce1Yed the
111m on December 23 and at 1:30 P.N. on the same date I •bowed
the t1lm ~n the projection room at 11\mble 011 to the tol1ow1ng1
D.W. BLAIR; J. HA.'l'TAWAY; d.A. PETERS0JIJ JAMES 8. OLIVI!R;
VILLIAN JtIED, JR.; A.E. MBLETON; WAYRE CRAVPOJU>s D.A. BATTLE
and two other snen whose names I do not recall. All or theae
men work 1n the tnatrwnent ahop with• at HUllble 011 Is Refining
Company. I also showed the fil.JI to ay lbrother-1n-law# E. JtULAK,
or Pasaaena, Texa■, at home on the tollowlng night.
On: Chriatmaa Day I met •o• friends and one ot the
girle wu with a young bo7 who waa intereated 1n photography.
l do not know tiia naJM but he work• at Southern Pacitic. I told
him I had aome pictures or the fly~ d1•c but I did not show him
the pictures but explained the di■ c. I think thia boy 18 the
peNon who had hie friend at the 11ewepaper contact me.
--- PAGE 99 ---
I got ho• about 10,30 A.N. and PltllUC REED,
o~ the C1t7 Deak at the •11ouaton P0at" called• and wanted
to know about the d1ac. I told him I oould not g1Te hi■
any 1nt"ol'll&t1on on it. Be begged• tor the atory, but I
told him iI would let hill lmow and that I had trienda I
had to contact betore I could give hill any 1nfol"lllll.t1on.
! then got 1n touch •1th MP. Blackwood, '1/fT
la-,er, the tollow1ng ■orninl and aaked hia 1r he kn
&n7one in the PBI. He stated all th• PSI per1onnel he Jmew
were no longer station.cl here. I then contacted the J'BI
and turned the material over to them.
Althougt\ I can't deaor1be where thia obJect 1a
located, I believe I could go back to it and I am aure
Mr. PEJtSOlf and and Nr. SNITH could go back to it.
Nr. MA'fflAK SNITH'• buaineaa addreaa ls Nathan
Sll1th Electrical Coapany., 105 South Pasadena Avenue, South
Paaadena, Cal1fom1a. Mr. R. c, PDS0K 1a pre■ ident or
the Vaaoo m.eotr1cal llllnutaoturing Co111P&ft7, -116 ATalon
Boulen.rd, Lo• qelea, Cal1torn1a.
Por record p~o•••• 1n takiria the picture• above
reteJ:'Nd to., I did ao uatng exJ)o1ure or 16 !'ram.a per aecond
at a d i . a ~ openiq or t6.3. I ua•d••-Xodak l'.odachrome
t1lm.
All'e"r,0·N The above atate-nt., -de YOlunta-.117 abd ~or 1.he
1 a,111,t• of proper author1t1••, 1• •d• to -;;.y b••t knowledge
and bel1e1'.
fiepreaentatives OSI, liiiriiton Pleld., Texas
PBI, Houaton. Texae
-5-
--- PAGE 100 ---
ENCLOSURE TO THE BUREAU
RE: FLYING DISC;
LONNIE EDWARD NOACK, Complainant
--- PAGE 101 ---
• •
r-Ac, Houston Janu&l"T 25, 1949
Director, FBI
Reterenc. is made to Los Angeles teletype dated 12/29/IJl cid to
Houst.oa t.elet.ype dated 12/28/t.S, 61cd the subsequent trans;i.1ttal or an
8ma\ movie film taken by Ur. LOttiIE NOACK, along With aewral parts or
the aupposed flying diao to tle l nborato~y for examination.
Sineo prior to rooeipt of tte above 1 t.eJU b7 the labora tor, the
inforir.ation •a:t cbtoined which identitied the supposed t:cy:lng disc as a
tow tare;et and later a to7 kite, no examinat.ion was conduct.eel here.
Accord1ngl7, these 1t4ima are be1ni returned to 700. via reg;l.atered
.:as a3694
cc, SAO, Lo• An&elea H!conoF/\
4-U .. 60
•
• INDfXFD
~j • 60 Zl r 31 19'
EX-59
--- PAGE 102 ---
•
'\
~ •
~ (\il1r-: i\
e~-Xl
~·)u.snr· 10 .i.cr30 -~
T 8.1
d0!Vij08~' 1 1NlN;,
oP, l·lV ss 6 l 83
I
--- PAGE 103 ---
"
, Office Memml rldUm • uNtTED sTf r:s GovERNMENT
.,
TO : The Director DATE: January 241 1949
\tr. Tolson~
FROM : D. M. Ladd 11.-. Clegs,_ _
tJFLYING DISCS :::o
~ avl
SUBJECT:
K' llr. 111
!Ir. Ro
s
__
:.: Egan,.::-.:::==
f{fu I thought you might be interested in the following information :: ~~~
concerning "Flying D1,:,c..s" which has ~en fl.l,rnished to the Bureau on a ::: ~::;; 1,=-
confidential basis by Colonel- C ~Gasser, Re~id~- Erlgin~er, Air
Material Comnand, U. S.Arrey, who is the pr incipal anny technician at the ~::
:~•==~
=~
Nuclear Ehem::!csr:::t1'iErPropulsion of Aircraft ~E1ai:ch Cent.er. ~-Oak..Ridge,- - -
Tennes see.
