This file contains an initial report from the Air Materiel Command regarding Project Sign. Project Sign was a 1948-1949 U.S. Air Force program to invest…
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I
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Authority:
NND927545
HEADQUARTERS
AIR KATERI BL COWAND
MClA/JCB/amb
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
2DjytAPH 0i948
KCIA
SUBJECT, Projeot "BIOi" •
TOs Chief of Staft
United Statea ilr Poree
Waahington 26, D. Co
ATTN s Director ot Int-,lligenoe
l. Thie ie an initial report on unidentified flying objecta aa
direoted by Rq, USAY letter dated SO Deoember 1947, signed by General
L. C. Craigie, subjeot1 •r1~Jng Diaea~. Qtarterly reports will be
submitted beginning 1 July 1948.
2. Ae a reeult of thia letter, Pro~ot HT-304 was a.otiTated on
26 January 1948 and Technical Inatruotion 2185, dated 11 Pebruaiy 1948,
wns published. Present ti.lea on Projeot •s10~• represent a oonaolida
tion ot reports received directly by Hq, AMC and thoee forwa.rded by
the Direotor ot Intelli gence, USAF.
~. Schedules of activities of lighted night-flying adTertising
blimps have been secured a.nd crosa-oheoked at thi.a Headquarters to
consider them as a possible souroe ot incident nporta.
4. Inoloaure l represents a tabulation am breakdoWll of all
available reports through l February 1948.
5o The following ia a series of interesting observation• that
were noted when rev19Wing the many incident 0ase11
a. Rigll rate of olimb, aa well aa the apparent a.bi li ty to
remain mot1onleu or hover for a oonBiderable length of tiu o
bo The objeot was described aa being oval, d1ac or 1auoer- t
ehaped ~l times.
o. Assooiated sound was preae?It ll tim.H o
d. Reported sizes have varied from that of a 26-oent pitoe
to 260 feet in diameter, and from the aise or a puraui t plane to tht
ePulk of six B-29 airpl.&nea.
,
NND 927545
--- PAGE 2 ---
..
AMC
Subject, Project "SIG!i"
• 2 3 APir 1948
e. »umber of objects per aighting,
Objects per sighting l 2-6 6-10 over 10
Number of eightioga 77 21 8 9
t. Exhaust traile were reported 23 times.
g. Speed has been eetime.ted throughout the entire range from
very alow or hovering to supersonio.
6. Incloaures 2 and 5 are anlargementa of photographt taken of
Incident f40o Inoloaure 4 1s an evaluation of inolosure 2 by thie
Headquarters. Attention 1s iovi ted to the marked aimilari ty between
incloaurea 2 ands. and inoloaure 6. Similarity also exiata between
inclosures 2 and 3 and oonfigur&tiona illustre.ted in inolosure 6.
7. Representatives from tbie Headquartere visited Dr. Ining
Langmuir of the P~sea.rch Laboratories. General Electric Comp&ny.
Schenectady, N. Y. to discuss Project "SIGN". It was the opinion of
this acienti st that prosent a.vai l!I. ble data does not encompass suffi
ci ent information to enable a positive identific~tion to be ma.deo
Dr. :.a.n&muir was relucts.nt to consider the so-called "flying discsM
as a reality. However, it io be'lieved at this neadquarters that it
is possible to oonstruot a low aspeot ratio airoraft that would d~pli
oate many of the appearance and performance oharaoteriatics of reported
"flyint discs~. Experts have agreed that thie would be possible through
the intelligent application of boun:lary layer control.
FOR THE COMMANDING GENERAL:
~Me~
6 Inols
l. Tabulation
J
H. M. ticC~!1.
Co lone1. US&F
2. Photo Chief ot Intelli gence
3. Photo
4. Eval of Incl 2
6. Horten Parabola
6. Biology of I'lying Se.ucor
2
~
NND 927545
--- PAGE 3 ---
Incident
No. Date
/
• Hour
CONFIDENTIAL
Location
- N<>•
Sighted
Obser,ed
P'rom
1 g Jul 47 0930 Muroc ilT Field, M'uroc, Calif. 2 Ground
; la g Jnl 47 0930 Muroc,Air Field, Muroc, Cali£. 2 Ground
lb e Jul 47 0930 Muroc Air li'ield, li&uroc, Cali.f. 2 Ground
le g Jul 47 09tl9 Muroc .lir Field, lluroc, Calif. 2 Ground
ld g Jul 47 1000 lmroc Air Field, Muroc, Calif. 3 Ground
le g Jul 47 1000 Uuroc A.Lr Field, itiuroc, Calif. 3 Ground
2 g Jnl 47 1200 Muroc Air Field, Mu.roe, Call!. 1 Ground
~ 7 Jul 47 1010 Iifuroc Air Field, Vuroc, Calif. 1 Ground
4 $ Jul 47 1150 Area 113, Rogers Dry Lake, Muroc l Ground
Air Field, Muroc, Calif.
5 4 Jul 47 1305 ~ortland, Oregon 5 Ground
6 4 Jul 47 1305 1llli.lwaukee, Oregon 3 Grotmd
7 4 Jlll .47 1305 Portland, Oregon 1 Ground
~ 4 Jul 47 1305 Portland, Uregon 3 Ground
9 4 Jul 47 1305 Portland, Oregon undetermined wt atated
10 4 Jul 47 2004 Roi se, Idaho 5 Air
ll 4 Jul 47 not stated Seattle, Xashington l r.:.r ound
12 4 Jul 47 1305 Vancouver, Washington 20-30 Ground
1~ 4 Jul 47 1400 Portland, Oregon 4 Ground
14 4 Jul 47 16}0 Portland, Oregon 1 Ground
15 4 Jul 47 1700 Portland, Oregon 3 Ground
l.6 4 Jul 47 ll.00 Mount Jefferson near 4 Ground
Redmon, Oregon
17 2ll. Jun 47 1500 14t. Rainier, a.shington 9 11r
l!S not stated not stated Toronto, Canada 1 Ground
19 20 Oot 47 1320 Dayton, Ohio 2 Ground
20 20 Oct 47 1100 Xenia, Onio • l Ground
CONFIDENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 4 ---
CO~FIDENTIAL e
Incident No. Observed
No. Date dour Location Sighted From
21 29 Jun 47 1645 Des Moines, 1owa l~ not stated
22 21 Jwi 47 about noon Spokane, ·1ashingt,on Ground
23 30 Jun 47 1745 Boise, Idaho 1 Ground
24 12 J\111 47 1&5 Weiser, Idaho 2 Ground
25 4 Jul 47 2345 Vfest Trenton, t~ . J. l Ground
26 10 Jul 47 not stated Harmon Field, Newfoundland l Ground
~ 10 Jul 47 ~ Hamon Field, bewfoundland l Ground
2g 24 Jun 47 not stated Idaho l Ground
29 23 Jun 47 not stated Bakersfield., Calif. 10 Ground
30 7 Jan 4! l ~ T Lockbourne AB, Co1umbus, Ohio 1
30a 7 Jan 4g 1925EST Lockbourne,!B, Columbus., Ohio l Oroum
30b 7 Jan 4a 1915EST Lockbourne AB, Columbus, Ohio l Ground
30c 7 Jan 4g 1940 Lockbourne il, Columbus, Ohio 1 Ground
31 mid-December early a.m. Northern Arizona l Ground
1946
32
32 not stated after dark Columbus , Ohio 1 llr
7 Jan 41! 133&.l'T,OO"' Oocbnan Field, Ky. (south of) 1 Ground
7 Jan~ l4000ST Godman Field, Ky. 1 Ground
7 Jan~ 1320CS'J.' · 0odman Field, Ky. 1
.
33c 7 Jan 4g J..420 CST 2100 from Oodman Field, Ky. 1 Ground
33d 7 Jan 4a Gedman Field, Ky. 1 Ground
33e 7 Jan 4g J..430-1600 Godman Field, Ky. 1 Ground
331' 7 Jan~ Godman Field., Ky. 1 ~
l ,l -
l ,
33g 7 Jan~ 11!54-19()6 lladi.eomi-1.le, Ky. ~ Ground
I.
34 13 Oct 47 05}0 l4 mi1es north of Dauphin,
J.lanitoba, Canada ~ Ground
35 12 Nov 41 GQ'l.Jr a.m. ticonderoga at sea (40 miles Boat
south of Cape dlanco, 20 miles
o£f shore) \
\ \
I
CONFIDENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 5 ---
.
DIOIDD'f
;w.
- vu~FIDENTIAL
lo. a...nect
rra
Is, 12111:. r,ooat1cm SMaatfd
,6 Jot Stated lot Stated !oilt, Idaho 1 Ground
,1 12 oot 47 1200 Oa•• Creek, Ar1■ ona 1 Qro\md
,s 10 Jun 47 lot Stated !udape1t, Bung&J"1 1 Ground
,9 9 Jlll 47 2,,0 Onnd Palla, levtoundland 5 OJ"ound
40 7 Jul 47 1600 Phoenix, Ar11ona 1 Oroun<S
1 Qro,md
•n 11 JUl 47 lot Stated lltndort J1eld, llatlta
42 12 lUl 47 04,0'L BltndOl't J1eld, Alatll:a 1 Oroun4
I
43 29 Jun 47 1645 Clll"1on, Ion 18 Oro\lDd
28 Jun 47 1~, Roekt1tld, W1■cou1n 7-10 Ground
"-5 28 .Jun 47 Afternoon n11no11 7-10 Ql"0\1DC2
46 22 Jun 47 11,0 Ortent1eld, 1111, 1 Ground
47 6 Jul 47 lot Stated 1a1rt1tld-6uilm Air S.le, 01111. 1 Oround
48 7 Jan 48 1920-1955 V1la1Jllton, Ohio 1 Ground
.
48a 7 Jan ,s 1925 111111.ngton, Ob1o 1 Ground
1910&ST V11111ngton, Ohio _,,,.,.• 1 Qrowu1
481> 7 Jan 48
4& 7 Jan~ 19,0 Y1la1Dgton, Ob1o 1 Orcnmd
-84 7 Jan 48 1920-1950 111.111ngton, Ohio 1 ll'ound
9 Jan 48 2,00-2,15 J>aJffi 11e , ltntllolq 1 Qroimd
~
50 10 Jan Ji8 2200 11lcSVood, In Jei-■r, One at tb11 Orouad
date, PNT-
1wa17 1 ..oh
27 Deo,, JUI
all at 2000 o 1oloek.
51 'Sept lf 1215 on.ao, oneon 12-15 Ground
29 Jul 47 1450 1181111 ton 11eld, Cal1torn1a 2 Oroad
52
,,. 29 1111 •n Atter 1200 llllilton Jield, ca11tarn1a 2 Ground
53 28 Jan IJ7 1515 Lake Jllead, ore1on 5~ Air
22:50 Jorth Sea (50 ail•• troa 1 Air
54 16 Jan IJ7
tbe Dutch coa,t)
BIJ'llCffl Pield, ltvtoundland l Orolll\d
55 2:, Jul 47 o,45Z
--- PAGE 6 ---
IAo1c1ent
- -CQ~F~DENTIAL
- lo.
simaa
Ob1enec!
?fe, 15a. us. Looat1on D:99
56 6 Jul 47 2945 1-10 Gi-oan4
57 20 lul 47 0015Z Abou-c! the BUl'aeo (at sea 1 Boat
one hr. troa 874ne7, Autft11a)
58 4 Aug 47 BYeJWII Bethel, Alaska 1 Ail"
59 14 Se»t 47 055ae1T Reeter Ialand 1 ill'
60 10 Jul 47 1000 Oor4707, Canac!a 1 OPOUDCS
61 8 Sept 47 22:,0 Salt Lllce Cl tJ, Unb 12 Ground
62 8 Sept 47 22:S0~:S00 Salt Like Cit7, Utah 5 Sl'0'QP8 Ground
eaoh oan-
ta1D1Dg
:S5~0
01:tJecta.
6:s 29 JuJ. 47 1205 can,on 1em, llontana l Ol'om:ad
64 19 Aug 47 2130 Tv1n Jalll, Idaho A.pprox. Ol'oun4
55.
65 2 Jun 47 lot stated Rehoboth Beaoh, Delevan 1 Ground
66 10 Aug 47 2100 811Yer 8pr1.ngt, Ohio l Ol'ound
67 llJ. Aug 47 1600 Placemlle, lalitornia 1 Ground
68 24 Jun 47 Hot 1tattd Cuoa4e lountaiJ:aa, 6 Ground
Pwtlan4, 01-egon
69 6 Aug 47 22,0-2245 Ph1l.a4elph1a, Pa. 1 Ol'Ound
70 6 iug 47 1045 Ph1lt4elph1a, Pa. l Ol'oand
71 8 Oot 47 lot 1tatecl Laa Vega■, leYa4a 1 Ol'Ound
72 lot atate4 Jot 1tatec1 Port R1obardl0J1, Alllb 1 Ol"oand
7J 4 Aug 47 1600 Boston (101111e1 n) •••· 2 A1r
74 24 .JW'l 47 App. 1500 •t. A~IU, ftlh!ngton lot stated Ground
75 1, Aug 47 1300 saote Rl•er aaix,on, Idabo l Ground
76 1:5 Aug 47 Jlornlng Salaon Du, Ic!aho 2 Ornnd
77 :S 11117 47 1s,~ South BrookYille, Dine 10 Gl'O\IDl2
78 :,o Jun ~7 0910 JIST Oran4 ClllQ'on, AP1aoaa 2 ill'
79 Apr 47 1100 ES! R1oba0nd, V11"g1n.1a 1, other■ on Grcnmd
other ooou1ona
--- PAGE 7 ---
coNriBcNTIAL
lno1dent Jo. °'8tl"Ytd
19, em.. Looat1op SUhtn rrw
80 1 Ground
81 7 Jul 47 0900 Biokaa Jield, lava11 1
82 171117 47 2030-2100 0klahOllll CitJ, OklahOJII 1 Ground
83 9 hl 47 1217 Bo1 ■t (Between Boise and 1
hr1d1&n) Idaho
z, 84 7 Jul 47 l:500•140<Bft Lakeland, Jlorida 5 Cll'ound
85 1200 Portland, oregon 10 Qromd
86 6 lulJ ~7 lot ■tated Hollywood, Cal1tonia l Qro,md
87 lot ,tated •ot 1tated HabMrbi1hopehiOJ1 {20 mile, 1 Ground
zx, r tb ) Go rm.any
88 S J.ug if Atternoon Baokenaaok, a. J. l Ground
89 6 Jul 47 lS45 lanaae City (100 miles west), l Air
Ke.neaa
90 29 Jun 47 1500-15:SO Lae Cruoe ■, !low Mexico l Groun4
91 28 Jun 41 2120-2146 Maxwell Pield, Alabama 1 Ground
• 92 lg Jun 47 l2l5-1Sl6 Colorado Springe, Colorado l Grcrund
ll Jan 48 l 1650 Harttord, Coumot1cut l Air
!O Deo 47 l926PSf Between Great l'alle, Montana l
and Pairfield, Ca!1tornia
95 SO Dec 47 l926PSf Rosedale, Oalitornia l A.ir
SO Deo 47 1926 Lov•look (30 m1lea weat), leTae1& l Ground
97 30 Dec 47 1926PST Between Medtord and •t. Chaata, l A1r
Oregon
98 2 l(oT 47 Daybreak Houston, Texas l Ground
~ Jan 46 lot stated Vasea, 11nland l Ground
100 5 Jan 46 lot 1tated Pretaraa&rl, F1nla1'ld l Ground
--- PAGE 8 ---
Incident
No .
