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65 HS1-834228961 62-HQ-83894 Section 4
65 HS1-834228961 62-HQ-83894 Section 4 — a NARA / Historical document from the U.S. Government's AARO / PURSUE UAP disclosure releases. Available from the official War.gov source.
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~ - -- ;:,i:CT ION 4 62-fHQ~3894 l1£CT!~ 4 SE-RIAL C ~3~-1 85 iRiiS 131-185 PICKE REET ~ ..... Q: 0 r=:. u.. n :t ..... - C :, ~ FBI - CENTRAL RECORDS CENTER 1• ~ .. fll a, HQ - HEADQUARTERS Class I Case # Sub Vol. Serial# ~ 185 ~ ~l z - ~ ~ ! ...., I: ,... ~,== cc CG I ..... . • - ~ ,,,.-- 4 ~ ._ I 0 u.. ,. . ~ 'S ::, ~ ~ ::) 0062 83894 4 131 8/11/1274191 1111111111111111 RRP003IXGX
... , Office > - f Memu,,,,,,,rlum • UNITED ST. v~OVERNMENT TO : DIRJYJTOR, FBI DATE: October 9, 1947 c,JoM : SAC, PORTLAND l SUBJECT:[ FLYrnG DISCS SECURITY MATTER - X. Reference is made to Portland teletype dated September 13, 194?. Records of the Radio Dispatcher, Portland Police Department, reflect that first notice of unidentified objects in flight over the city on September 11, 1947 was received from officers in District 18, which is in the extreme north east section of the city, at 5:21 P.M. The log further reflects that at 5:23 P.M. the radio requested District 14, which is further south, to attempt to locate and identify the objects and that at 5:24 P.M. a report was received from the car occupied by Chief of Police JENKINS, reporting that they had sighted some objects. District 14 at 5:27 P.M. reported seeing nothing unusual in the sky. ROBERT D. ADAIR; 4325 S.E. Madison Ave., Portland, advised that he was one of the two officers on duty in District 18 on September 11. 'lhe car was in the vicinity of N.E. 25th Avenue and Saratoga Court when ADAIR and his fellow officer noticed a number of people looking upward and pointing. Upon looking at the sky ADAIR observed the very bright reflection of the sun on some object which was apparently made of silvery metal. The object was coming from the east and made a wide turn over the city and disappeared to the south. ADAIR estimated its speed at about 150 miles per hour and its altitude at about 5,000 feet. He watched it for a period of about two minutes and during that time it gradually disappeared in such a manner as to appear that the angle was slowly changing, so that the sun was no longer reflected into ADAIR's eyes. He says that the shape appeared to be round but that the glare was so bright that it could have hidden the true outline of the object. '!here was no oscillation visible - only steady flight. ADAIR believes it was an ordinary metal airplane reflecting light of the afternoon sun. , , 1 :mnau:r, 1t'l'-'l J. R. CALDWELL, 7652 S. E. Lincoln St., Portland, Oregon was ADAffi's partner in District 18 on September ll. CALDWELL states that the object appeai red to him to take the same course as that described by ADAIR. He pointed out that the speed, height, and size of the object were difficult to judge, because of the interdependence of the three factors. However, he believes that the object vrhen first sighted was about three miles away and about two miles high. He believes it was traveling at a much greater speed than a conventional aii plane and was a great deal larger. It appeared t o him to be elliptical in shape, and inasmuch as it did not bank or tip he could not judge its thickness. It was of a very bright silver o~ ~ su tanco. RJiJCORDEn i J -i -93 "F~ ~✓::,OH 19 C f 9 COPIES DESTROYED 2 7 0 NOV 18 l 9b4 o l
PD 62-1531
Chief of Police LEON V. JENKINS advised that he was travelling south
on N. Williams Avenue near Russell St., when he and Officer H. s. RANEY, his
driver, received a call on the police radio requesting District 14 to attempt
to observe an unknown object in the sky reported by officers in District 18.
JENKINS observed what appeared to be a round silver object, about 10,000 feet
high, travelling northeast to southwest. It was directly to JENKIN's left ffllen
observed first.
He thought it was a weather balloon.
Further observation con
vinced him that it could not be a balloon because of its speed which was extreme
ly great.
As JENKINS watched, it turned gradually until it was travelling due
south, and as it did so, its shape seemed to change until it appeared to be
egg-shaped. It disappeared in· about 30 seconds.
Patrolman H. s. RANEY stated that when he first observed the object
it was straight ahead of him and travelling straight away from his car.
RANEY was driving south on N. Williams Avenue.
To RANEY it appeared to be just
a glare of sun on some object, and he was unable therefore to tell its shape.
It appeared to be very high and travelling extremely fast. It was out of sight
after he had travelled 4 or 5 city blocks at a speed of about 25 mph.