. Colonel Gasser stated that he knew nothing of an C2flliial._ nature__£f>,Ecerning
''Flfi~g Discs" other than ~he fact that they are believed by Air ,toz:E!, ,El~lljgence
officials to be man-made m.issil~s, }"at.Jler_than so~ natural phenomena. It was his
further bel ief that a great deal of information has been C.Q!!miled concern~ng these
missiles by air force intelligence.., and that r.!_search on the matter was being
extensively done at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio .
Colonel Gasser then continued with his own ideas as to what .might be
the nature of these discs which ideas he had formulated through review of those
known facts and theoretical conjectures of himself and other scientists concen1ing
the nature of flying discs and .oethods of propulsion for such type of aerial
mechanisn. According to him, flying discs have long been a theoretical possibility,
and, in fact, a possibility- wmcb wou!_d _indicate one of the best means by which to
break through the barriers of the supersonic area. He stated that sc;.ientistLhave,
tor- many years, been attempting to develop this type of aircraft. Some e~ri
mentation has been done_ even in the U~ited Sta~es, bit i nsofar as is .lmown in the
United States at the present time, there have never been any practical developments .
As a second- factor or consideration, Colonel Gasser stated that _insofar as is known
to U. S. scien_!;ists at this time, there is no known chemical fuel v.hich_would .make
possible tremendous range of flight aich as is ascribed to the reported 11flying
discs." According to Gasser, there is onlY ooe possible fuel;_ which could be
uti:(°ized _which is in.. ac~ord with present theory, and that is the utilization of
atomic energy.
He stated that tru,s subject matter was being given absolutely no disseminc1:tion
by the ~JQT-<;e .9r .Qt.her .milit..acy_ personnel and tha.!:,_J,.!!_ey had not deen:ed it
adyisable to advise_ him of all information pertainigg to t h i ~ e .missile. He /
continued, however, that in his conversation wit_~entatU,es at Wr~_E~ld _,/
and in reading r~_p,orts returned _to this country by foreign agents, he had gathered
together certain information which might be of assistance in determining whether or
n~these so- call8i .missiles were authentic, usable and of aanger to the United States .
EHM:hhr ~
FEB 8 19 9~p /
--- PAGE 104 ---
• '
I.
--- PAGE 105 ---
..
•
He pointed out that knC71'1ledge of such a ~ ssi.ble aircraft is not by aey_means
new and t hat i t was known as early as four years ago that some type of flying
discwas being experisnented...!'i.!.,h by the Rus§,i~s. In addition he said that mor!;
recent repo~ts .ha.v~ been...received from representatives of the Central Intell~nce
A ~ in Sout~ern Europe and Southern Asia to the effect that the Russians were
experimenting wjt]i some type of radical aircraft or guided miss ile which could be
dispatched for great distances out over the sea, made to turn in flight and ~ r n
to the ba se from which it v.as launcbed. He related that this information was
extremely worthy of notic9 as experiments in this country have so far onl.y developed
to the point where ~e a re concerned with delivering a mi..ssile to the required point
of impact, and no consideration has been given to impa rting to that aus sile the
abil ity to return. He also advised that it is a known f act t hat the Russ ians are
attempting to develop so~ t~e o!. nuclear energy., that. they .received a wealth..of
information concerning nuclear ~nerSLA,t tbe time of their occupation in Germany,
and that they have at their ..d.is~al a l.im:ited supply of fissionable materials.
He pointed out that the Rµssians have some vecy capable scientists in the field
of atoni: energy and that, in addition thereto, they took into their custody some
of the most advanced and capable scientists of the German Nat ion.
Colonel Gas ser stated that a P.eculiar fact conce!:._ning the~ ~iles
is found in reports he has received,that from all appearances the missiles
usually approach the United StatesJrom a northerly direction and have been reported
as~urn7:ng in- a northerly direct ion. He advised that nO{!e have ever been known
to crash c~llide or disintegrate over American soil, but it woula appear that they
come to the United St ates, cruise around, and go back over the North Pole. He
stated that :insofar as is known to him there has never been a,nz..£!._rt of a missile
of this type recovered from any s::>urce whatever in order that an analytical. study
of its nature could be made. He stated that on~ report hai been received concerning
a collision of these ~ e s ~ ith another type of aircraft. This report, ac::c::ardi og
to him, emanated from Czechoslovakia and took place a short time prior to the ~Q.tt
of numerous cfiscs over the Uni,1:ed States. According to Colonel Gasser a, Czechoslovakian
transport h ad reportedly collided with some unidentified missile while in mid::air
over1£e"o'cean, ana that the mis§ile and transpor~re co)N?lete~ disinte.ua..ted
without recovery .o f parts or survivors fro~her •
. Colonel Gasser concluded that this matter, while still purely a mat\!:
of guesswork, is nevertheless a source of great concern to the military establl.shioont
o(_filils countr,: - He advised that great efforts have been expended by tl_le milJ.i.ary
service to determine the nature of these missiles and upor1so determining, decide
whether or not an adequate defense can'6e eslablished. He stated that it has given
impetus to the research being done by the air force in their own program of nuclear
energy for the propulsion of aircraft to develop guided missiles.