Observer ' s
Occupation
• Jo1aneuvers Heatner
1 1st Lt, UJAF 1lone - horizontal fl1gnt IiOt stated
la :,/::,gt, 0::i,v' 1"ot stated .,ot stated
lb Uninown t-:et stated l1 ot stated
le s/sgt, USAF Not stated ~!ot stated
ld Pfc, USAF Flying in tight circle !fot stat'3d
le ~fot stated Horizontal anrl tipht circles !lot stated
2 :Uaj, USAF Descended from an intennediate Not stated
altitude in an oscillating
fashion almost to the ground,
then started climbing again to
a very high altitude and moved
off slowly in the distance.
3 liajor, USAF Oscillating in a downward twirl- Not stated
ing movement
4 Capt, USAF Falling at three times the rate ?!ot stated
of a parachute
5 Patr olman, ?ortland Dippi nP, up and down in oscillat-- Not stated
Police Dept. ing motion
6 Sgt, Oregon Police Following each otner Clear with little
or no cloud f orma
tion
7 Patr olman, Por tland Not stated Clear with little
Police Dept., former or no cloud forma
Air Force pilot tion
Patrolman, Portland Str aight line formation; last Clear with little
Police Dept. Pri disc fluttered very rapidly in or no cloud for.na
vate pilot side-way arc tion
Patrolman, Portland Strai~ht line fonnation ; last Clear with little
Police Dept . ?ri disc fluttered very rapidly in or no cloud forma
vate pilot side-way- are tion
9 Capt., Harbot pilot Discs wo'.lld oscillat e and SOl11131-' Not stated
times a full disc would be vis~
ibl e, then a half-moon shape,
t hen nothing at all
CUiqfiDE~~TIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 9 ---
Incident
•oo
ObaerTer' s
Ocoupad.on Ka.neunra
• Weather
10 Capt, United Airlines Straight-away horizontal flight lot stated
ll Coast Guard Horizontal flight Kot stated
12 Deputy Sheriff Mot stated Not stated
lS !lot stated Not stated Bot stated
14 Sot ste.ted FUppi ng around Mot stated
15 Jot stated Not stated Iot stated
16 Mot stated Hot stated Mot stated
17 Private pilot Straight horizontal flight Clear as crystal
18 llot stated Horizontal fli ght Clear
19 Farmer Straight course - were flying Cloudless and
about a city block apart. one sunny
behind the other
20 lot stated Straight course lot stated
21 lot stated Single file Rot stated
22 Wot stated Flashing Bot stated
23 !lot stated Horizontal flight •ot stated
24 lot stated Shooting up and down Clear
25 Not stated Hori&ontal flight Bright moonlight
26 llecba.nic lot atated Not stated
27 TWA Representative llot stated Clear
28 Lt Governor lot stated Kot stated
29 ffest Coe.st Pi lot. Bot stated lot stated
7000 hrs.
30 Ca.pt. USAF. Asst Climbing and descending ver- Solid overcast
Operations Officer tioally
0
30a VHF/DJ' Operator Hovering, made three 360 Overcast. 1000 ft.
turns around one place. Moved
to another position and circled
more. Turns required 30-40 seo.
Diaaeter estimated at 2 miles.
--- PAGE 10 ---
- cor~FIDENTIAL
Incident Observer's
loo Occupation Maneuvers Weather
SOb Traffic Air Controller Bobbing up and down Overcast
30o lot a~ated Climbing and de~oending High overcast
Profe11or and Bead Mone Clear
or Aero Kn.gineering
32 Lt, USAP Bone Overcast
T/Sgt, USAF Jone High acattered olouds
Visibility unlimited.
33a 1,it.,Lt, USAF Bone High scattered
PFC lone lfot stated
33c Capt, USA1 Kay have been turning High overcast
with BIS
33d Capt, Us.Ar None High ecattered,
vi ei bi li ty unlimited
Col, Ky. State Police Kone Clear
3:Sf Capt, USAF (Plight Not stated .Not stated
Leader •a 869)
:S3g Unknown Mot stated Not stated
34 Judge Bone Clear
35 Second Officer.Wavy Mone !lot atated
36 CAA Official Sot stated Rot stated
37 Pilot Kone Clear ..,-.'!
38 Hungarian Peasants Not stated !lot stated
39 Constable a.tVU. ~ d
40 Not stated Spiraled downward f'rom 5, 000 Cumulus clouds
to 2,000 f't am then went
upward at a 450 angle
--- PAGE 11 ---
41 (;J~iadJENTIAL e
Ine14ent Obaenv'•
lg, QoogtS,on •entuur•
1'1 Colonel. USU . lot atated
42 . .jor, USU Jo\ atated
4, Bua Dl'"1"1" lone
"4 lot 1tated lone Jot ltated
IJ5 lot 1tated lot 1tated Jot atated
46 Wot 1tat.d lone Cloud Nnb.
~7 Captain, usu lolled frOII 11a. to lid• Jot ttate4
48 KaJor, USAJ uoerMlillg 1na deNen41na lot atawd
48a !/Bgt Up and down and 114• w lid• Cold and eleu Wi'll
t .. 11attffff 1101141.
Cpl. .lao•Ddtnc and 4eaoendbll r.t&bt aoattezaed
oloudl 1'11:la bait
tOIIU'dl S/1.
leeendina and deaoendiag ••'17 Clear nth onr•
np'idl7 eut 1Jl S/1.
48d lot stated laoendlng' and deaeendine
..
49 lot stated lone lot lbttd
50 En.1.ttlng deatan.er Approaohil!a llhON traa Ooean then lot stated
Pile and tall 1lovly.
51 Jot 1tated lot stated lot 1tawd
52 Capt, USU, ASS'!. Bon.aonal lett to ri&ht, ri&ht to CltlP
Opentiona ottieu 1•tt l i b • cuard 1n an a1Pplane
~ inawuotor Pilot fOl'Mtian.
52• lit Lt. 1n Air SSll1lar to a ti&hter aiNNtta lot stated
Il•••ne• t01:1Mr aueu.•r• llben u e ~
B-29 Pilot heaT1.eP 1h1p1.
lit Lt, UW, Pilot Boruoul ftJl7 elon tCll'Mtim lot 1tated
Moaquito Pilot lot 1tat1d
G<JTernaent Bllplo1•• A)rupt 4atl Bieh toattered
oond1\1on Tie1\111'7
15 a.ilea.
'rNTel1ng in a detillt't1t are. lot 1tated
CONFIDENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 12 ---
Incident
110.
Ol>aeryer's
Opomtion
- IM!¥I8 £1 Yt•Hitr
57 Bridge Corustruct1on Bot stated Clear and dark.
58 Chiet Pilot- Not atated lfot auted
Plying 1er-,1oe
59 Pilot Hone Rot stated
60 Storek:eepel" lot Stated Clear at duak
61 Kot stated lfone Wot stated
62 lot stated Not stated Cloudy
63 Hot stated BOYel"ing and fluttering, 1'1S1ng Scattered aull
and deecendtng. olouda,
64 Executive Direct- Hor11onal OnNalt
or ot Housing
Authority.
65 P1lot lfot stated Not 1tated
66 Lt. Col, QSC Horizonal Pl1.g?\t lfot 1tated
Sc1ent1t1c
Branch Research
Group.
67 Insurance Adjuster None Clear
68 Prospector Banking Cleu
69 Not stated Hot stated Not 1tated
70 Insurance Agent Not stated Clear
71 Capt. AC Reser-,es Not stated Clear
72 A1!S1 0tf1ce1' Not stated Cloud to1'118t1on
1oattered abOYe
10000 tt.
73 lavigator Not stated 5/l.O acattered
(Conatellat1on cuaulus vith
type ail"cNft) tops at 10000,
Y111b111ty 10
a11H.
74 Prospector Standi.nc on edge and banking Mot 1tated
1n the clouda.
75 Trout Parm Oper. Rode up and dovn oyer the hills Mot stated
and hollow ot the canyon tloor.
76 County COlllliaaioner Hot stated Rot stated
It
NND 927545
--- PAGE 13 ---
In.ctdent Ob ■erTer'•
Ko, Qo9upgt109 Manemrp J!eather
77 Astronomer Not stated lot stated
78 Lt, USI (P80 Pilot lot 1t1ted lot ■ tated
79 Weather r-,o7tff Rot 1t1ted Clear
80 Lt. Col. USAP Jot ltated Scattered clouds
Y111b111t7 10-12 ailea.
81 C1T11 Service A1oendtng slowly
bplo,ee
82 P1eld Bngtn,er Bot stated lot stated
83 Pilot Slow roll or barrel S<ae clouds
~ Sign Painter Cl1Jlb1ng Clear ...cattered cloud•
85 Pl'1Tate Pilot lot stated lot stated
86 Hot 1tated 'l'm"ned a corner and seemed Clear
to roll.
87 U. S. Army Descended slowly and then ~ot stated
dropped in a spiral motion,
88 Not stated Not stated Not s tated
89 Major, USAF dot stated
90 Administrative Asst, Not at~ted Clear
Rocket Sonde Section
91 Captain Trave ling in zig-zag course Clear
92 Railroad Employees Climbing, diving and reversal Cle ar alld 1unny
of direction whioh happened
enry few aeoonds.
Capt, USAP Shooting toward, the eaat at Not stated
45° angle
L~ Col, Hq, EPlf Descending vertically - aeaned •ot 1tated
to slow down on nearing the
earth
95 C-47 orew Not sta.ted Not stated
96 Bot stated Bot stated Not stated
97 Airplane crew Not stated tiot &tnted
98 Immigration Service Appeared to be spinning in lot stated
its descent
99 Not stated Bot atated lot stated
10 0 lfot stated ?lot stated Not ata.ted
IL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 14 ---
Incident
llo. Color
• Shape Size Sound
l Silnr,- Not stated Not stated Mot atated
la
lb
lo S11Tery Saucer shaped lot stated ■om
ld Retleoted the •un' • Diac llot stated ltot atated
raya
le Silvery Diec •ot stated None
2 Ahai.num colored Thin metallic ob- Puraui t eh1p Mot stated
1urface jeot, unconventi on al
ah11pe
s Ye llowiab-llfhite Spherical 5 - 10 t't, dtaaeter lot 1tated
4 lihi'te aluminum Dietinct oftl out- 50 tt.
J.1m; ta> projec-
tiona on upper sur-
face which llight
han been thick
fine or nob1. Tne,e
croaaed each other
at intervals, 1ug
ge1ting either ro
tation or oaci lla•
tion ot alow type
5 lot 1tated Round .Not 1tated .llom
6 1'h1 ti ah-brown Diac Jllot atated Jllom
7 J.lumima Di1e Mot determined lone
8 White Dile Out ol light be !tone
fore det&iled ob
Hrfttion •d•
Sa 1'hite Diec Out of 11 ght be Mone
ror• detailed ob
aen-at1on made
9 Like s hiny ohro Di,o Mot 1tated !lot stated
aium hub cap
10 .bot 1tated Thin a.nd a.ooth Not stated Jot etated
on bottoa, rough
appea.rinc on top
NND 927545
--- PAGE 15 ---
II~· ,DENTIAL
Inoident
llo. Color Shape She Sound
11 ffbi t e Saucer Jlot stated ~t stated
12 mot atated Like tlock ot •ot stated Low hmmdng
geese aound
13 Resembled •tallic llot 1tated lot 1tated l ot atated
lt Lin a new di•• Like a nn dime Like .. run, di• lot etated
15 Sil•er lilot atated lot atated llot stated
16 Not stated Not stated lfot auted
17 ltirror bri t ht Approximately Diameter equal to lot atated
circular. no tail di atan ce between
outboard enginea
of DC 4:
18 Jellow llot s t ated Not stated
19 Reflected the 1un Like ci ga.ra - Jlot atated Mom
brilliantly 11uch longer than
wide
20 Silnr Round About 12 inches in Mone
diameter
21 Dirty 1'hite Betwe.n circle 175-2 50 t't. dia:aeter Like electric
nnd on.l - in 12 ft. t hiok motor or dy
••rt•d aa.uc er nmo
22 Shiny d l nry Slim body Quite large
Bri ght and sil•ery Ral t-circle Not atated Not stat ed
24 Gli&tened in av.n Too far away to Too far away to lone
dotenune ahe.pe dete nain. ahape
25
25 Luminous Plying saucer - lot atated lot atated
DO tai l
26 lot 1tated lilot etated Jiot sta'ted lot atated
27 Silvery Citoular in shape Same apan •• C-54 Wot stated
' like a wagon whee l at 10. 000 rt.