RANEY
stated that he has never seen an object at such an extreme height before and
that if the sun had not reflected from it he could not have seen it at all.
He believes it could possibly have been a reflection from a large airplane at
great altitude.
ROBERT W. SHAYLOR, 4810 N. Fessenden St., Portland stated that he was
on duty in District 14 with Officer DONALD r'l. CO,JLit{G on September 11, 1947
and received the call to watch for the object flying over the city. SHAYLOR
and COWLING-immediately scaMed the sky f rom a vantage point in open territory
where they could see the entire sky. They saw nothing in the sky at that time,
SHAil.OR stating that they did not even see any airplanes.
A short article in "'lhe Oregonian", Portland daily newspaper, for
September 12, 1947, describes the object as seen by Chief of Police JENKINS and
also states that 11The Oregonian" received several calls from other persons
reporting the object. FRED M. WHITE, Assistant City Editor, advised that the
paper has no record of the identities of the people making the calls.
62-1531
IHK:tkw-- TO ,, c:!Jr--aoM SAC, SUBJECT: te Memor • m • UNITED ST/i JVERNMENT - DATE: 10/18/47 Director, FBI Anchorage ( REPORT OF FLYING DISCS This is to advise that we have been able to locate a .flyer, JA~K, who is employed by the Al Jones Flying Compa.cy in Bethel, .Alaska. It bad been ~ported to Military Intelligence that Mr. PECK and his co-pilot VIN AJJi bad observed sane flying object near Bethel, Alaska, in July, 194 Eff or ts previously to contact Mr. PECK were negative until the above instance. He related that the occasion of seeing the flying object near Bethel was on a July day when the sky was completely clear of clouds, am it being during the early part, it is daylight the entire night. The time of bis sighting this flying object was about 10 FM and the sun had just dropped beyom the horizon. Flyir€ weather was extremely good am he, with Mr . DALY, was coming into the Bethel Airport with a DC-J. He observed the flyiq,; object immediately to his left alli stated that it apparently was observed at approximately the same time by Mr. DAIX am both of them· manipulated the controls of the plane ma.king efforts to miss the object inasmuch as they could not tell in which direction it was going. They made a forty-five degree t urn in order to get out of the way of the object arxi then noted that it appeared to be going away from them. He described the object as appearing to be some flying wing arxi s said that it appeared to be about the size of a C-54 without any fuselage. He could not see any propellor or any exhaust f r om jet propulsion or any vapor trails arxi could not estimate the size due to his failure to be able to estimate the distance he was away from the object. He was flying at 1, 000 feet and stated that he tried to catch up with the object am in creased his manifold pressure to approximately 42 inc hes am was traveli!)g at the rate of 170 miles per hour. ~t.A-,,L '-. cc:::::: He called on his radio to the Civil Aeronautics J,dminis tration station at Bethel, asking what aircraf't was in the vicinity am they bad no reports of any aircraft. The object he sighted vras some five or ten miles from the airport before his arrival and stated that the path did not go directly across the airport. He, of course, could not tell whether the object was making aey noise arxi stated that it was flying at a thousand foot altittrle am estimated travel at 300 miles per hour. It was travel ing in the direction from Bethel to Nome, which is in a northwesterly direction. He noted no radio interference and is unable to describe the color other than that it appeared dark but of definite shape and did not bl erxi into the sky but had a definite, concise outline. a oth he and Mr. DALY clearly observed the object at this time. ~JtJo OR.u,el) ,/ g ~ ii::lCD \bl:1J 8'7T- I ~ \"?:>\ p acr ~rx1•i . ~ O'), ~~~ ( QIJJ!' ~
Anchorage File 100-1406 It may be stated to the Bureau that Mr. , PECK is a well known flyer as well as Mr. DALY am both are known to be very reliable and responsible people• am it appears def'inite that they observed something. The above is being submitted for the information of the Bureau. LOT: I1,1R 100-1406