ACTION:
None. '!be above is for your :information.
-2-
--- PAGE 106 ---
Authority:
NND 90986 DEPAB'nlENT OF THE ABMY
STA.FF J.iESS.A.GE CENTER
•
INCO~INO CLASSIFIED ~LESSAGE
CONFI DEllTIAL PAllA.PHRASE NOT REQ,UilillD
PRIORITY
From: CO Kirtland AY.B New Mexico
To: Chief of Staff US.A.F attn Dir of Special Invectigatione
Officer of the Inspector General 3 I
Nr: OSI-l-90 31 January 1949
Reference previous reports. subject: unknown, aerial
phenomena, file number 24..8. Sighting of identical object
reported at 2255Z 30 Jan 49 by aprx 30 people. Estimate at
least 100 total sightings. AEC 1 AFSWP • 4th Army. local
conwanders perturbed by implications of phenomena. Sighting
reported from El Paao, Alburquerque, Alamogordo. Roswell.
Socorro, and other locations. All appear to be same object at
different points in trajectory. Un.less instructed to contrary
this office will make all out investigation with view to
location of impact point if any. Request reply. ~-
4,, "-
'v /
~ ACTION: AF
RECORDED • lG , (2 - ! ?f
INFO: ID. PO -F o
13 fEB '110. ·1JJ,W
(l.i IN 321
t i -1fli
(,a Feb 49) DTG: 312l.45Z d#./B
RC 5/1
~
t'k \G COPY
~
FEB 2819
-
--- PAGE 107 ---
Room 5744 _31...,_..,,..
__3_ _ _ _ _ __ 1949
TO: V Director
_ _Mr. Clegg
_Mr. Glavin
_Mr. Harbo
_ _ Mr . Ladd
_Mr. Nichols Mr. Tracy ....•••••._
---Mr. Rosen Mr. Egan ••••••• •-···
_ _Mr. Tracy Mr. Guroea . . ........
__Mr . Fletcher Mr. Harbo ...........
-Mr. Mohr Mr. Mohr ·······-···
_ _ Mr. Carlson Mr. Peonlogton . . ...
l\fr. Qulo.n Tamm....
_ _ Mr. Nease
t.!.r. Nease...................
_Miss Gandy Mis~ Gandy._ _
__Personnel Fil s ect1 on
--Records Secti --- ----·- ------------
_Mrs. Skillman
See Me For Appr opr iate Action
Send File Not e and Return
~ ~
Clyde Tolson
--- PAGE 108 ---
1
..
.,"\,,,.!(",_ • •
c1JG ~
,.-1
--- PAGE 109 ---
r
••
Office M emorandum • UN ITED S11iLL:.u -o-OVERNMENT
. '11
Director, FBI DATE : February 18, 1949
SAC, Knoxville
0
"FLYING SAUCEBS" Ol3SERVED OVER OAK RIDGE AREA
INTERNAL SECURITY - X
Reference is made to Knoxville letter to the Director dated January 10~
1949, entitled as above.
There is being :forwarded for the Bureau's information a cop~ of
a letter :from Colonel C. D. GASSER, USAF, AMC Engineering Field
~-:=-==j
Officer, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Mr. G. J. RATHMAN, Security
Division, U. s. Atomic Energy Commission, Oak Ridge. This letter
is self explanatory and reveals that the photographs forwarded
with referenced letter are the result of accident or purposeful
hoax and are not actually photographs of a "f l :.:1t:1 saucer" .
I Colonel GASSER personally advisec1: that whi l e the ·photographs
are not real, his statements m£ '1<' conc'3r.1i.ng the ext otence of
:f'l.y1ng saucers and the opinions '}Y.p:rtc l ~ad by h1L1 nevertheless
stand as previously stated.
~~.._ \ ' CCMcS:
65-11
jjc
\ ENCLOSURE ATTAOHBID
"\ Enclosure
~ -
~ ' I
J:~,\ t
7FEB 251949 ~ i¥
--- PAGE 110 ---
•
Ct ••
--- PAGE 111 ---
•
--
.,
--- PAGE 112 ---
WJRE<JL8/cro/.1k
NEPA Project, P. o. Box E
C Oak Ridge, Tennessee 10Febru.8.171949
0
p
y
M:r. G. J. Rathman
Chief', Investigation Section
Security Division
u. S. Atomic Energy Caamission
P. O. Box E
Oak Ridge, Temeesee
Dear Mr. Rathman
Thie is in response to your letter dated 16 December 1948,
subject "Photographs", with inolosures, addressed to Major
D. J. Grant at this site, oonoerning photographs taken during
the month of July 1947 by Mr. William Presley ot 218 Illinois
Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, of an unidentified object that
appeared to be f'lying c:JVer Oak Ridge.