28 Not etated ·eomet-11ke Not stated
29 !lot stated Almo1t round lot stated lot stated
50 White (.light) dot stated lot atated !lone
NND 927545
--- PAGE 16 ---
vbV~r IDENTIAL
lnoident
No. Color Sha.pc Size Sound
30& Amber Round or oval C-47 airplane Jliono
!Ob Bright white to amber Cone-shaped. blunt Rnonnou•
on top and taper
ing orr toward
bottom '
30c White lligbt) RoWlld Comparable 'to run- Bone
way light
31 White Not stated lot stated ltone
52 Amber Mot stated tiot stated !lone
33 Sun flashes on metal Roughly circular At the distance and lone
or metallic altitude the object
appeared ~o be the
size of a11Ter dollar
ffll.1 te or luminous. Round teudi og to Unknown - altitude Iona
·rurnod to be more be conical a.na distance too
red aa the aun aet great
~ot auted Cone. topped with Jot stated lone
red
:53e Si lver with shadow Raindrop Unlcnown - believed lJnJcnoa
to be lar~
53d 1'h1. te Round at time• - Uneert&in because
cone ~haped of distance
53e lfhi. te Round l/4: she full moon lone
33.f l(atallio Bot stated Tremendous
SSg "lfot stated Cone 100 ft. high. !lone
43 .rt. acrose
Redish tinge Round Large gre.pef'rui t Ion•
35 Fire oolor Ball liot stated llot atatecl
36 )lot stated Bot stated Mot at&.ted Bot stated
Reddish with blue lot stated S ft. from point of lone
background.. Black view
with white baokground
38 SilTer Ball .Not ate.ted Mot stated
NND 927545
--- PAGE 17 ---
GONfHltJ'TiAL
Incident
lo, 001or Shape ~ Soupd
39 Phosphoru1 Ba-shaped diaoa lot 1tated lot atate4
~o Gray El11pt1cal 20-,0 tt. Ho11e like Jet
airoratt prior
to 1ts appell" -
~ .. No
audible sound
beai-d 11h11e
object va1 1n
Yiev.
"1 Aluaim"- Round 3 tt. diameter lot atate4
~2 OH.yilh Balloon 10 tt diaeter lot 1tate4
1'-3 Dirty 1'lite Between a o1.role IJ1d 12 tt thiolc and llectJ"ie Jlotor
an oval (ln-.erted 175-250 tt diameter ordynaao
sa~er)
44 lfot atat.d Jlyina Saueers Wot 1tated none
(not actually des-
oribed as being
this shape)
lJ-5 Hot stated Rot stated Hot stated Bot stated
46 Silvery vh1te Round Small lot stated
47 No detin1te Bo detim.te shape C -51'. airplane lot deterained
oolor top due to the noise
ai(!e l"etleot- ot airplane.
ed 11ght.
lf.8 Red PllUli.ng Red cone Wot stated Rot stated
IJ.8a Bright light CirculU'-like a •tU' Ve17 lai-ge cOlll)U'ed Hone
ohangi.ne to 1n tbe ak7 only luga. to an aeroplane 11,;bt.
red then to
White OI" J"•llow
48b Red - ldltn Cone Hot detel'llintd Jot 1tated
descending
Red men IIO"fin8 lot atated Kot 1tated lot ■tated
then grean and
black to red.
48d Yellow or tlame Rot 1tated lot stated lot 1tated
colored.
49 Not atated Pencil shaped ob3eot !lot ■ tated lot stated
t
--- PAGE 18 ---
cot~FIDENTIAL
Incident
10. color Shape Si•e sound
50 Stated aa Referred to aa aauoer Kot stated Jfot atated
queer 11.&ht. but not stated as being
ot thie detinite shape.
51 11lver Bomd Not stated •ot •tated
52 llhite. ah1Dy Circular like a ball 15-25 tt Diameter !lot atated
en the bott011 but not
completely round.
521 ■ilk mite Bot atated •ot stated lone
53 Whit. C1roular 36 inches diameter Rot stated
54 Rot atated Not etated Rot eta,ed Not stated
55 RecUab lot stated Bot atated None
56 Dia glow ot Round 2 :tt. d1aaeter Hone
light
57 lfot stated Kot atated
58 Blaok Saucer (not det1n1tel7 Larger than C~4 Not stated
1tated •• being tbia airplane
shape)
59 Incandescent Hot stated Not atated Hot stated
11Cht without
appreciable
blue and no
redd1eh tinae.
60 Plame oolor Diec shaped (the 11'ter Barrel Bead, dinner Wot stated
glow •de 1t look like plate am the aise
a oone) ot a plane tl71,ng
hi&h.
61 White ancS Bot stated Sue ot Pigeons lfot 1tated
111Ullinated
62 YelloV1ah Bot stated 811811 Mot stated
vhite
Gleuaed and D1so (not actuall7 , rt. a1aaeter and lot stated
Shialered stated aa being ot ot no great th1ok•
this shape) neaa.
64 Color 111111ar Kot stated lot stated Hot stated
to eiectr1c 11.&ht.
65 lot ltated Bot stated 15 1nohea diaaeter lot stated
66 Bright onnge lot stated lot atated Hot stated
67 Jllutal col01" top 1urtaoe al1ghtly IJ.-6 tt 1n le~h ll'ot stated
h1ghl7 po111h- ournd-larger 1n front 4
ed chi-Ollium. than 1n the rear .
NND 927545
:~e :O-l 1nchea liOMflDENTIAL
--- PAGE 19 ---
flDENllAL e
Incident
Col OJ'
•
I
Shape UU. sounc1
68 Hot stated D1eo - appeare~ to have 30 tt d1aaeter lone
a tail.
69 White lot 1tated Not stated Bussing sound.
70 Not stated Giant til'e cracker Kot stated Bu11DI aound
not aa loud
aa a rocket
Ship.
71 Rot 1t1ted Hot 1t1ted lot atated Not stated
72 Silver Sphere( nt not like 2·3 tt diameter Rot 1tated
1auoer or diac.
Deep Gold 1111pt1oal 15 tt long 2·3 tt lot atated
1n length.
74 Bot stated Tapered lbarpely to a ,o tt. diaaettr Hone
point in the tront end.
75 Slq blue Oblong like a broad rill 20 tt. lona am Kade a
hat with a low crown. 10 t,. thiolr. av1shiq sound.
76 Not stated Jot 1tated Hot stated Lite the eoho
ot • aotor.
77 Light colored Only oonerete evidence 50•100 tt lfide. Loud roar
or tora appeared on the
lett tangent ot the group.
78 Light gray e1rou1ar 8 tt. diueter Bot ■ tated
79 S1lftl' Bot atated Lu•er than a Not atated
Pibal balloon When
obaened through a
theodolite.
80 Retleoted vh1te "Blob 11 SMll ail"plane Hone
light.
81 S11Yer Large Balloon With silver Large lot etated
d11c below it, no attaebing
' cables vere noticed.
82 Proa t7 ltbi te Round and tlat Equal to b\11.k ot A 1l1gbt
6 eaob, B-29 air· mahing.
planes td th dia ..
•t•r to tluomeas
ratio ot 10-1.
83 Black Round 'tVtnt,-.f'ive cent lot atated
piece.
--- PAGE 20 ---
, .DENTIAL e
Incident
110, color Ship,
84 Sb1Jm7 Road lot ltated lore~ le11
SbJ-111.
85 Bot 1tated Reseabled the D5U•l. Jot 1tated lot 1tated
86 Not 1tated lot atate(! IOt ltated lot stated
87 Jot S1t&ted Bot stated lot ata.ted lot atated
88 lot stated 1lying di ec (not ao )lot 1t1.ted lot atated
tual ly deaoribed aa
being ot thi• aha.pe)
Ro\lDd di,o ahaped object 50-60 rt. diameter bot at&ted
Refleote4 Unitonn with no protu Hot atatad Bot 1tt.t1d
light berano•• euoh •• wing•
of an airplane
Light lot atated Not stated looe
92 Silver lot ,tated S-11 lloli ata.ted
Bluish center Appeared to be a di10 Reaembled ~ shooting Not etated
·. rl th rod on at~r; however. ob-
its edgH aervera not oertain
!ot atatad lot 1tated Not stated Not ,tated
94
Not stated Kot stated Bot stated
95 Not stated
Not st:i.ted Hot etated Not stated Not atated
96
91 Flaah of Kot atat•• Hot stated Hot atated
light
98 Bright light Ahaoat round or perhaps 2ti-30 miles diametor lot etated
oval or aauoer-ahaped
Brightly ehining object lot atated Bot atated
99 Shining
with long td 1
Wot ,tated lot atated !lot stated
100
NND 927545
--- PAGE 21 ---
-COt~f\DENTlAL:-
Incident Exhaust
- e
Speed lffect on Cloud•
No. Trail Heading Altitude Ft.
l t:one 320° 1000-sooo rt. ~00 mph lot at&ted
la.
lb
Not stated liorthwest 7500-8000 ft. ~50-400 mph Hot stated
le
ld f.ot stated northwest 7000-8000 f't. 300-400 mph tlot atatod
stated tiorthwest 6000 rt. 300-400 mph ~ot stated
le tlot
From very near Not ste.tod llot atated
2 tot stated Not at&ted
the ground to
vory high
frost to east 10000- 12000 rt. 200- 225 mph )lo-r; stated
3 Not ata.ted
Not stated North of due Under 20000 ft . Slower than Hot stated
4
east lllAXimUDl speed
or P- 80
Bot stated Two flying Bo'\ stated.d Great speed lot atated
5
aoutb - S
flying ea,t
llorthweater ly Undetermined Terrifie lot stat.d
6 Not stated
Southweat 50000 fto Terrific - lot stat.cl
7 None
faster than
any object
ever seen
by him
South 40000 tt . Terrific lot atated
8 Rone-
Jlone South 40000 rt. ?errifio Not ,tated
8a
S01..-th High over Terrific lot stated
9 Not atated
Globe Mille
Northwest llot stated Cruised for Not atated
10 !Jone
46 min. at
oonventional
airline apeed
(180 mph) then
rapidly dis-
appeared
llot stated .ttoi; a ta. ted
11 Not stated OTer north end lot stated
ot Lake 1'o.sh-
ington
CG."f,DENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 22 ---
F1DENTIAl
Incident
Bo.
E:xhauat
Trail
•
Bee.ding .lltitude Ft. Spoed Effect on Cloud.a
12 Wot atated Hot stated Not atated lot • ~ d Hot at&t.<l
lot atated 3 west to Did not appear Tranlini BO llot ,te.ted
eaat. l north Tery high taat they
•ere out ot
eight in eaat
in 2-4 aeoonda
14 lot atated lot atated JloT1ng slowly llot atat.d
onr aandy
dletr1ct
15 Iot 1te.ted l beaded High Sot atated lot atat.d
s outhea1t.
2 headed
north1a1t
16 lfot 1tated .lot atated lot 1tatad !tot atate4 llot atated
17 lot ete.ted north to IOUth 9500 rt. Not 1tated lot 1tated
about 17<i'
18 Trail atreaa- aeenronr Jiot atated Not stated Hot stated
1ng out be- weatend
him like of Toronto
vapor trail
'beh1m air-
plane on
misty day
19 Lim alight eat to east One 11.ile high Very taat Bot stated
trace ot steam.
Disappeared
1m::nediat•ly.
20 Not atated Southwest About 1500 rt. Faat llot stated
21 Rot stated ~.N.W. 1200 ft. About SOO lot atated
mph
22 Bot stated S.W. ot S. 7000 tt. Slower than lot atated
two-motored
U1lY plane
23 Not stated !lot stated 5000 tt. lfot ate.ted lot stated
Cloud-lie 8outheut Very high Very tut Mot atat.d
n.por - re-
tained shape
a.nd persiated
tor onr an \
hour
NND 927545
--- PAGE 23 ---
CONFIDENTIAL e
Incident
Ho.
B.xhaust
Trail
•
Heading Altitude Ft. Speed Effect on Clouds
25 Wot stated Bast High Fast Not stated
26 Bluish-black Not sta.ted Bot stated llot stated Cut a clear path
throup cloud•
27 Bluish-black Not stated 10000 ft. Fast Seemed to out
15 mi. long 0loud1 open
28 Not stated Not stated Not stated Did not Bot stated
moveo
Seemed to
go below
horizon
with rotation
of earth
29 Not stated 10 flying High 300-400 mph Bot ate.ted
north; on
reverse course
there were only 7
30 None (ap- West 3000 Slow Bot stated
peared to
ha.ve bluish
streaks out
t'rom aides
Five times 1200 Prom .,ery near 500 mph Jlot stated
..' length ot g?'Ound to 1000 rt. a,tter 1 t
object atartecl
to le&"ff
n.e1n1ty
S0b Small streak 8.8.Wo bceeding Bot ate.ted.
trailing object 600 aph
300 Wot stated Kot atated di!teNn.~ al• Jfotionlesa lot stated
titudea ;
~-~------
SI White., heavy West to eut 20000-50000 ft. 600-~00 mph Bot 1ta1;ecl • •
32 lone Stationary 3000 tt. Stat1anary "lone
33 lone lone visible Unknolm nom n.aible Ione
33a Jfone 210° from Extremely high Stationary !lone
Godman Field
None Not stated Not stated Not stated Bot sta:t;ed
NND 927545
--- PAGE 24 ---
.. Ino14ent
Jo.
Ezhautt
Trf1l lta4w
COhFIDENTIAL
uutud• rt,
- Sptfd lf(n\ op Cln4f
)lot • ••n Apptlll'ed to be Very h11b. Appeued lont
''° ■ tat1onaJ7 . to 1M
1tat1ozw-y.
?lont 210• t'Poa Uncei-tain- Stationary.Could be seen
''d throuab oi.ffU
GodMn Jld. ••PJ higb.
,,. lone 210• t'Poa
Oodllan Pld .
25000 tt. Stationary.lone
,,r lot atated Approx. 210• 15000 tt. 500 IIPh lot atate4
frt• Oodllan Jld.
,,s Not ■tated Southw■ t ~ aile• lOJll)h lot atated
,4 llcmo , Vest to nat lot stated Speed ot a lcmt
aeteor ar
tallinC a tar.
,5 81.N• ot IOJ"tbwaterl7 Rot atated 700-900 IIPh lot atated
tire.