TO / /j)1-noM SUBJECT: Diraotor. FBI SAC, Albany FLYING DISCS./ A. COURTNEV'.i?ARKER., INFORMAm Reurlet dated 9/25/47• DATE : llovember 1. 1947 .An. Agent of this office contacted Mr. A. COURXNEY PARKER at his resi• denoe in South Royalton. Vermont and he stated that all the information he has con cerning the flying disos he saw. is set forth in the letter that he sent to the Bureau dated September 17• 1947. Ur. PARKER advised that as far as he knows~ no one else in South Royalton saw these flying discs., and that he believes ha saw them inasmuch as he haa wiwmally good eyesight and th.at he can see bees. etc. further than anyone else. He stated that possibly these flying discs '\'18re out 0£ the range of llOrmal vision. Jlr. PARKEB was asked to furnish any additional information that comas to his at'..ention conoa:-;1i~ t.hase flying discs directly to the Air Forces since they now handle matters of this type. RCC:mf's 62-689 .. -- .. .. No further action ia being taken by this office. •JiiOORDD. ' .rm,E'XD 1r.2;.abi'L \ ~ s :I. 31 NOV iQA1
• • Mrs. nu \ llouenber 1, 1947 Sa'J ?ll'-J!L/ • A..1fcCaul 70-33 68th Place Glendale Brooklun, New Tork Dear Urs. l!cCaul: Your lett er postriarked October 28, 1947, has been received and l want ~o ezpress apprectatton to you .tor havt ,ig written as you, d id. S incerely yours, John Edgar Ooover JJi rsc-tor NOTE: This woman rambles on and furnishes no specific information about anything. -~i \\\\~'),i ' \ i~\ ~\.~ s i
.. ,,. B? 9/ /2 November 10, 1947 Mrs. Milo A~u1:·and Elizaootntown, New York Dear Mrs. Durand: Your letter postmarked November 5, 1947, has been received and I do want to thank you for writing as you did . The patriotic motives t'lbich prompted your suggestions concerning the subject about wh1ch you ho.ve written are indeed app1•eciated. Sincerely yours, John Edgar Hoover Director ( COMMUNICATIONS SECTION MAILED 11 * NOV 10 1947 P.M. f£DWL IWREAU OF IHVESTISATION u. s. DEl'ARTtmrr OF JUSTICE
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re/lectsJjtdgewood ts a ~ ~ noucnbcr a, 1947 !Jr. Joseph ./41~nc 8071 69th Auc~~a Rtdgouood Brooklyn 27• llco York Dear !Jr. Ontltnc: t~ Your letter datod llo1.1enber 2:, l9d7_, hao bean recetved. The tnj'.o'l"CUJ~ion contatncd 1IIIOORDIW & tn the .ttZco oJ ~hto Bureau hew boon declared ?NDEXED conJ'tdenttal and avatla~le .t,or of.ftctaI :uoc only, and I cm unable ~o bo of any aaatatance ir- to you. I cm eure vou wtll dr.aw no in)'.e7"encc .f:ron ny inability to conply with your reguent. Stnccrely yours~ John Edgar Hoover Director NOTE: Thia tndtvtdual aaked 1uesttons concerning O flytng sa~s and the Bureau 3 tnvesttgat~on of Russtans. Postal Gutde ~-----br__ch oj~ the Brooklyn?lstatton~ _ an__ _ • COMMUNICATtOP»P~ )Ottt Mr. u-. Tols~on E, A, M A I L £ 0 12 ::: gi:~rn - NOV 8 1947 \ l::: lfc::O P..M. l.!r. Rosen - Vr . Tracy~ :g_; tfur-8::e;t:E flAl ltHtW., f)f lli~£8l16ATI0!i ltr. Harbo l!r, I.Ir. !.'.ohr~~~ Penn ng U•===~~O£~P~IUi;;;;lM~(~ll.:Of;J,:.:lt::C£~J I.tr . qulnn T ::~"o:iE= OV~7
' e Port Allegany, Pa• lonmber 18, 19,1. Pederal Bureau ot Inveatigation, Pittsburgh, Pa• Gentlemen, ~l~owing the appearance in thi• town on Jbvember 6, 1947, or a Mr• J~~ppincott~ .Director of the Eaatern Area, Red Cross, Pittsourgn.Jlia., aa speaker of the eve~r,", at the annual looal Red Croes dinner, I aa told by Dr• H. B, Cro~, local pra.otioing \J dentiat, that in a personal connrea 1 n, lowi:ng the dinner, !lr• Lippincott told him that the •aauoere" reported as seen in "Tarioue parts of the country, were aotually tror:. Spain. He eaid that Mr• Lippincott said tha.t thil! had oeen aeoertained by the Government in r..aahington, but that it 110.a not being made known. He said that. 'r• Lippincott had been in &.trope and interred that he had been in Spain and kr:ew conditions ovor there. Dr. Cranwell ie a man active in the Methodist Chruch and the looal Protestant ens Club, and it is easy to see how tar thie report can be spread. The taot that the Federal Government indorsee the Red Crose makes a atatement of an ofCioial reprenntative ot that organisation almost indisputable. Aa a repreeentatiTe tu ot the Federal Government and ae a o1t11en interested in truth and World peace and racial and religious harmony in our own country, I queation the ad'Yieability or an aooredit.d repreRentatin ot the Red Crose giTtng out thi• information. even "ott the Noord". I thought you might be able to oheok with Mr• Lippin cott or his organia.ti:-n. Tours v,..ry truly, r.ll.) ~~ a