Since receipt by Major Grant of the abc:JVe material, this ofi'ice
has taken steps to secure an evaluation of same by the Air Force
of':f'ice of the Chief, Technical Intelligence Division, Intelli
gence Department, Air Materiel Cammand, at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. As a result, the following informa
tion bas been revealed:
"When the negative, containing the sphere, is examined
by strong incident light, it is noted that the emulsion
is raised at that point above the normal level of the
remaining emulsion. This indicates that either a drop
of' warm.water or a drop of' developer struck the film at
this point and rolled down this negative and the succeed
ing negative.
"To further substantiate this, it will be noted that when
the two (2) negatives are placed side by side with the
eaaes of the film aligned, the so-called "trail" is con
tinuous, that is the two sections :match, indicating the
drop rolled on f'ral1 one negative to the next.
"Sill :further proot is shown on the fogged edge of the
negative containing only the trail. This is proven by
the fact that the trail extends beyond the normal format
C
0
p
y
--- PAGE 113 ---
C
0
p
y
Ltr. to Mr. G. J. Rathman, Chief, Investigation Section, u. s.
AEC, dated 10 February 1949, Re Photographs
of the negative. In other words, there is a trail of
that section of the negative which was not exposed in
the camera. Thie effect shows up in one negative and
not in the other because the negative in question is
fogged; therefore, this irregularity was developed.
"Sti 11 f'Urther proof of these defects lies in t.he number
of unevenly developed sections of the negative."
In view of the above, it is reoam:nended that this entire matter
be declassif'ied and that Mr. Presley be advised of the nature o£
the images, if and when the negatives are returned to h1m by your
office.
For your information, this ottioe is taking the liberty of :turnish-
1ng a copy o£ this ~ommnieation to Mr. c. c. Mcswain, Special
Agent, F.BI, because of official interest eTidenced by his office
1n the matter.
Your cooperation 1n furnishing photographs and negatives, together
With information contained in your letter o£ 16 December 1948 to
Major Grant, is sincerely appreciated.
Vecy truly yours,
C. D. GASSER
Colonel, US.AF
Am EngineerinsField Officer
3 Incle.
2 Negatives
l Photostat
cc - Mr. C. C. McSwain
C
0
p
y
--- PAGE 114 ---
L-26
oice of Contents from
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIO
SHINGTON, D. C.
Date l/';.'J/ Case References
49 i,'1YING DIS CS
LONHIE ED ·;ARD NOACK , Complain ant
Consigned to :SAC' HOUSTOr
List of Contents
- --
,
Mr. Harbo, 7641
Mr. Conrad, 7142
Mr . Downing, 6228 IB _ _
COMMuNICAl ION ~CTION mm Movie :--·1m, Mr . Sizoo, 7601
par ts of s uppose d flying disc . i<'
MAILED 16 Mr . Baughman, 7121
FEB 8- 1949 P.M. 1
* REGISTERED UAIL
RD£RAl BUlliAU OF IN\lf.STIGATION
u. s. OEPAIITM&NT Of JUSTICE I
3
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Mai 1 Room, place d ate o f shi pment and rei ~ [ n~m~ e r ; Shipping Room, show
date of shipment and ·JJ.iti 1 this invoice; then return it to persou whose name is checked in column at
right. Arter this checked name has been initialled, invoice should be plac e d in adm,1 nistrative file .
,-- -/ /
--- PAGE 115 ---
- _.,-U<DARD PORM NO. 64 •
·Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO pIRECTOR, FBI
• DATE:
Janu~r y 31, 1949
FROM :SllC, .S,Ji ANTONIO
SUBJECTlROTECTION OF VIT.i'..L IH3T•.LLiSIONS
BURE..'.U FILE # 65- 58300
~ ~ ~ ij77 _ii,!;
~1.t recent ~feekly Intelli.::;ence Conferenceri of G-2, OIU, OSI~ cmd F . ~ . I., Jr,-
in the Fourth :,rmy .\rec. , Oi'ficers of C- 2, Fou::::-th ,\rmy hc:.ve dir.:cu::ised the
JJ.::.tter o,t 11Unidentified :.ircrc.ft 11 o r 11Unidentificd Aeric.l Phonomeno.11 othe!'\1ise
:_::nown a~ 11p13,?o _piscs 11 , ~'Flyinf; S~.u~ rsrt., ~ c.i:,ct "D~l~s of Fil·e 11 : .'JJ'?:s. _!'~~t-~~~
_i_s__c_o_n_s_3:qe_::::~a_. _o:p__s_e_c_~_~t_ _oy )A.@1:¼~0:C_e__0_1_f_i_e:e:1:s. _0_1~ _b_o_t_l!_ _t_~e. h.r:.-: : _.:-.p._c_ _th~
Lir Forces.
It is ; .ell !:no;-m tlu-.t t~1ere hc:ve been during the p2.st tno ~'c.:-.1·s r e)orts from
tho vo.rious p~rts of the country of the sit;hting of unicient.ificd 2.ericl
objects which ht1ve been cc.llc,d in nc,-is::n-.pGl' po.rl.:.nce 11flying discs" and
1tfly.i.ng sc.ucers 11 • The fil•st such sightings T:crc re:)ortcd from .SwedGn, ~nd
it wo.s thought thc:.t the obj ects, the nf'ture of nllich v12s unknonn, r.1ight hr.vo
orit,inded in :.cussic..