,6 lot atated lortbeaat Jot atated lot atated Jot atated
,1 lot 1tated lortheut aooo-10000 tt. 350111'h lot ■ tated
,e lot 1tated lfa,t stated JIOt stated lot ■ tated lot 1t1t.d
39 Ion• Bait ,0000 tt. V0'7 ta1t lot 1tated
40 Kot 1tated Appeared troa 5000 tt. ~0-600 aph lot 1tated
nOJ'tbeaat.
41 Jot atated South lot 1tated Great lot 1tated
42 lot ,tated Borihweat 1500 lOOaph lot 1tated
4, lot 1tated 11rat group 1200 ,oo mph Jot 1tat14
S S/£, 8HOnd
group 1/V.
44 lot 1tated South lot 1tat1d hat lot 1tate4
45 Jot stated lot stated lot stat•d lot atat•d lot 1tatecS
46 Jot stated lortbwta tff1,1 1000 , ••tel" lot 1tated
than an air•
plane.
IJ7 Jot etated 80'1thfllterl7 10000 J'uter 11ml lot 1tate4
•ftT aiNratt
h• ba4 rnr
•••n.
Ga1eous green 5/V llhtn 1t Mot stated Gained an~ lot stated
a11t. lett the 101t alt1t•
'f'101D.1 t7 • NND 927545 udt at a
te1"1"1t1o nte.
60111 1uENTIAL
--- PAGE 25 ---
n
u NTIAL
?no1dent Exhauat
10, n:,11 leaflN Att1\Jde Pt. Spefd Btteot on ClOlldl
4aa ver, tatnt S/1 llhen 1t lett lot 1tate4 Lett Jfot stated
emaut trail the Y1t1n1tJ. T10in1t)'
llben 1IO'fing. at nr,
h1gb 1peed.
Gl'eenlah S/W ldlen it lttt lot 1tated lot stated Not stated
111st 1hen the TlO 1n1 ty.
deaoending.
lot 1tatect 210 degree, lllben 15000-20000 lot stated Hot stated
1 t lett the Tic -
1.nity.
~d lone Approxblately 1l'011 4000 to Slow Not stated
due nat lalen 1t Ter1 hi&b.
lett the T1o1n1ty.
49 Lon, trail Vest Very hi&h lot atated lot stated
ot Doke.
50 Kot stated Shor•wrd Rot atated but Slov until Bot stated
•aid to be OTer land
quite close. then higher
speed lfbile
leaving.
51 Hot atated lot 1tated High Hot stated l ot stated
52 Bone Soutbnrd 8000-10000 JCade a P-80 Hot stated
look llke 1t
wu motion-
leH 1n the
air.
;
52& Wot stated 120• 6000 Approxiaate- Not stated
lT 150 aph.
53 Bot stated 120• 6000 285 aph. Not stated
5~ Bot 1tatecS Borth Sea to 22000 Equal to Not stated
lortolk or greater
than • Brit-
1ab Mosquito .
55 lot 1tated DE 10000 Rip yel• Not ■ tated
oc1t7• 1tated
to be taster
than conyent-
1onal airplane.
56 •ot lt&ted Soutb saat 2000 tt 500-600 mph.Mot atated
CONF1DENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 26 ---
»ioldent Bxbauat
lo, m11
•
lltfflPI
CO~rlDENTIAL
il\1'1\4• ,t. ltt1s\ on 212'94•
57 lo\ 1tated DZ <,o• I ot ,o• ott the Jli,tl .el.. lot 1tated
true IOJ'th on llor1son at 001t7, 1ta-
bor1.Sonal plane. an ••t1111ted wd toM
1,A 1111• rap. taatu t:bUl
• tnoer
\,ullet.
lot 1tattd 1/W 1000 510 apb. lot 1tattd
58
lot attted ,50- later 9500-10000 1000 lmota lot atat.4
59
ohaJll•d to
1or.
60 Liabt tlae JPrca 1/1 bead- 6000
oolor. 1DI Eutwrd.
2000-,000 raster than 1'0t 1tated
61 lot 1tated lorthern ,ua,.
62 Jot atattd lot atated &e-nral Jl1&b rate lot 1tated
thOUlud tt. of 1peed.
lot 1tattd lortheaaterly 3000 TrandOUI Jot stated
Speed.
Jot 1tated lortbeaaterly lot atated terr1tlo Jot 1tattc1
64
lot atattd Weit to la1t 1000 1000•120011>h lot stated
65
Low Required ,-4 lot 1tattd
66 Lone atl'a - lorth to South
tsht '4\itt 1econd1 to
1treak 11.ll- tnffl 70•
ilar to th• an.
1treak left
by• traoer
bullet.
White bail lot 1tattd 500-1000 Tnr1tlo lot 1tated
67
of l■Okt.
Wot 1tated Southea1terl1 6000 lot 1tated lot 1tattd
68
Thin 1treaJc South lot 1tateO Vff"f t11t. lot stated
69
of gl"e7ill\
color.
Bitber 1aokt 1B to SV 1000-,000 a.oo,oo 1ot 1tated
70
or conden-
eat1on laat-
SAI 2 1eoonda.
7ooteoo lot stated
71 Jilt)' hav• Southeaat then wot atated
been IIIOkt t\ll"Jled and vnt
or npor net.
t r • 1nttnae NND 927545
■i,eed WI
aiaoet wit•.
--- PAGE 27 ---
r~eE·~flAl:
Incident
lo.
llxhauat
ffiil
-
Bgd1ng
~hr
iiUuii i i
41t1t1»4e Pt,
•
Sp••4 Vtftt op Qlouf•
72 Iona South Below 10000 'flteaendou Jot 1tated
1, lone Ba1terl7 7000 175 IIPh Rot 1tated
approxillatel1
110• -,netio.
lot stated •ot 1tated Jlot ■ tated Oreata
thd&ft7•
thm, n•r
Witneaaed.
75 lone Baat to wet 75 lot ,tated loi atated
76 lot stated Bot 1tated 4000-6000 lot atated Jot stated
77 lot stated Jfortihwat(Trut) •ot stated 600-1200 lot •ta'-4
78 lot stated 8va1&ht down. Deorna1Jlg tr• Inaono~nblt lot stated
approi111atelJ
25000.
79 Jot atated Batt to lfe1t LIii t.ban 15000 Jot atated Kot 1tated
80 Jone southeast Lesa than 500 CCIIIPUttd at lot atawd
·1:550 IIPh,
hOWffJI IP•
pelNd to
aOTe "1th
tbt speed
ot • Jet
11.Jlcntt.
81 lot stated • ortlnreat 6000 lot stated Bot stated
82 lone ,5t• 10000-18000 Tbree t1M1 lot 1tated
that ot a
Jet atrontt.
8:5 lot 1tated lot atated 11000 lot stated lot atated
84 lot atate4 lortbeaat 7500 lot atahd lot 1tated
85 Bot atated Borth 8500 35011Ph lot atated
86 Jfot etated IOJ1thard lot stated lot 1tated Rot atated
87 lot stated Not etated trom 6000 lot stated lot atated
88 lot stated lot 1tated 200 yards 110vhig ra,- liot stated
?idly
89 llot etated Eaet 11000 210 mph JIJot stated
NND 927545
CONFIDENTIAL
--- PAGE 28 ---
11JcnTIAl
Incident Bxh&uat
lo. Trail Beading lltitude Ft. Speed Ureot on Cloud•
90 One w1tneH lor'therly 8000-10000 lot atated lot atated
thought be
eaw Tapor
traile
91 lot stated Diaappear ed Great height High rate lot atated
in the aoutb- ot apeed
weat
Jlot stated W.at Abon 1000 Oreat a pffd lot • tated
Dropped troa Iot atated Ver, high lot atatecl
sight on north Telooity
aide of •t.
Tom near
Holyoke. MaH.
Green and Deaoending Ter- Prom lSOOO 'fery high liot atated
blue tleaea tioally rate ot
apeed
95 Se..-eral color• Saatwa.rd Very high Jlot atated
ot r1..... - rate or
red and green apeed
predomin ating
96 lot stated Bot stated 1200-1500 lot atated Hot atatecl
97 Wot stated 1'ot atated Mot stated !lot etated Mot atated
98 lot stated Jlot atated lot at&ted lot a tated lot stated
99 Mot atated lreat to eaat tilot stated lot stated llot atated
100 Grey streaks Borth to aouth lot atated .llot stated lot atated
were left in
eky
.
NND 927545
--- PAGE 29 ---
lfOtE: Inc1dent f 18
It has now been d•tini t•ly determined that both tho photograph
and story were t. hou:, perpetrated tor publioity e.nd aooey.
Incident #8•
The peraon malting t he report on thil 1nc1deat was detsrainod to
be &n excitable person, ••r/ talkt.tive, and poaseaaing a.n ex
a ggerated.. iugination and 1nol1ned to iJlpreaa people with his
continuous uhatter.
NND 927545
--- PAGE 30 ---
CONFIDENTIAL
REPORTED DIRECTIOIS OF PLIGHT
D
5 I
2Z
34
Circling 16 s
Straight down 5 • 1'he re an undetermined number ot ob
Directi on Indefinite 64 jecta ware reported the minimum number
Direction lot Stated 61 of object& are pl ottedo Same object
reported by di !'teren t p,ople only
shown oncto
NND 927545
CONFIDENTIAL
--- PAGE 31 ---
,
NND 927545
--- PAGE 32 ---
--- PAGE 33 ---
eCONFIDENTIAL
•
Identit1c&tlon ot Subjeot llatter (a, per ••Pl•)
IIOU 11CIT 19 Feb 48 l
l. Reterenoe 1a ade to th• £11&1 tann b7 llr. Rhoad•• (In.oident f,40) which
••re tonrarded tor exuination. Tb• tollcnriq data ••r• dtri·Hd. froa a atucly ot
the 1peciaen1
a. It ia oonoludecl that th• me• ii of tne pbotogn.phio m.ture, and
1• not due to 1~rteotion1 in th• nul.S.011. or lack o1 deTel opaent in the ■ to
tion in quHtion. Th• im.c• •xhibit1 a "tt.11" indicating th• pn,per t)'~ ot
di1to·rtion due to the tne ot 1hutter u1ed, tht apt.cl of the o'bj•ot and tht
fixed •peed. of the abutter. Thll trailing ott oontona, to th• g.ntral intor••
tS.oD gi T~ 1n th• report.
l>. Th• nport 1tatH th• objeot na •••n a.1- approxiat•ly 2000 t••t
at tho t i • ot expoaure. !he obaerHl" allO report, bein& abl• to Ht oltarl1
t. oanow of •nolo1v•. !h• Tiaual aoui ty ot an aTerag• perao!lf'woulcl allow tor
thi• peroeptioa, bu't oH•te:l Illy not auoh t'\ll'ther •• 'the 1ubjeot Md low fl nal
ooutraat, being cn.y againat a C!'&T •~• It•• ou e1tabl1ah the 41,teoe troe
o&aora ~o 1ubjeot, •• Will h&Te quntlty ,fl. !he report 1tate1 tha.t a 820 oaatrt.
n.1 u,.ct, in4ioat1ng Hnn.l po111Mlli1••• ti.not tht 620 ia ooa111cle.tur• for the
•pe>oli~ a.114 width ot the til.a •• aay h&Ye mptiT•I 2t' X 2t", 2f X ~ a.n4
2-t x 4f'. The aaapl• aubaitte4 ha.cl been out and it wa1 not po11ible to Ht&blilh
the 1xaot traat dse. !be 2t x 2f' Iii• waa rul•d out, 1-anrc 2¼ x st" a.nd
i¼ x ~ . It 1 t ftre th• ro,...r, them. the tooal leqtii ot the 101 would be •••
an4 uelisg 2000 teet ... the approid.u.te aubj•ot diatanoe and the lagt dH at
1/M•, .. ban an app,onaat• ••se ot '4 t••• a, the cllagonal of the objeot.
low 1t wa ohoo ■• the latter n.lue ot a• tor t.,eal length, •• h&Te an approxi•
•te T&lue ot' &&• tor th• cliagon&l. Poln-t:1 ot meaauNaent are 1ndioated troa .
x to x on lxhibit ••••
CONFIDENTIAL
NND 927545
--- PAGE 34 ---
•
" NND 927545
--- PAGE 35 ---
•
NND 927545
--- PAGE 36 ---
THE AEROPLAtlE
I
FEBRUARY 13, 194& 18S
#
The Biolo! of the Flying Saf cer- I
The Story of Low Aspect Ratio Aircraft
By A. R. Weyl, A.F.R.Ae.S.
EVERAL MONTHS AGO peo ple o n both side.. of the o ther hand. the U.S. Air Force considered the matter seriQU\
S Atlantic rushed into print wnh claims of having ob~erved
queer saucer-shap ed aircraft which new very fast . Some main
enough to warrant inve..tigation s into the incidenis which had
been reported.
ceased
tained, indeed. tha t they had seen ,quadron\ of , uch mysterious In the meantime. the occurrence of Flying Saucer\ ha..
ob{"ccts; others described vividly how these celestial saucers v.ere to be new\. P resuma bly. the~ have all landed. [A new crop
ab e 10 descend vertically. All agreed on the \aucer-hl.e , hapc. wa<; reported in Tur AER0PLANF for J anuary 16 la~t under the
Sceptics considered that, for non-aerona utical people ltv1ng heading •• Tuppence Coloured." -Eo.]
far from the former playaround s o f V . I. V.2, a nd all the rest Aerooaudc-al Aotlquities and lniquititt
of H itler's "civilizator y • practices. flying saucer<; might indeed As a matter of fact. saucer-\hap ed aeropla ne.. are not quite
constitute phenomena of threatening aspect, from their experi
ence of domestic disagreemen ts. Doctors, however. hastened to as new as some people have tried to mal.e out. (Fig. I.) Quite
assure the World that saucer-shap ed or lenticular objects could a number of a1rernft have been constructed and nown with
well be nothing more than specks in the lenses of the eyes of the wi11gs of the ring or disc type which could well have been mis
observers- the so-called m11sae 1·0/ames associated with high ta ken for saucers. hat-brims. ~pades, doughnut~. diamonds.
blood pressure. Teetotallers blamed the sorry consequence.. o f Greek letter,. pancal.e\, nat fhh. geometrical symbols. d inner
imbibing intoxicating liquors for the observation s. On the plates, and other entirely non-aeronau tical commoditie s.