In Julr 1948 rn unidentified aircrr.ft r1c.s 11 seen11 by an Zc.stGrn :.irlines
Pilot c.nd Co-Pilot £1.nd onG or rnore p2:;scngcrs of the E2.stE:..rn ,.irlincs Plane
over Eontgomery, ~·,1.:-.bama.. This c.ircr2..ft uc.s rG.JOrtcd to be of c.n uncon
vcntionel t:;rpG without uin~s 0.nd resenbled gcnc;;;:c.lly n 11 rockct. ship 11 of the
tJr1)c depicted in comic stri~s . It •:;~i: ri:;::iorted to he.VG had nindons; to
hr:vE. been 1.:-.. rgcr th,.n the :3r.stern :.irlines pl2ne, r...nd to hc..vc bc;en tr.:-..veling
c.t c.n cstim.:-.ted speGd of 2700 nilc;s .:n hour . It ...'.:)P~['.red out of r. thunder- ~
hec.d ahce.d of the :;:,.stern :~irlincs plcnc rnd iJ:unedic.tcl!· disc.:)per.rGd in c.nothc~
cloud no.rrowly missing ~- collision n ith the 3t.stcrn ;·, irlines :)l2nc . No ~
sound or c.ir di:,turb.:-.nce ,:cs noted in connection 11ith this .:-.pp-.:c.rrnce. 0 l
Durins the ,_)~. st t,,o months va.rious sightings of unc~c.;1.:-.incd phcnomcnn hc.ve
bcc;n :rc}ortod in thG vicinit;;: of the :. . E. C. Inst..".llc..tion .:-.t Los .~1.:-mos,
~
Ikn Loxico, uh-::rc these p:1enom.:rn:. no,, c._>pcCT to ··b e concentr.:-.t<c.d. During
Dece.mbe:r 19L:S • n tho 5th, 6th, 7th , 8th, 11th, 13, ll~th, 20th end 28th
sightings of uncxpkined :)henomcnc. 1'1erc ;,1c.dc ncr.r Los :,lc'.'.Il\os by Spccitl
.". 6 cmts of the Office of Specitl Investi.6 :::tion; ,.irline Pilots; Eilit2.ry
:Cilots , Los I.le.mos 3ecurity Ins.)Gctors, c.nd )rivl'.tc citizens . On
Jrnu"-ry 6, 1949, nnothcr si:ulc.r objGct ~~['..S sir:,hted in the St'.lns:: r.1~c2. .
Dr . LINCOLl! L.. P..z, c. lfotcorologist • f some note, h.:-.s bcc;n gcnerc.ll;r in
chc.rg6 of the • bservc.tions ncr.r Los ..1.:-Jnos, r.tt€lil)ting to l Gr.rn chr.rr.ctGr
istics of the unex:_)lr.ined ?h<::nor.,cnr. .
U:,:> to this tiiae little concrete inform::.tion h.:-s becm obk.incd .
a,, JZ,J :md RECORDED - 13~6_.£;:__ _
~ ~ s :.- 100- 7545
J cc : El Pc.so -( 2 J" Little Rock (2) FB I
Dc.llc..s (2) " O!:L:.hor.\e. City ( 2) 43 MAR 16 1949__
Houston (2)
--- PAGE 116 ---
•
DI RECTOR, FBI l /31/49
Th-::rc h2.ve been d<'-:' t ime sightings 1',tich .:-sc tent~.tivel~' considei.'Cd to possibl y
rescr.1ble the cxh:cust of s ome type of jct .)r opell0d objec t . :Tight- t i me:, si ehtings
h<'.VC tc.ken the f or m of lights usuc.lly described D.S brillic.nt grCE.n, s Li.il:i.r
to r. t;rGen t r clfic signc.l or br een neon light . Some repor t s indicc.ted thr.t the
li[,ht begc.n c.nd ended ;1i th c. red or ormgc f lc:sh . Other rqort ::: h.:-.ve giv en t he
color l'.S red , Tihi te , blu- \:l1itG, and yelloni sh L;r Gen . Tr.:-iling l:1• 6hts soi,10-
t:L:es observGd l".r c nc.i d to be re.ct .. The s:,ec trum c.n.:.lirnis of one l i i;ht in.di c.:-.tcs
thc.t i t i.12.~r be ;:_ copper c o,,)ound of the type l:no1:n to be uned in rocket
CX;_Jeri,:ients c.nd T1hich co .~)lctely disintegr c.tes U)On cx)losi on, lc:-vine n•
de'.n·i s . I t is noted tl1::c :10 de'ur in h-::-.s ever been Lnmm to be l oc:.tcd c.nyi,hero
resul t ing f rom the une:x;_)lcined )henomcno. .
Recent observ.:-.tions hc-.ve :1..1dic.:-.tcd th2.t the unidE.ntified ::,l1enorJcn2. tr.::vel D.t
.:-. r.:.te of spGed c.st.L-:i..:s.ted 2.t .:. ninii,rnr.1 of throe uilGs .)€1' second encl c. nnximum
of t1'1E.lve i.1iles per second, or c. m~c:-.n cnlculr.ted speed of scvGn ~d on0-hc.lf
:.1ilE-s a sccond, or 27 , 000 r.1iles en hour . Thei r rc.)ortGd course indi c c.tcs th.:.t
they trt.vel on Qil Ee.st - ~·:est linG ·.iith _}robt.bilit~, th:.t thc~r C..)pl'oc.ch f r om
the Northern ~u.:.dr c.nt , ".'lhich 1:oLu.d be the l e.st str.t_;e of the L,l'cat cii"cle route
if thG:' ori.::;in2.ted in Rui:;si ~ . :.11en observed they s;..e:.1 to be in lcvc;l flii:;ht
.:.t ;:. l:.ci6 ht of six to ten 11iles l".nd tbus trc:.v elin[, on ~-- t .n,sont to the ear th I s
surfr.c c . The:' occ.:- siontll:- di:) .:-.t the. end of the ;,c.th r,nd on t•;o occ.:- sions
:::. definite vGrticc.l ch2n.'.;e in _)t.th ,:.:-.8 indic.::.ted. These l)honor.1cnc. hcve not
been l:nmm to hc· vE- been si.:;htGd, hm:cv er, c..t c..ny intGrmc.dit.tc po:i.nt bet1;ecn
::-mssi,. l"nd Los ;,ltJ,1os, 1Jut only ::·.t the c.nd of the flisht tour.rd the ;:.pp.-.rent
rrtc..rget11, n2.1:1ely, Loi:; ..le.mos .
In every c c.sG but onG the si12.pc of thc objc.c ts hes been r epo1·ted c.s r ound
ii1 2. point of light T1itll 2. definite <'-l'Gt. to the Ji[)1t I s source;. One l~c,?ort
gi ves .:-. d::.c.moncl she.pc: .:-.nother indicc.tc,; th-.:- t trc.iling lit;hts ,.rG elon._,c.ted.
T!1c sizE. i s uau:-.11:r co, !_).:-.red to one- fourth thG cl.i.'.'.;.1ctc;r of the full :noon, .:-nd
t:1oy ;1;-ve t.lso been coi.1pc.rcd in sizG to 2. br.s:~ctbr.ll 11i th tre.ili11.:.; li0hts thG
size of 2. 02.scb , .11.
On no occ~.sion h:--.s sounc: been i".ssocii"'.ted dircc tl:· ·.1ith the phonor,1on2., but
une:x:_)l .:.ined sounds }12.ve been :.'e)orted f r oi'a Los :.1-:-Jnos . On t·.io occ -.sions
rei-:>ol"ts t.::-.vc. bGen rccGived of th<:: si.:,hting of multiple uni ts .
Some nine sci entifi c re2.sons c.rG s t::tcd to GY..ist l:hi ch indic.:-.ted th.:'.t tho
:phcmomenc:. obs erved .::.r G not due to rnet Gori tes . ThG onl:- concl usi on s rGc.chcd
t hus fr.r r.re th2.t the:· .:-.re either hi therte. unobse1'vod n:-.tut'c.l phGnorncn::-. or
thc.t they r.re n12.n m::.dc, . ;io scientific ex)crii.wnts c.r c i~nm:n to exist in this
country l1hich could give ri:e to such phenomen.:-..
- 2 -
--- PAGE 117 ---
•
.,. • •
DIP..ZCTOR, FBI 1/31/49
:;r:·s . L'illELL;.E G~;yHNE ::sr..cH:J:T· E's the subj Gct of c. letter fror.1 the :,tlmtc?. office
to the :Surec.u d.:::ted ,·,u[_;ust 10 , 1948, entitled, 11LiDELL.iS a· YllNE E&CHiJ~T;
Il-1FORE.~:i'ION CONC:S}UHi ;G. "
.She hr.s 1nritt6n Ilk"l1Y l etters to Jiilit2.ry ;,uthoriti0s concerning her t heories
r e.:;c.rding .~tomic Energy. s :!c, h. ·'-· t,cn,..,rdly been considered unrelic.bl G and
) OSsibly ;:wntally unbal c>ncod. She, hm·:cvcr , has submittod to Uilitc1ry
2.uthoritics t he only theory thus f;:,.1• '.mo~·m that hr.s r..n? credi bi lit? r..t c.11,
m:.ncly, tht.t the. li 6hts .:.re ..12nifcstc.tions of cosnic r.:.ys v!hich c:.rc directed
to•,;ard c. specific }Oint . She further theoriz€s thE.t such r.:.ys r.1.r.y intGrfe.rc
'.iith the i gnition of 1:1otors c.nd mc.;;r ,2.cco unt for v o.rious uncx}lc.incd air ere.shes.
Tho wove is subr.u.tted for the confidcmtir.l info:rm.etion of the Bu:ce..:,u 211d
offices to ::rhich co) ies of t::i s letter e re dir ec ted so th.::-.t thGs e offices Dt.y
cv.3.ulc.:tc ~y such re.Jorts t he:' r.':t::;/ ht.Ve reccivod o:;..~ r.1t.:· receive 1n t he future. .