Moreover. it is qu ite true. .and not even a minor secret, that,
at present. aeronautica l engineers are paying increased a ttention
to s uch queer wing shapes: disc wings. for instance. permit
ceriain disadvantag es of conventiona l wing\ to be overcome. It
1s even thought that such shares have been neglected too long
1 he blame for rheir neglect can be ascribed to the doctrine
o f the induced drng. When the Lanche..ter-Pranc.ltJ aerofoil
theory became recoi,1nized nearly 30 }ears ago, and \\hen the
!>a1lplane movement proved that slender wings were a necessity
fo r soaring. designe r, began striving a fter .. good .. aspect ratios.
The theory blinded their eye~ agains, the poss1bili11es of other
than convenriona l wings. T hi~. hO\\Cver. was not the fault C"f
the theory.,\\ Prandtl soon sho\\ ed its restrictions.
We have now come 10 reconsider the matter of wing shape
in an objective way. as it is quite possible that aircraft design
is approaching a cul-de-sac ~o long as it retains it~ bias in
- - 6 - - - -~
==~
Apttro.l
1
L-- .I_ _°'
_ _ __ _,_ ' _'°' _1_ _ ____,, - r . : - - i , (b I c 6)
OCl5S • stCTIO!'I
\ ,pa"
C chor4
\ )(•-,lod a,u
Fig. 1.-" Turbine flying machine" (project) of the Munich
engineer Gustave Koch, 189311894. Tailless monoplane of
low aspect ratio. propelled by a ducted fan. A SO h.p.
t SquHC'
...~ ,
steim engine wu deemed sufficient for th is flying motor
car. The design of the duct shows intelligent anticipation.
Fig. 2 (Right).- Definitlon of the aspect ratio of an aerofoil.
L ...._______.
I- b , __j AR • 0-1
l t t
The arrows signify the direction of the air flow against the
wing. The terms pteroid (feather-like) and apterold have
ttt
been introduced by F. W . Lanchester.
NND 927545
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\ I
THE AEROPLANE 186
FEBRUARY 13, 1948
C..HlUr of the "well-tried " convention, .. normal " wings.
For the c reasons. a study of. the hi\lory of the u'IC of low
asp,.-ct. rat,o) m wing de:.11n will be of interest.
Sp1ruually, the fathers of uch acronauucal exhibits were
Ens!"hmen. 1 hey were people of good reputation ttnd by
no _me.ins suspect o( aerodynamic perversion.
F. W. Lanchcstcr was undoubtedlf the first acrodynamici ,t
to g,~e thought to aeroplane winis ot circular or squ.irc ,hapc.
lo ht) bool.. publl\hcd m 1907, he referred c'<prcssivcly 10 ~uch
"aptcrold" wmii hnpc~ {F1a. 2) i,nd advanced the view tha t
Nc11.ton's law wa, valid for these. 1he correctncs; of th i~ Fig. 3.-A simple experiment In annular .ierofolls.
vie\\ wa~ c~pcrimentally proved 30 ~cars later.
In a prev1ou\ article on " Stalling Characteristic s of Taille-.s
Aeropl.rne~ •• ( lttE AFROl'LANI:. for August IS. 1947), tl,e early
mtcrc-.t tal..cn by F. <i:iow Sir Frederick) Handley Pa~e m the
stalling quahucs of wmgs of low aspect rauo was mentioned.
He showed, 10 a pap~r read an April. 1911. that marginal vortices
and pressurc-equa lmng flow a round the tips were respon~iblc
for the delay of flow separation which h.id been obmved at
high incidence).
He stated. in this connection:-•· . .. With planes of high
aspect ratio _(I.e.. with slender wings of normal span chord
rnllo), \here " not the same facility for the " feedmg m " of
f_rcsh air at the plane sides (i.e .. nt the wing tips) 10 act as a
l~nk between the plane and the live stream. and therefore the
live stream leaves the plane's b11ck at .in earlier st11i;e than in
the ca,e of the plane of lower aspect ratio. . . ." He then
sho11.,ed_ some experimental evidence for the delay of flow
separauon with decrease of the aspect ratio and for the greater Fig. 4.-Prlnclple or th• Huth annular-biplane system.
maximum lift of such wing~.
. When Lanches.t cr published his bool.., man was ju~t begin
nma to_spre~d his wmgs. and in order 10 fly with a minimum main wing. the tailless aeroplane is created. For all these
ellpend1ture m power, wini:s of fair aspect ratio were a neccs arrangements. the condition is that, in the case of a wina com
s11y. Neverthele\s, there were a few early aeroplanes. notably pmed of normal (unstable) aerofoil ~lions. the stabilizin&
the little :· Demo1~lle •• monoplane o f Santos Dumont (1909- aerofoil exens a certain leverage in relation to the centre of
19 !0l, which had an aspect ratio of only 2 and proved to be gravity of the aircraft.
qu Ile \Ucces,ful. Another possibility is to combine two lifting winas so that
One o( the earlie~t attempts at a genuine •· apteroid" 11cro they will stabilize and balance each other. For this purpose, all
plane was an experiment by a German architect, Flick-Remig that is required is that the front wing shall possess, at all inci
( 1910). It had a span of 7 j ft .. and performed in hops only. dence, of.flight, a greater effective incidence than the rear wiog.
In other words. the centre of gravity must be nearer to the
Annular Aerodynamks le.iding wing than to the traili9g wing, and the whole arrange
ment must be balanced accordmgly. In this way, we arrive at
A ,1mple experiment with ~ome paper and a pair of sci,sor; the conception of a stable tandem aeroplane.
shows that the ~inl..ing speed of a circular disc loaded with a If we now take such a tandem arrangement and sweep the
paper clip is decreased when a hole of suff1e1ent d iameter is cut leading wing back and the trailing wina correspondingly forward
out in the centre (Fig. 3). This justifies the development from so that the tips of both wings merge into each other, we obtain
the circular d1-.c wmt; to the annular aerofoil. The theory of an annular or ring-shaped wing system. Aerodynamica lly, it is
the phenomenon i~ still somewhat obscure. of minor importance if the shape is actually circular or oval,
(Having tried thl\ experime01. we can confirm that the char or 1f triangular or quadrangular sha pes con,titute the wing. For
acteristics of an annular aerofoil are certainly very d ifferent ,implicity's ..ake, in all such cases considered here, the term
from those of the plain d1-.c aerofoil. Our own experiment, .. annular" 1, appl ied.
11.cre admittedly somewhat lim1ted in scope and we were unable As mentioned, the aerodynamics of such shapes cannot yet
!O form more than an imprc~10n of the relauve sinking ,peed,: be considered as fully established. But it i, proved that longi
II did, howev~r. arpcar to be le,~ with the annular aerofoil. Our tudinally stable wing systems can be obtnined with such shapes.
mam conclu\lon, w•!re that cutting a 2.25-in. diameter hole in Some type~ relying on such wings have shown quite remarkable
a .5 37S-in. diameter disc. resulted in a much flatt.e r glide; the llying qualiue~. It is also pos,ible that, with annular wings. the
,tall 11.,1, not ,o abrupt. and the stability in the glide wa, induced drai; i, less than with conventional wings of equiva
1mpm,cd. We were so fascinated with the e>tperiment th.it we lent aspect ratio.
hope to repeat u ,U a later date on a more ..c:1entific levcl.- Eo.) In common with circular wing,. annular wings have the
fhe conven11onal aeroplJne " constituted of two ba\ic aero remarl..able property that the lift force ,teadily increases with
frnh: a "ing (,, h1ch ,uppl1e~ the lift) and ri tail (,, hich balances incidence up to fairly high values without a stall. For all
and ~tabilize~ the wing). We I.now that \Uch a n arrangement I.no" n arrangements the maximum lift seem, 10 occur at
o.f the 111.0 aerofoil compnnenh i, by no mean, the only pos incidences exceeding 30 degree,. A, ,uch h igh angle~ of
\tblc one. The balancing .ind st11b1lmng aerofoil (tailplane) incidence are not likely 10 be reached an flight unintentionall y.
need not to be aft of the lifting wing a, a tail. It can be It 1s obv1ou, "hy annular wings have become renowned for
arranged anywhere 1n relation to the wing. e.g .. above It, belo11. their good-natured flying charac1eri,1il:,.
it. o r in front of it. Another property of annular wings (first establi,hed by
If the balancing aerofoil i, in front o f the main win~. the aero Tilghman Richard,) i, that the centre of pre,sure of ,uch wing
plane i~ of the tail-first type. and if it i, attached to the ,y,tcm, i, nearly stationary in flight , or that a travel o f the
centre of pre,wre can be obtained which i, po,itively stable
unul incidences o f the order of 18 degree are reached. In
fact. no case of longitudmal in,tabihty ha, ever been reponcd
w11h an annular wing. although the centre of gravity has often
been located d:ingerou,ly far back.
The fi~t annular-wing aeroplane dates bacl.. 10 1908. It
h,1d little succe\\. Two type, 11.ere con~tructed m ,ucces\ion
tu the de,1gns of a capable German aeronautical engineer, Fritz
Huth. who "as by profe\\1on a teacher at a technical ,;chool
( f-tg,. 4 and 61. The ,econd type. which had a less elaborate
a1r,crcw drive. flew in May. 1910: it wa,. however. ,o devoid
of performance. in spite of a SO b.h.p. engine. that it was soon
,1f1erv.ards d1..carded as a hopeless proposition.
Britain'~ Fir..1 Doughnut
The Bri11,h concepuon of the idea has been for more
,ucccs,ful. A, it i, cun,1i1u1ed, until now. the best tried
reprc,cntativc. it~ hi,1ory may be given somewhat more
c,1cn,1vcly.
Ihe ori~mal idea for an annular-wing aeroplane came from
(,. A K itchen. m about 1910; he con,tructed a b1pl.1ne with
Fig. S. Kitchen's doughnut of 1911 . rini:-,haped wmg,, but made no progrcs, "ith it. The stable
NND 927545
--- PAGE 38 ---
FEBRUARY 13, 1948
-
flight of K itchen's models. however. convinced Cedric Lee
that an aeroplane of such de~ign would be a succes,. 11nd late
in 1910 he acquired the patents. At the same time, G. Tilghman
Richards, who was a qualifii:d aeron:iutical engineer, became ,
~uffic1ently interested in the mailer to give up a budding
engineering bureau in order to join Cedric Lee and 10 devote
187
·JUI· tl?,!i m
THE AEROPLANE
hib energy 10 tbe idea of a ·• safety " aeroplane.
Tilghman Richards began with systemat ic experiment, on __.._
models and on large gJiders. Later, careful wind-tunnel test~ -:'x:
(including the o bservation of the pressure distribution) were - -'-
made by him in a :!-ft. tunnel he had constructed at East London
College and al~o in tunnels-of tile National Physical Laboratory.
The preparation of the design was, therefore, uncommonly
~-ardul for this early period of 1911 - 1914.
In o rder to ap(>reciate the intention~ for the development, the
following quota11on from a paper read by Tilghman Richards
in about 1912 is illuminating: -
... . . 1 he ve ry fnct of high lift occurring at small angles
rreans the provision of large area for l•nding speed resulting
in an inefficient altitude of the plane at high speed: and the
inherent instability of curved aerofoils means a continual
dependence on extraneou, controls carried at some distance
f_rom the wing by heavy and redundant Structure. . . . High
lift at small angles il> u~eles~. likewise h igh lift/ drag ratio at Fig. 6.-Huth annular biplane of 1909.
,mall an,les, and what is required is the reversal of the normal
type of hft c urve i:iving little lift •lit small angles with low value and Gordon Bell. Finally it came to i;ricf when flown by
of the lift/ drag ratio for landini. . . ."
Seen from our pre.sent state of knowledge and development, Cedric Lee himself without previous training. After a good
fliaht he managed to put it into a river.
a nd facing the burning problems of personal aircraft for the Another incident happened with a subsequent annular
man in the street. it wo uld seem that this opinion is a very
i;o~ argument for further experimentation along the lines monoplane: the elevator jammed anct broke in flight. The
indicated. aeroplane merely pancaked to the ground, again preserving
_The. experience with _powered aeroplanes was at first beset the health of i~ pilot, E. C. Gordon England.
with disappointment~. Famine P_oint, Heysham, was apparently These types in their final form had lateral control effected
no t a spot from which aeronauucal experimenters could derive by differential deflection of the elevators. It was realized that
any comfort. this elevon control was not very effective for lateral manceuvres.
The original Kitchen biplane with a 50 b.h.p. rotary engine yet the lateral stability of the wing proved so great that the
was wrecked by a gale, during I 9 I I. before flight tests could provision of ailerons seemed superfluo us. The loneitudinal
b~ m~de. After recort~truction some flight~ were performed stability was always satisfactory, once the centre of gravity was
wtth 11 at Sho!eham <!~ring 1911- 12: yet it never gave any properly located. Because of the great inherent · fore-and-aft
pr~~f of superior q~ah11es. The biplane had ailerons o f the stability, a separate elevator was, at o ne time, located on top
or1gmal Farman variety between the wings. Very soon the of the vertical fin and permitted the fitting of special ailerons.
biplane arrangement w!1s given up in favour of the monoplane. For directional control a vertical rudder was attached to the
A subs~quent experimental monoplane was nicknamed the stern of the fuselage at the trailing edge of the wing. A form
" Sccret-C1rct1: Plane ". ~r "Doughnut,'' the experiments being of tricycle undercarriage was employed.
shrouded agamst pubhclly (much against the interests of the - In respect of perfo rmance, the wind-tunnel tests indicated
dev~lopmen!), This annular-wing aeroplane (Fig. 7) was that a better lift/ drag' ratio could be expected than with a
equipped with an 80 b.h.p. rotary and test-flown by Gordon comparable conventionaf aeroplane., However, no co nclusive
England on November 23, 1912. at Shoreham. The flight evidence for this has, as,yet, been presented.
was _remarkable and luck>; for the pilot, but. unlucky for the The third British monoplane of this type also had an 80 b.h.p.
precious craft. After havmg flown a large circuit on the first rotary engine. but this time it was located aft and. further, drove
attempt. the pilot noticed, when coming in to land that the the airscrew by means of an extension shaft. Unlike its pre
aeroplane was exceedingly tail-heavy and getting out ~f control d~cssors, ~~ dihedral was provided. and because of this the
the elevator. bei!Jg insufficient. At about 150 ft. above th~ flying qualities were found to have been greatly improved.
ground the inevttable stall took place: but the pilot managed From early in 1914 until the outbreak of the 1914-18 War
~~mehow to drop his mount upside down on to telegraph this unco nventional aeroplane was frequently flown (mostly
wire~ and escaped without personal injury. by Gordon Bell): it was demonstrated before Winston
Wtth the reconstructed and improved monoplane many Churchill in the hope of securing orders from the Admiralty.
s\iccessful flights were made by G o rdon England, N. S. Percival Altogether, 11,000 miles were flown in about 128 hours, a nd
eve~ people not previously trained as pilots were able to
fly 11. In Ma y, 1914. two such aeroplanes were being designed
for parlicipation in the Gordon-Bennett Race of 1915. When
the 1914-19 18 War terminated the work. it had clearly grown
far beyond the stage of an untried project and could have
well been termed a successful experiment with every prospect
of becoming a practical proposition.
In l?l~-10 Tilghman Richards succeeded in persuading the
Air Mm1stry 10 place a n order for a further experiRlental
aeroplane. But a week after communica1ing this decision
Major-General Bagnall-Wild, the promoter of the idea, retired,
and red tape killed an intelligent intention.
It is only fair to record that aeronautical progress has suffered
fr~m the failure to have this develop'ment continued. As
Tilghman Richards stated many years ago:-
.. There i~ no!hing myMerious about th~ annular plane.
It affords high ltft at large angles, ha~ no >urble point and
has ~ good lift/ drag . rati_o for wings with a body. ' The
!Tiachm~ was very fast in p,ght. for its day, and extremely slow
m lan~mg: and there bei!)g three dislinct regions of lift, one
a ptero1d and two pterygo1d on each half-wing. the movement
of the centre of pressure was a resultant of three distinct
regional movements; ,tnd with slight modifications could be
made 10 move in any desired manner witho ut affecting the
general efficiency of 1he plane."
As _mentio ned. th«: c!rcular shape for the wing is not in itself
~ dec1s1ve cha".\c1enst1c. ?reviously. in 1908, A. H. Edwards
invented the ring-type wing with rhomboidal or triangular
shape_ (Brit. Pat. Spec. No. 4519 of February, 1908). An
experimental aeroplane of this type, "The Rhomboidal,'' was
constructed and tested at Brooklands. It wa~ not s uccessful.
Fig 7.-Cedric Lee Monoplane No. 1 of TIighman Richards, 1912. (To ~ conlit1u~d.)
NND 927545
--- PAGE 39 ---
.. ,.
..
MARCH S, 1948
- 279 - THE AEROPLANE
The Biology of the Flying Saucer- II
By A. R. Weyl, A.F.R.Ae.S.
In this series of articles the history of low-aspect-ratio aircraft is recounted and
technical aspects of their design discussed. leading up to their use for supersonic flight.
(Continued from J>Olt 185, February 13 /rut.) qualified aeronautical engineer (Fig. 10). The Willoughb}
THE SECR ET-CIRCLE "CONSPIRACY;• mentioned pre
viously in connection with circu)ar-aerofoil aeroplanes. did
not lack congenially inventive spirits. Early in 1913 an engineer
Delta Co. of London had taken up the development of th,.,
idea in 1931 and sufficient means were available to make rather
extensive tests.
in D ijon. M. Bou rgoin. made experiments with an annular The principle is best described as a tandem monoplane with
wing aeroplane. The tests were unsatisfactory. One feature two aerofoil-shaped parts connecting the leading wing with the
trailing wing near the tips. The "side wings" had aerofoil
of this design was the provision made for varying the wing shape not only in their longit ud inal cross-section (i.e., in the
incidence in flight. direction of flight). but also laterally. This was considered a
More recently, a similar idea was suggested by N. H. Warren characteristic feature and subject to patents. It was claimed
and Th. R. Young (Fig. 8). In 1937 they secured a p atent tha t the vortex distribu1ion induced by such shape gave an
( Brit. Pat. Spec. No. 508,022 of December, 1937) for a non unusually h igh aerodynamic efficiency in spite of the small span
stallable monoplane of rhomboidal shape (i.e., leading wing of the aeroplane. In addition. it was pointed out that the
swept back and trailing wing swept forwards with the wing lips maximum lift was shifted to very high incidences. Moreover.
merged together). This was provided with a conventional tai l the "side wings" should reduce the drag of engine nacelle,
at 1he stern of a long fuselage and a number o f advantage~ filled underneath them.
All this was said to be proved by extensive wind-tunnel
experimentation here and abroad. Designs of passenger trans
po n aircraft reaching weights o f 40,000 lb. were prepared on the
basis of model tests made at the National Physical Laboratory
a nd elsewhere. T he results must have been so encouraging
that a n experimental monoplane with two 125 b.h.p. Menasco
e ngines and weighing 2,540 lb. was constructed late in 1938
(Fig. 11). This aeroplane flew indeed and was even publicl~
demonstraled (including one-engine flight) a1 a Garden Party
in May, 1939. Shortly afterwards the experimenter was killed
in an uneitplained c rash during a flight test.
From pressure plots over the "side planes" which have been
published, apparently trim changes could be eitpected at various
aocidences. These components were thus capable of producing
long itudinal inslability a nd it is not improbable that this and
poor control efficiency may have contributed to the accident.
There was a lso evidence of a stall at normal incidences.
although of a very mild character and with little apparent
decrease in the lift c~fficient (which. however, would not
exclude the presence of fl uctuating lift forces).
11
Fis. 8.-Project by W arren and Young for a liJht twln
en1lned two-seater of 90 h.p. (1937). The elevator is
fitted between fin and fuselage. There Is no tailplane.
were claimed. lo 1943 a model for a two-seater fighter with
tail turret show~ the separate tail omitt~d; special emphasis
was laid oo the triangu lar shape o f each wing and the effect of
sweep was relied upon. N othing more bas become_ known
since however b ut it is worth noting that the proJect had
been'based oa ;ound aerodynamic considerations.
lo 1933 the annula r wing of the German sculptor Antes
created a mild s~nsation bc<:ause ?f the good performance oC
models made to th is coocepuon (Fig. 9).
Some.what pecul iar was the aerodynamic ~onceP.tion of the
=
rhomboidal annular aerop lane of P. Nesbitt W11loughby, a Fig. 10.-frinciple or the W illoughby Delta design.
Another suggestion for an annular wing was made by L.
Peel, in 1944. This. however. was concerned less with the
aerodynamic p roperties of such wing systems than with the
arrangement of two engines facing each other with their air
screws. in order to overcome the torque reacuon.
A phenomenon of which aerodynamic experimenters were
alwa)ls well aware. but which aircraft designers failed 10
u1ilizc, was that wind-tunnel tests clearly proved good-natured
stalling p_roperties of wings having very small aspect ratios.
Yet even m the very e_arly days when centres of gravity were far
too far back on the old box-kites, the square shape of tailplanes.
then unaccountably in vogue, ma y have saved the pilot's bacon
more than once by its refusal to stall under eittreme provocation.
Later on science came and proved that a tailplane of "good"
aspect ratio was more eflkient. It was, but it made the stall
worse when the centre of gravity happened to be rather aft.
The interesting thing is that aerofoils of circular or square
shape were tested in the early days at incidences up to 90
degrees, while o n normal aerofoils tests were restricted to rather
Fis, 9.--Model of the "annular wing " ~f Ant es. 1933. small incidences onl y. generally ucluding the range o f stall.
NND 927545
--- PAGE 40 ---
THE AEROPLANE 280
e MARCH S, 1948
argument against disc wings. The best aerofoil sections in use
prio r 10 about 1925 had a plain camber which implies travel of
c > the centre of pressure when the incidence varies; the length of
such travel is linked up with the wing chord. Hence the change
in trim o r stabiluy is. with such aerofoil sections, greater with
large-chord wings. On this consideration of fore-and-aft
stability and control, designers bad some justification for thcir
decision against experimenting with disc wings. Yet quite
useful aerofoil secuons had a lready been used in flight which
\ I \ I had practically no travel of the centre of pressure and hence
I I I I I I d id not suffer from thi~ disadvantage of the disc wing.
\,' I I \,' The whole argument, however, lost its importance imme
diately M. M. Munk proved that very efficient aerofoil sections
could be designed with a completely (or nearly so) stationary
centre of pressure. It is. therefore, right to say that from that
time all conditions existed for a practical evolution of d isc-wing
aeroplanes.
F. Handley Page converted an aerofoil, leaving an aspect
ratio of 6.25, into six square-aerofoil po rtions by five slots.
each parallel to the chord of the wing. By so doing he hoped
to have the low drag of a oormal wing combined with the high
stalling angle of the d isc-type wmg. Although a very
slight improvement was claim~d , the principle was that of
eating the cake and having it too: the induced drag is respon
sible for the stalling properties of the d isc wing and you cannot
have the benefits of the high drag without suffering its disad
Fig. 11.-Willoughby's "Delta 8" experimental vantages. Moreover, in o rder to have the effect of the disc
monoplane of 1938. wing, the provision of mere slots is insufficient. Marginal
vortices need room to deploy.
On the whole, however, the idea proves that at least one
Thus, an observant student of laboratory tests could have practical aircraft designer had realized that there was some
noticed the extraordinary capacity of circular or square shapes thing in wings of abnormally small aspect ratio.
10 give a very gradual, innocent stall, an~ that at v!!rY high There were other. although not quue as well thought out,
incidences. Yet, a part from a few broad-minded experimenters, antecedents of the disc-wing aeroplane. In the tint soaring
no designer drew the conclusion that wmgs of such shapes flight competitio n on the Rhocn ( 1920), Friedrich Richter, a
promised safety in flight, t~oug_h it w~s known f~om ..~rly burly naval pilot o f 20 stone or so, performed on a triplane
practical experience that fly1Dg 10 the second regime, 1.e., glider with wings having an individual aspect ratio of far kss
at the stall, was positively dangerous. than three. H. Hayden secured, in 1922, a patent for a rhom
It is true that spinn ing- Pa rker's "Spiral D ive "-was boidal wing with an aspect ratio of nearly unity, claiming for
attributed. in those days, to high i~cideoces, and that most _of such a shape high lift and good flying qualities.
the lightly loaded rectangular wmgs used at that period In 192S he constructed a glider with a win, having an aspect
rendered the stall relatively. in nocuo us. Howeve_r, :iccidental ratio of only 2.25. The wing was nearly tnangular in shape,
~tailing was then, as now. the cause of the maJonty of all with its apex leading, and a pronounced wash-out towards the
crashes. And the nose dive following inadvertent stalls was well tips (Fig. 12); no lateral controls were fitted. The tailplane
known to be o f the most serious consequences. . with the elevator was fitted underneath the trailing edge at the
Eiffel, Riabouchinsky, D ines, . Prandtl, etc., began the_1r
laboratory experiments on aerofoils of very small aspect rauo
and the results were generously published (how closely secret
they would be kept to-day!). Eiffe l showed that the ratio of
the resultant forces reached maxima for small aspect ratios _an~
that slender wings gave the greatest drag at ~ degrees 10c1-
. <lence, whilst disc wings had then t_he leas) res\stanc_e of _all.
Riabouchinsky proved that the maximum 11ft with d15:C Wl1'!8S
wa~ reached at incidences of the order of 40 degrees. whilst with
normal aspect ratios (exceed ing a value of 4) the maximum lift
took place at incidences of 12 to 14 degrees only. Beyond
c ==---=--
their critical incidence disc wings gave a gradual decrease of
the lift force whereas wings o f normal aspect ratio gave a
very abrupt ; nd unsteady one. 1 he tests by Dines on flat
plates in natural wind confirmed this info_rmauon and that the
observation applied 10 cambered aerofoils as well was also
proved (by Riabouchiosky). 0. Foeppl s_howed frof!l system
atic wind-tunnel tests that a square aerofoil behaves, ID respect
of its lift curve in a remarkably d ifferent manner from one Fig. 13.-A French project of G. Abrial, 1929.
having an aspec't ratio of 1.5, although wall interference and
Reynolds Number may have somewhat affected the results of
the tests. . stern of a f11selage. Flyinf experiments in Styria were said 10
Later, Pra ndtl was eager to point o~t that his aer~fo1l theory have proved satisfactory flying qualities.
did not hold for very small aspect ratios, and that, ID fact, the Some early tailless aero planes, such as certain experimental
induced drag of disc wings was less than the theory suggested. types of Rene Arnoux, had rather stub wings a nd heavily
In sP.ite of this, however, nobody seems to have he~ded the reflexed (i.e., positively stable) aerofoil sections. A 19?9 design
possibilities implied and the " ~attle of the Aspect Ratios" was of G . Ab rial showed an aspect ratio of 2.88, with, however,
decided in favour of slende r wings. . substantial tip discs (which have the effect of increasing the
To be fair, it must be pointed out that there was one senou~ aerodynamic aspect ratio) a nd wind-tunnel experiments indi
I
cated a creditable performance (Fig. 13). Russian attempts,
in particular the parabola type of Tscheranowsky, too, were
experiments with aspect ratios of three and even less (Figs. 14
a nd IS). Their resemblance in shape to the latest designs of
super-sonic aeroplanes is remarkable. .
A Modttn Pioneer
Further intcre~t in the aerodynamics o f disc wings was
displayed by research workers with th.e arrival of Juan de la
Cicrv:i's Autogiro. This was indeed s<>mcthing like a circular
wing, a nd performance estimates were based on the properties
of such wings. Yet the question of stalling stability did not
a rise, bccau~e of the rotor properties.
The real pioneer of the disc wing was a very able American
research engineer of the National Advisory Committee for
Fig. 12.-Experimental Hayden glider, 1925. Span, 19.7 rt. : Aeronautics (N.A.C.A.), who proved capable of following
length, 13·85 rt.; wing area, 173 sq. rt. All-up_ weight, independent lines of development. In about 1930 Charles
310 lb. No lateral control. H. Zimmermann subjected the properties of disc wings to
NND 927545
--- PAGE 41 ---
MARCH S, 1948 281
e THE AEROPLANf
wing , tructures as well as for the pos\lbility of housing every·
thing w11hm a wing.