I '.:. is not0d tl10.t the Fourti1· ;_rr,1y hc.1., the res:1onsibilit;r of ~,:cotc;ctinr, vitc.l
inst2;llr.tions r.t Los ..1:-.mo.s, Ne,: L::xico, s.,ndic. n_..se , Nc:i i.:cxico , o.nd c-.--~
H,:>Dc. , Texas . ;'..ny infor;.1c).tion dovGlopcd ::,l1ould be CX[>Cditiousl:- trc.nsrilitted to
G-2 , Fourth ;.:::;-y .
r-:-, ~-.,, further noted that G- 2 2.nd O. S . I. a.re .::.cti voly on.:_;E.[;C.d in inve.stig,:;_ting
t his iiu:.tter . No ii"1v6stis:.tion is :icint conducted 'Jy this office.
- 3 -
--- PAGE 118 ---
- ffAN?"R"-~ ~ - 64
.,
-., , ,, •
\;
~ Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
fV¼ ·:o , 11r. Ladd ~ DATE: March 14, 1949
FROM Mr. Fletche:r:~ :::m:n__
llr. Glavln
Mr, !..ad~:~-_-_-_
..... Nlchola_ _
SUBJ ECT: wr. Rosen_ _
FLYING DISCS ..... Tracy_ _
Mr. Egan:,,.,,....--
::=~
: :'. r.:1ngton_
PURPOSE Mr. Quinn Te.a_
Tele. Rooa_ _
Mr. Nease_ _
Illes llolltlis_ _
The approval of the Executives Conference is requested for the Illes O&:ncly_ _
attached SAC letter furnishing to the field the type of infonnation
desired by the Intelligence Division of the Air Force in connection with
the captioned matter.
,.
BACKGROUND
You will recall that by Bureau Bulletin #57, Series 1947, dated
October 1, 1947, the field was advised that effective as of that date the
Bureau had discontinued its investigative activities in connection with
flying discs . The field was advised that all future reports concerni ng
this matter received in the field should be referred to the Air Forces .
Colonel c. D. Gasser, Resident Engineer, Air Materiel Command,
Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft Research, Oak Ridge ,
Tennessee, has recently and confidentially advised the Bureau that
flying discs are believed by the Air Force to be man-made missiles
rather than some natural phenomenon and that as much as four years ago
Iit was learned that some type of flying discs were being experimented
upon by the Russians . It was further detennined f r om Colonel Gasser that
most all of the flying discs seen by persons in the United States approached
this country from a northerly direction ana returned in the same direction,
indicating the strong possibility that they are coming from Russia.
The Department of the Air Force has furnished to the Bureau a
' sufficient number of copies of a memorandum dated ~b!'l,)aty 15, 1919 captioned
"Unconventional Aircraft" which can be furnished to our field offices .
STATUS
RECORDED - 76 1~_...l[ .-5 tf z~ -
F
I
At the present time this Bureau is conduct3"1'1ARo2fii.,J:MVt:,igation of
infonnation r eceived in the field relating to the caption-l~Mtter. ef }·..,vl
RECOMMENDATION ,_ ~-r.,., - d
rt is reccmmended that the attached SAC letter and enclosure be
forwarded to the field to advise them of the type of questions to be asked
of persons who voluntarily submit information relative to 11 flying discs. 11
Although no active investigation will be conducted by the Bureau, it is
believed that the captioned matter is of sufficient importance t o the
iJ
internal security-of the country that our field offices should secure as
much information as possible from compai.nants in order to assist the
Depart'm~t , of 1'l• ~ Ai Fer ce. ✓, ~-
EHM :E'HW Hf I{ \)
Attachment
--- PAGE 119 ---
.. .
~
!:l:, •.:-
"-...., ,, ~
t.:;: ll1
--l:;. c-:,
ll~
~ ....~·,_ !:!! 3: ~ ~
C. ') !:: ::,g
V, :n '7 ,......,
....
;g ·- ,...., <-.o
I
0\ ~
•...:. (0
~
t.c, ....
0::,
:IJ/J.~/i, :J I J.CJ :/t} ' II
I8J
f,, Hd cs v r YcJV
U:J/\13J3tJ
--- PAGE 120 ---
,...-ANDARI> •ORM NO, 64 •
•~ i:e Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO
•DATE: March 22 , 1949
DIRECTOR, FBI
F ROM
SAC, SAN ANTONIO
SU:BJ ECT:
PTIOTECTION OF VITJ,.L INSTALLATIONS
BUREAU FILE 65-58300
II c..)
Re San Antonio letter t o the Director dated January 31, 1949, which outlined
discus sion had at recent nec!:ly Intelligence Conferences of G-2 , ONI , OSI and
FBI in the Fourth :.my Area concerning 11Unidentifi ed Aircraft" or 11 Unidentified
Areial Phenomena" • therwise kno\'m as 11 flying di scs 11 , 11 Flying saucers" and 11 balls
of fire". It is repeated that this matter is considered secret by Intelligence
Officers of both the Anny and the Air Force.