Hence 1hc1e a re very real design reasons for the preference
of disc wings, quite a pan from the ea~cd accommoda11on of
short-span aeroplanes.
Some R ernurkable Results
Zimmermann establ.shed that the optimum a~pcct rauo "'"~
found bet,..een the values o f 0.75 and 1.5. l he,c value,
include both ,quare and ctrcubr wmg ,hapes. For a g1Hn
win g sccu on (Clark Y) the latter gave the h1gh~t hft coefficient.
1.85 at 45 degrees incidence, compared "uh a value of t.:!4
at 14 degree, mc1dencc for an aspect ratio o f six.
Funhcrmore. an important result "'•'\ evidence that at ~,n
a,pect ra110 of unity hquare or elhpllcal .... ,ng,), and :11 an
a,pect rauo of 0.9 (" mg "11h faired ups), no tendcnc)' 111
... - --
/ autorotauon could be found. A circular " mg (:1,ix-ct raw,
of 1.27) ind c.llcd the po\\1hili1y of ~1urnrntation (1.e., ,rinningl
at incidence\ below that of maximum lif1. 1 he 1nm1biht)' of
,pinning before the actual ,tall is reached is. indeed, e,tra·
ordinary. All these rcwh, r.:fer to te,t• "ith the ( lar~ ,
Fig. _14.-A Russian • puabola' glider of 1924. aerofoil section.
Less establi,hed "as the contenuon th:11 d1..c wing would
11ive improved la11:ral and longuudmal ,1.1h1htv at low incidence,
extensive wind-tunnel investigation and the publbhed reports 1 hi, ..ecm, ,11II 10 be a moot point of the Flyin!l Saucer.
\till form the ba,is of prc~ent development. In places. In Fig. 16, Fig. 17. and Fig. 18 some charactcri,tic result, ,,f
the re,ults confirm, qual1tat1vel)', the experiments made '.!O year~
before. But, as mentioned earlier, these experiments had been
praet1C111ly forgotten.
Zimmermann' s target has been the development of a really
fool-proof aeroplane for amateur pilots. It is no u<,c hiding 7
the fact that in n.:arly all accidents in which blame is attributed
to an .. error of /'udgment" on the part of the p1lo1, th.:
aeroplane is :ietual y at fault. The moq common causes arc
the consequences of inadvertent ~tailing. Once this 1~
completely remedied, the overwhelming majority of accident
will become mere incidents or just fun, and instead of coroners
and hospitals. aircr.1ft manufacturer) and repair shop) will I!
have the benefit
On such very sound lines (which seem to be generally II
acknowled$ed , but still far too often ignored), Zimrrcrmann I I
directed his main attention to the stall ing problem. :;.,
He
;>roved that small variations in the aspect ratio made profound 't
...~
differences and that the shape of the wing tips also had a great 0-,
influence.
At the same time he confirmed that the induced drag of
circular or square wings is by no means as proh1b111ve as the
~.
simple theory of the " horseshoe " vo rtex line would indicate.
He also proved that it was simply the induced drag due to the
predominant influence of the marginal vortices which brou~ht
about the behaviour at high incidence~: the idea that the
••
provision of oblique slots might help in this connection proved,
h owever, abortive.
An advantaae which Z1mmermann' s research brought to
liaht was that disc wings gave less profile drag at small
CIA°', IIC,,O,.
incidences (high-speed flight). because of the reducti on of the -1....____..._
relative thickness of the aerofoil sections. 1 h is drag reduction .,,. JO' -:
has indeed become one of the rr.ain reasons for di.c wings
being adopted for aeroplanes capable of flying at ~reeds at Fl&, 16. -N .A.C.A. tests by C. H. Zimmermann which prove
which the compressibility of the air needs to be considered . the extraordinuy sull1ng qual1t1es of disc wines,
Fo r supersonic flight disc wings seem, at P.rcscnt, to be a
necessity. Alternatively, for a given aerofoil thickness ratio,
!he height avail_able f<?r st,:ucture _and stora1te (J?Ower plant_sl Zimmem1ann·~ _wind-tunnel experiments of 1932 are given. It
1s greatest within a disc wmg; this ma.,es for light and sutr 1~ seen from F,,. 18 that the difference between the mc1deoce
of ma,umum hft and the gliding angle at m:i1t1mum hft
("ma'< •a ma'<) rem:im'I fairly independent o f aspect ratt,,, and
of the o rder of 9 to 13 degree,. 1 h1~ would me:in th.11
the attitude of the . disc-type aeroplane, when flattening out,
would not greatly d iffer from that of convcnuonal aeroplane,
In particular, there "'ould be no need 10 provide h1g_h under·
cama;ies for disc aeroplane, a .. their gliding path 1s steer
Thi, 1s an important difference from "''"IJS w11h lead1ng-cd~~
,lots.
. In P!'3Ctice, however: the landing of disc-wing aeroplane,
~•vcs rise to undercarriage problem,. As the induced dra~
mcrcascs rapidly "ith the reduction of !tying ~recd, when the
aeropla ne flattens o ut prior to touchina·do" n, the ihdtnti angle
.iecpens abruptly. This 1s particularly true of ta1llc..s de"gn,.
and the result •~. a strong tendency to pancake 10 the ground
a, so~n as the p1lo_t fl:\ltcn, out. Thu~ to avoid the nccc\,il)
of litt1!)2 _undercamal\cs able to sta nd the strain of abnormally
high sink mg ~pecds, 1t has been found practical to land "Jtll
powe r on.
For a ta11le~s aeroplane " ith an aspect ratio of three,
M. B. Morgan found that. without flaps, the trimmed l\liding
angle at 160 m.p.h . was th ree degree,: it increased to 17 degree,
at 126 m.p.h .. while the \tailing speed was I IS m.p.h. Thi,
pronounced , teepcn ing of the g)idintt anttle makes a mer~er
, hct""ce~. the aeroplane and the helicopter an attrac11ve
propos111on .
Fie, 15.-A ' puabola ' aircraft by B. I. Tschennowsky. . Another occulia_rity o f . !he di~ wing cstahlished b~
Zimmermann wns us scns111v11y to the , hape of the wing•ur,,
NND 927545
--- PAGE 42 ---
' THE AEROPLANE
and _pseudo-circular and pseudo-square wings thus exhibit
~ignificam d.fferences... 1 his also applies to the ground eff.:ct,
1.e., tbe tand.ng <juahues. 1 he prov1s.on 01 ob11que nozzle
shaped slots at the lips yielded no useful r.:sults. In any case,
squo1re-cut tips Vvere found to be a disadvantage, w11h respect
282
i
c:,_ • MARCH 5, 1948
to drag, as well as to other qualities. 10
Later N.A.C.A. research by F. E. Weick and Robert Saundefs
referred to aspect ratios of the order of 3 1n conncct,on w11h
slotted auxiliary Vevions flaps for the trim of tailless aeroplanes.
This constituted the first investigation o f what has b.x:ome
known to-day as the .. Delta Wing.'' i.e., the combination of
sweep-back with low aspect ratio. Such shapes are of special
interest for aeroplanes capable of flying through the trans-sonic
region. • g
Pancakes Ii la Zimmermann 10
:
0
The results of Zimmermann's research were so ~onvincing Cl ARK I AEAO FOtl SECTION ""'0<
that a number of otherwise quite respectable designers were
tempted into experimentation with disc-wing aeroplanes. In
accordance with Zimmermann's views, all these designs were
intended to be of the safety-first type of privately owned
(i-v-CA ZIMME~MANN,
~l P No ()1) --..
:;
aircraft. This distinguishes the early phase from the more
recent interest in Flying Saucers.
In '1934 Farman was stimulated into experimenting with a
wing with an aspect ratio of only 1.9. 1 his was seen in his o ' - - - - ~ - - - L - - - J L _ ._ _..L._ _...L._......:~,
F-1020 monoplane which otherwise had a long fuselage with
a conventional tail. It was said to have proved very stable
in flight. but was noc further heard of. An experimental
ASPEC T AATIO .,
.,
parasol monoplane with a completely circular win$, a camber 18. -Furthcr results from Zimmermann's tesu shown here
flap in the trailing edge and severely skewed ailerons Wl?.$
also indicate the advantages to be gained from disc wings.
tested in the U.S.A. (in 1934), with indifferent results. It was
shown in flight in news reels.
At about the same time Raoul J. Hoffmann. of St. Peters· seem to. contradict the experience referred to above and it
burgh, Florida, an eminent aeronautical engineer of Austrian w~s aunbuted. to. a ground effect arising from the rak~ of the
origin (known as the first to prove-in 1913-that the r:itio wing-tips. It 1s indeed rea:.onable to e)(pcct that the presence
C '/C 9 governs optimum climb and glide with minimum of t_he ground would affect the formation of the marginal
L D
sinking speed, took up development of the disc-wing aeroplane. vort1c~s to an ex\ent which may markedly influence the
H offmann's Flying Saucer was a tailless aircraft with an beh~v1our of disc wings during take-off and landing. Hoffmann
aspect ratio of slightly over 2. The fi rst type was an ultra· proJected a ousher and a twin-engined version but these types
li$ht single-seater with 36 b.h.p. Later a side-by-side two-seater did not materialize. •
with an 85 b.h.p. Cirrus engine was constructed and flew well; A further development was the Arup monoplane of
the wing tips served as ailerons and the elevators formed part R: J. Hoffmann and C._L: Snyder at South Bend, Indiana. The
of the trailing edre. The aerofoil sectir,ns employed were w!ng _shape ~as v~ry s1m1lar. I~ resembled a semi-circle flying
N.A.C.A. M.6 basically. with N.A.C.A. M.1 at the tips. Both w11h 11s straight side a_s the_leading edge; to this wing, ailerons
are sections designed by. M. M. Munk. The former is a reflexed were added as special ups. 1 he aspect ratio practically
camber section with a practically stationarY, centre of pressure; corres~onded to. that of the previous Hoffmann types. Again,
the latter is symmetrical aerofoils wtth little centre-of-pressure travel were used.
The central structure of the wing, the fuselage and the fin 1 he latest type ~ad it~ _tailplane and elevator separately
was of welded-steel tube; the wing had three spars. This locate~ over the wing tr:11lmg edge (similar to the .. Elytro·
little two-seater }"as stated to fly well and to exhibit ve_ry go(!d plane o f De Rouge!). It seems that the longitudinal control
stability. It seems, however. that the controllab1hty, m at certain incidences was not satisfactory. 1 he ailerons which
particular directionally, was not satisf~ctory. 1 he visi(?n fr(?m formed part of the wing shape and reduced the aspecl ratio
the cockpit must have been very restncted--a moot point wllh • to a value ~f I:15 had a triangular shape and were greatly
all these designs. A speed range from 28 m.p.h. to 13S m.p.h. s_kewed (taking_ into account the obliqui: flow over the wing
was claimed. The empty weight was given as 900 lb •• and the tips). The engine was a 70 b.h.p. Le Blond radial; a tricycle
wing loading was 5.5 lb. / sq. ft. undercarriage was fitted.
One remarkable characteristic observed during the flying
tests of Hotrmann's aircraft was that, when comin(! in to land. With the oilot alone, a gliding speed of 23.S m.p.h. was
the approach was steep: yet prior to the fl lltening out and r~o_rded (lhe wing loading was about 3.3 lb./sq. ft.) and a
just before touching down, the glide flattened. 1 his would gliding angle of 21 degrees was mea~ured, with a sinking speed
of 12.3 ft. ocr si:cond. wh.ch ~an be accommopated by a sturdy
undercarriage witho ut nattening out of the glide. 1 he maxi·
C mum speed was 86 m.p.h .. and the take-off was stated to require
r
l MAJ(
- C jc
l MA.( 0 MIN S secs. in zero wind.
0 MIN Several more Arup types seem to have been constructed
,001----.U---4---1-- -4-- --4-- - - - + - - -~ an_d _flown during 1935. 1 h~ flying qualities were pr.iised
ghding angle~ or I : 2.6 bemg quoted- and the published
performance figures sounded extremely good. Yet, for reasons
never disclosed, the production stage was not reached and the
CI..Akl( T AUl,OfOtL SfCTl()N development ceased abruplly. It is worth noting that Charles
C,.ACA • IP No u,)
Zimmermann himself has taken no part in this development,
..,z
;•f b1;11 he was an interested spectator at demonstration flights
.,,. wnh an Arup monoplane at Langley Field.
~ ~ 60 J
::,., l5
" ... "•r An Italian "Tortelllno "
!i z
"' fl"
J
"<It
~ •>
At the time .of the Arup development (1934). F. Piana
Canova. an Italian, began to embark on a development for a
tajlless aeroplane with a low aspect ratio. In May, 1935, he
"It• 0 It
ti ~
11f 2 secured patents for a rhomboidal wing, one diagonal of which
10
c!, " z coincided with the direction of flight. 1 he ailerons were to
~ 6
t i; be located at the lateral apices. elevator and rudder at the
rear apex. while the airscrew was in front of the leading apex.
Another patent related to bi-convex aerofoils with ducts and
o· • AA
ASP(C f U flO ( •' 1J
control valve~ for the pilot, enabling the latter to neutralize
the negative oressure on the forward ventral surface when at
negative incidences. The latter patent was, apparently, never
Fig. 117.-These resulu from Zlmmermann's wind-tunnel submitted to flight experiments.
tests on disc; wings (1932) clearly show the character!stits
(To ~ confin~d.)
of low aspect ratio aerofoils. NND 927545
--- PAGE 43 ---
MARCH 19, 1948
, 337 THE AEROPLANE
The Biology of the Flying Saucer- III
By A. R. Wcyl, A.F.R.Ac.S.
Previous articles In this series appeared In " The Aeroplane" for February 13 and Morch 5
WofI of0five-·11h1,UNC:anovo1
"'!Cnl
l· L I F-••n S w.:rc made in I unn and at Rnme
project\ {de-.cnbcd m the prcvtom tn\1,11-
ar1de). It " in1erc,11ng 10 note that 1he Canov.1
d1-.c-wmg lype, d id not mal.e u,e of rellc'<ed~ambcr aerofoil,.