G-2 , 4th Anny, has non advised that the above matter is now termed 11 Unconven
tional Aircraft" and inves tigations concerning such matters have been given
the name 11Project Grudge" .
G-2, 4th Anny, advised on Febr uary 16, 1949, a conference was held at Los
,'i.].amos, Nen Mexico, to consider the t,o-called 11 Green fire ball phenomena"
11hich began about December 5, 1948. I t was brought out this question has been
classified. " secret" and that investigation is now the primary responsibility
of the U.S •. Air Force, Air Eateriel Comm.and, T- 2 .
Dr. LilTCOLM Lf~ PAZ of the University of New Mexico , discussed one siting which
he himself had made which was termed the "Starvation peak incident 11 and des
cribed the following characteristics which indicated that the phenomenon
I
could not be classified as a normal meteorite fall .
l. There was an initial bright light (no period of intensity increase)
lnQ
and constant intensity during the duration of the phenomenon.
I
2. Yellm1 green color about 5200 Angstroms .
3 . Essentially horizontal path.
4. Trajectory trav ersed at constant angular velocity.
5. Duration about tY:o seconds .
£,. No accompanying noise .
RECOUII •ti
~E3rz:/
.., - ! I
JEJ:md
2 cc : El Pas• (100- 4562) 1!.-- /Jpr. t/- 17'-1?
2 cc: Dallas
11 11 Houston
11 11 Little Rock
11 11 Oklahoma City - l. -
--- PAGE 121 ---
'
•
..
DIRECTOR, FBI March 22, 1949
It ,,as br ought out that sinc e Dec ember 5, 1948 t;.hor e he.ve been more t han
ten incidents analagous to the 11 gr een fireball" above described and some
t,•enty other s Y1i th ruiner devic.tions from the above . It is tlso pointed out
the.t the only s itings 1·1hioh he.d occ urred see.med to hav e been confined to the
Los ~lrunos , Las Vegas,. ru1d ~·iest Texas triapgle ,
G-2 also c.dvised thct as of Novomber 1 , 1948, in.t'ornw,tion had bc.en r ec eiv ed
f r om higher lfilitary authorities tm-.t tho Air Forc e hnd advised that such
sitings occur periodic al~ and that anot her per iod of siti ngs was then
imminent . Further, on Fcbru~.ry 14, 1949, higher 1Iilitary authorities ndvised
that it was believed that ult.iJ11ately it would be found that the phenomena
in question have a natural explanation ..
It is further noted thot c?.bout 7: 30 p .,m. , 1!.'..rch 6, 19h9, what was at first
thought to be a flar e was seen approximately onc- h<llf mile north of Killeen
Base in the area of the Vital Instnllc.tion c.t Camp Hood , Toms, and a second
flcro ;ms noticed £!.t 1 : 45 a . m. , J!arch 7, 1949, D..)pr oxinu:.tcly throe miles f rom
Ki llGcn Bo.sc . It hc.s since bocn concluded thc.t t hG flc.res seen near Killeen
r.re prob.::.bly simile.r t o the phenomena p r aviously noted in the Los AL."lllos,
Sc.ndia Base Area although these ~re the first sitings of such phenomena near
Cemp Hood.
There apperu-s to be reason to believe th.:i.t the ~hove- mentioned phenomena may
be connectGd 11ith secret expt;;rimcmts being conducted by some U.s. Government
...gency as it is believed thc.t the Unitod Stc.tos is fD.rther c.dvanccd in gui ded
missile. developmGnt thnn any foreign poner.
Although the pr im.c.".cy responsibility for investig~ting such matters is now
,a.th the U. S . A. F . Air Iratcricl Canrnund, G-2 , 4th Army i s.still inter ested
in being advised of any further sitings of such phenomena Hhich might be
observod .
- 2 -
--- PAGE 122 ---
,, ..
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FonnNo. 1.
/ THIS CASE ORIGINATED AT
HOUSTON FILE NO.
105-445
/ REPORT MADE AT DATE WHEN r,tAD.lit PERIOD F OR REPORT MADE BY
WHICH MADE
LOS ANGELES 3/30/49 12/28 .29; 1/7,$ . . Wh.T!.iA? ~ROVINSE DPZ
CHARACTER OF CASE
TITLE ..t'LYING DISC~
1011~"IE EDWA..W1 CK, com9lainant;
Houston, Texas, ecember 27, 1948 INTERNAL SECURITY M
SY N OPSIS OF FACTS:
Object described by complainant as possible flying disc
determined to be a model tow target or kite which had
been ab3ndoned after unsuccessful tests . Portions of
target positively identif'ied by HENRY T. RICE, L.A.
manufacturer and erstwhile financial backer as being
part of the model target or kite.
RUC
REFEREhCE :
Teletype f r om Houston to Director dated 12/28/!8.
Teletype from Los Angeles to Lirector dated 12/2u/48.
This text is truncated. The complete file is available at the official source.
View the official fileCongressional Context
No confirmed links between this file and the congressional record yet. Connections are added only when the source text supports them, never inferred.