S1abili1y ,ind mm could . 1hercforc. be -..:cured only by an
upward, dcllec1iu11 of enlarged eleva1or,.
F.arly in 1935. :in ·open ghdl!r of 1he " Zoegling" t} pc wo1~
con,1ructed by a ,~ ilan firm and M. A. Garbell made fairly
~ucce,,ful l11ghh w11h 11. He reported that the longitudinal
stability (w11h the enlarged eleva1or) wa~ good and 1hat
par.i.chute-lil.e landing, could be performed. rhc lateral
stability ch.i.racteri\lic. however, proved deficient. ~ince a
•• Dutch-roll " motion was experienced: turn, were of quc,tion·
able steadine,,. In this rc,pcct, in~uffidcnt damping 1n foll
and yaw a_re mentionr.d. Wi1h winch-launching, thi~ glider
reached altitude~ of 600 fl.
On 1he ba"' of thi, dc,ign, a ligh1 aeroplane wa\ developed
and the Italian Government financed the conMruction of two
l~~gcr e,-perimental aeroplane~. includmg one with 130 b.h.p.
Gip,y engine. A faial accident de~ribcd as "not necessarily
retlccti~f? on 1he 1echnical _merit5 of the design," cau,cd the Fig. 19.-An American "Flying Flapjack" w ith two engines.
authorities to change 1hc1r minds and 10 terminate this
development. 1 It crashed while under test (1938).
A Return to Child ish Things
Aeroplane, with a long, deep tail affi'<Cd to a smalhpan A third de,ign tin 1938) 1hc "Flcchair" \tngle-,cat fil!hlcr
wing form a development of lhe low•tl'pect wing in another rroiect. therefore. incorporalcd two co.1xial coun1cr•rot.11mg
direclion. Although the overall a~pect ratio is low wi1h such ~tf'>Crcws driven by two 100 b.h.p. engines mounted in 1andem
a n arr.rngemcnt. the wing system i, not tha1 of a di-.c. It is m the long fuselage. 1 he pilot's cockpit was located at the
more akin to primitive kites or. belier, to the paper dart of root of lhe fin, and a single·lrack undercarriage w.is adopted.
our school day~ which. a, we may be able to remember wi1h 1 here were. however, far too m.iny untried feature in th"
some mental effort, exhibited quite remarkable nying quali1ie, unusual design 10 make ii a ~rious proposi1ion. Nothing
and made better use <>four schoolbooh than we ever expt-ctcd. more has been heard of Payen's cffoA~.
A rcpresent:11ive of 1his aboriginal 1ype is shown in Fig. 19. l he ll)Odern ph:ll!e of .1he Flying Saucer aeroplane i,
It crashed during the first tests (which would not seem very charactcn1ed by two d1,ttncl development~. One is the
surprising in view of the; arrangement of engine, and air;crew,). hclicop1er-aeroplane, 1he other is the tranb•\onic or buper,on1c
Ano1her Je,s eccentric arrangement was the French Payen aeroplane. Hoth have bccome:-unforiunately--cs<;entially
single-seat racer of 1935. This was a daring experimental military dcvcl_opment~; the proJ_!re~~ is ~cnce bhroudcd in the
type with a 400 b.h.p. radia l engine. A n improved type, this u~ua I pretcnuou~ \ecrccy Iwhich implies that the potential
time more reasonable--a 70 b.h.p. light aeroplane- was enemy knows everything) v. hile the work is gravely hampered
constructed in 1936. To a very small. conventionally tapered by elabora1c securi1y precautions.
wing, a large triangu lar tail was fitted: the wing alone had The helicopter-aeroplane is not a novel idea. Many }Cars
d ihed ral. and the overall aspect ra1io was about 1.76. No ago, for in,iance, Nicola T e~la (famous for his elccirical
flights have bc.:n reported of one of these Payen aeroplanes. experiment~ wi1h high-frequency phenomena) bccured a pa1en1
but take-off attempts with the ~econd type seem to have for a taille,~ aeroplane equipped with a large lifting air~rcw
sugges1cd that with 1he small span the 1orque reaction of the pcrmi11ing a vertical ascent.
air,;crcw ca nnot be adequa1ely dealt with. In 192 1 Claud Dornier ~ecured a pa1ent for a eonvcnlmnal
1/lO C
- - ·-~
1110 C
f
L
lL: .__ ._ GI
c• t •
Fig. 20.-Llft and
drag of wings of
different aspect
. :~
120
'--- 100
I ,_
0 ratio. (Left) W ind-
tunnel results
obtained
Goettingen , in
at
\
~j 1920; Goettingen
~~
- 80
n ... 389 aerofoil with
10 per cent. t hick-
~ eo t--t--;illt":!'-~ -+7"lr--+--+..-t---c¥~--+~ 19" ASPECT RATIO ness and square
0
.»
... 1 0 1 SQUARE v, ING wing tips. (Right)
~
" A reduction of the
...a:; ~60 + 2
r esults to an
...~ ~( A 3
aspect ratio of
w
0
._u ,o
(t
h • '
0 5
f i v e. by t he
Prandtl Aerofoil
1·
t Theory of t h e
:::; 4l 6 Ind uced d ra g ,
() 7 s h o w s t hat a
~
w s quar e aerofoil
.t (aspect ratio of
-
- i--c one) does not
oQ-"11~t---t--t--:,~o- r-+ ---l- +-~ 20- +--+--I
I
I- 0 i€
I
10
ID follow the theory.
Its induced drag is
ORAG C0EfFICIENT 100) 20 less than pre
I I
~ I DRAG COEFFICIENT < 100) dicted by t he
'-- 20 "h orse-s h o e
0. :
vortex " assump-
I t ion.
NND 927545
--- PAGE 44 ---
THE AEROPLANE . 338 MARCH 19, 1948
• 100 C
t
L
l ...l'
I
100 Cl
t 1,10
I Fig. 21 . - LI ft
curves of aerofoils
~
1IO
i\ ~ ~
AR 1
--;? :a-:
,_,... /
~
LA>-
L,CI"
~
L-/
f
-l -
~· --
. o,."'
O+
..
C
of different aspect
ratios. (Left)
Wind -tunnel
results obtained,
~Vv
100 ~- 100
V in 1920, at Goet•
...-
I
o"'f3.
I tlngcn, w ith
,v
AR~
:z Goettlngen 389
~ eo
IA .
~
80
aero fo i l and
~~
V
t
ASPIC.T RATIO
~ ~" Lu ~ a 1 Aou,hf square t ips. The
V
00
,.I.
,, ' 0V 00 + ? WING
,__,__ absence of stall at
t: 't. . .0. J normal Incidence
::;
v v l,o' / t:
::;
I+ • • Is In evidence, for
'°
J
~ -l.,o'
1,,1" fif (r
ro
t'°I
b
.. ,· -
.o I
~
,__
aspect ratios up
to a value of two.
(Right) Reducing
,,. () the values. by the
., .
Prandtl theory.to
.#J ~ 1 -► (l
o·
cf --<
an aspect ratio of
five, shows t hat
wings of very
10 ° 10 10 • 10 small aspect rat io
I 0 ' I
•NGt[ or INCll)[NC( ( O!GRCES i AN(;l[ Of tNCIO(N(( t OIGRH\ I do not follow the
10 ... IO theory in respect
of the induced
~ Incidence correc•
tlon.
aeroplane with take·off as helicopter {Brit. Pat. Spec. control organs directly in the slipstream of tht: paddle-like
No.161,948). Earlier still (in 1916), the German, F. Bendemann, airscrew rotor... T he twin rudders, too. are in the slipslfeam.
a noted fesearcb worker on a1rscrews, conducted a secret Unlike the V-173 type, the XF-SU· l has an all-moving tail
development o f an aeroplane with a large tilting airscrew surface and the undercarriage is retractable.
capable of rising and descending as a helicopter. The This interesting hybrid has a modern metal structure. Two
development of this air observation post was later discon• Pratt and Whilney R-2000-2 engines Qf 1,350 b.h.p. each (at
tinued in view ot the Austrian helicopter experiments by 2,700 r.p.m.) are mounted within the wing, entirely buried and
Th. v. Karman and Petroczy. cooled by forced draught. Water injection for temporarily
From his early experiments with lifting airscrews, boosting the oower is one of the engine features.
F. Bendemann found that hoverihg without forward movement A special oroblem was the design of a transmission ~ear
could be achieved- when the power loading of the aircraft was which a llows both rotors to be driven from either of the eogmes
less than a bout 9 11,.. / b.b-.p. With fighter aeroplanes, such - this is a necessity in case of an engine failure. The four·
low power loadings were already then being approached1 and bladed rotors are contra-rotating so that there is no residual
operat ional experience bad indeed shown that certain single· torque and are ,eared down to about one-fifth of the engine
sealers could. under favourable conditions, be held in attitudes speed, hence their substanlial diameter. The wing loading is
a pproaching that of hov.ering (later the Fokker D.Vll biplane, rather high. reaching the order of 40 lb./sq. ft.
with a large airscrew, became renowned for this trick 10 air
combat on the Western Front). Attempts to revive the project
~ta la ter date failed. and with the suicide of its promoter (who The Real Flying Saucer ?
had gone into the Civil Service), all interest lo the development Since this experimental t ype was produced, further progress
ceased. • has been made in the development. IL seems that axial-flow
Charles W. Zimmermann, mentioned earlier as stimulator of gas turbines have been installed, and it is quite possible that
the disc wing, approached the conception of the helicopter a combined oropulsion with thermal jet and airscrew rotor
Aeroplane on the basis of his results with low aspect ratio is alt:eadv under test. Wilh this, for slow flight (take-off,
wings. He secured basic patents and constructed during climb and landing) the rotors a re driven by the gas turbines,
1934·35, in the cellar of his home, a man-carrying aircraft of while at high speed the rotors are declutched a nd feathered
bis design. This had a wing of only 7-ft. span, with two and pure jet propulsion is used. This would, incidentally,
airscrews driven by two 25 b.h.p. engines. Due to persistent
engine trouble, no flights were made; the Little aircraft showed,
however. all the C$SCOtial features of the present types.
In 1937 he granted a licence for his patents to the Chance• (
Vo ught Aircraft Division of the Unik:d Aircraft Corporation ~01! 1---1---1------.1---1----1----1
in Strntfort, Connecticut, and /'oined this firm for the further
development of his ideas. t is possible that the public
conception of the mysterious "Flying Saucers" has origmated
from this develo,,ment.
-
Zimmermann's intention may have been the development o f
a safety-first aeroplaoe for the private owner. The U.S. Navy, ;
however, took an interest in the possibilities of the helicopter• 0
aeroplane, and the work done at present is purely for military ~
purposes. In 1942 a low-powered piloted scale model type ,.
V-173 was constructed. This wooden aircraft made many <
flights and proved that the ideas underlying the design were i
practical. Q
The principle is that, at h igh speed and when cruising, the ::: ...- NACA 14 SEC11C)N:~
aircraft shall fty as an aeroplane, while for slow speed and iSV
..,
hovering it flies as a helicopter. Hence the airscrews are at 0-00,
._N• '1·1 , 10'
the same time rotors and must have a rarher large diameter. ~
0
With the V-173 the problem of the prone position for the pilot
i ~
0.~L T!HI
was studied. and there is reason to believe that the latest types
have adopted this feature.
A further step towards the realization of a naval gun-spotter ,. ...
I
-
and a fia),ter for use from aircraft carriers bas been the Chance· ~ T{C
Vouaht XF5U·l single-seater (1946), for which a speed range
~
from 40 m.p.h. landing speed to over 425 m.p.h. has been ~01 0-ll 0-16 ~IO 0 •1'
claimed; in general, it follows the V-173 model. (See p. 185, AU,0r0tL TMICKNESS A.ATIO
February 13.)
The aspect ratio of the wing is lesa than unity. Strictly Fie. 22.-lncrease of profile drq with section thickness, at
speaking, however, it is not a genuine tailless aeroplane because :zero 11ft. The lfnporunce of the tip shape Is obvious.
of the attachment of a trimmmg elevator to both sides ot the The data refer to an aspect ratio of flve (From D.V.L. wind-
wina. The reason for such excrescences is the need to locate tunnel tesu at low turbulence).
NND 927545
--- PAGE 45 ---
0·3
., ...
~ ARCH 19, 1948
r - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - --i~
339 THE AEROPLANE
M. B. Morgan has recently communicated the following
values for the limit of stability at the stall from this araph:-
<=o, Upper llmic of th• Ansl• of Swetp,back (r•lerred
0
to th• l chord) beyond which Hll••tall can be A,poc, Ratio 11.•qulr•d
expected
Ocareu
6S 1
S4 2
46 3
38
2S
14 '
6
8
s ••
It is thus advisable to combine sweep-back with low-aspect
ratio w!1en s~fc stallin_g is required.
. Consaderataon, of high speed lead to a ,imilar combination.
since both feature~ tend to delay the shock stall. We have.
o-a 04 1·0 as ~ res!lll, the rare ca~ i;,f two quite d ifferent aspects of an
enginee~ing_ problem pointing to an identical solution.
1 he incv11able result has been the development of arrow
Fig. 23.-lncrease of xero lift profile drag with thickness ratio sh<;1ped:. more ?r less triangular, . disc wings, termed " Oelta
of symmetrical aerofoil sectldn. The saving In profile drag Is Wangs, _for lhgh~ at sp~eds which are trespassing into the
one of the advantages of disc wings because of their thinner tr~ns•s?nlC velocity rtg1me. Another advantage of such
aero~oll section. (Data from Gerber, Zurich Report No. 6). wings as that when the shock stall occurs. the backward shift of
!he centre of pressure is less than with normal wings. The
induced drag doe, not count quant itatively at tbeg high speeds
explain the extr~ordinary ability of the reported •• Flying Development of such abnormal aeroplane types began i~
Saucers·• to be able to fly very fast and high, and also to hover, 9e:many during the War_. following the progress accomplishedThis text is truncated. The complete file is available at the official source.
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