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• I .., Miss Uarion DeuBcher January 14, 1948 /j 604 est Mai n Street Menomonee Falls , ¥ts constn Dear Mis s Beusc~er: Your letter of January 5, 1948, has been recetued and I want to t~ank you /or fo rwarding informatton to Me relat tng to the subject you mentioned. The facts you relat ed, however, do not ref lect any violation of a Federal statute ~ithtn the inuestt gative jurtsdtctton of the FBI . T\e thoughts prompting your communtcatton are tndeed apprect ated . Sincerely yours, John Edgar Hoouer Di rector W'N :cm NOTE : Correspondent reports corres pondence she has had with the Ziff-Davis Publishinp Company i n connection with the "flying saucers" which were observed by her brother . She is of the optnton that thts publication may be trying to conceal information related to our Nation ' s s ecu rity and she mentions a threat t~at does not re/en injur y to person or property. ...,ri ~ r ;i;• :z: ~ c..r, I ::, :::0 co~. i,. •""-> .::: .0~ 71 0 /)11~ IJ,) -o ::c: .. ..c:.. ~ \/'1/ J ¥ ~ CUMMUNtCATtOHS SECTt MAILED 8 JAN 15 1948 P.M. ffOEll-l llll!t'.AII or ll!V£8TIOATfOI U. S • .ult'~lll!EHJ OF JUSJICf I
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KOITAf)1T83"Y111 ~..,. • _,, 1fcb~rtd Bun-au of fnuestigation Uniteh itates Deparbncnt of lJustic.r Saa Frtmci1co t, Cdit'orr1a February 12, 1948 AIR MAIL PERSCIIAI, JIM) ec1,,<1:M._ Director, FBI - ~A_t_t~e_n_t~io~n;...;..:...,;;A~a~•~i~a~t_an~t__D~i~r_e_o_t_o_r_o_._M_._LAD __D 0 Res FLYING DISCS Security ~atter - X Dear Sir: I b transmitting herewith for the information of the Bureau copies 0 £ an enoloeure dated February 4, 1948 reoebed from Lieutenant Colonel DONALD SPRlll<IBR, A-2, United States Air Force, Hamilton Air Force &ee, Califonia. Th~a •nclosuro is a con£ident1al letter addre•a•d to the Camnanding Generals ot the First, Secom, Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Air Foroea, Air Defense Comnand, from Head quarter•, Alr De£enae Comnand, ¥1tchel Air Force Baae, New York, by oo'll'me.nd 0£ Lieutenant General STRAfDtEYER. It conoerna the inveatigation ot flying d.iacs by Air Foroe personnel. You~ attention is particularly called to Paragr~~h 2, whioh indicates that certain r•ports ~onoerntni the imeat1gation or flying disos by Air Force Intelligence ~\ll be r•por~•d to ~he FBI office concerned. Your attention ia further called to 2 Paragra.~h -B, •hich iud1oatea that "imeatigationa will be coordinated with the FBI Off'ice oonce---.d 11 - < ;> - , • .., • • •• • • • • ' J,.i .. L~i L ,,,1 - COIJUl:a d I.naamuch as the,. recent inatruotiona of the Headquartere, Air Defense t ~- n • l!H.ahell Air Foroe b..ae, New York: are contrary to the illltnictions con- a.uied in Bureau Bull t 4 - N 57 • · ia indicated that 11• .u 0 • , Series 1947. dated Ootober 1, 1947, in which~~ referred t 0 th • ~uture report, OOIU:lected with flying diaoa should 'ti. Eureau ~ • Air Poree and no im-eatigative action taken by Bureau agent,, t.he offices ' 1~•q1Jeated to advlae thia oftioe, as well•• other iaterested &ireau the handling 0!,het bor there has been a challf'e in Bureau policy with r•tere'QCe to i s atUl in effect.'' a-ia"-tera or whether P.~reau Bulletin No. 57 dated October l, 1941 ) Very truly youra, ~ - f< BMK,emo' ' Encloaure (in duplicate) ~Ol)J~~ n~c-Tn OYED ~1 ~ ~~ 1%,~ 4
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(?>~i ' ,,. 80HFfBEli'fIAb Headquarter• Air Defense CoDnand Mitchel Air Force Base, New York 4 February 1948 D 333.5 (CIB) SUBJECTs Invutigation and Reporting of "Flying Disc" Incident• T01 Comnanding Generals, First, Seoond, Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Air Foroes, Air Defense Command ATTNs AC of S, A•2 1. The numbered air forces of this command are responsible for the prompt investigation and reporting of inoidenta relating to "flying disos'' which occur within their respeotive areas. Numbered air force A•2s, after evaluating disc incidents, will detennine the extent of investigation. Futile expenditure of military funds and manpower must be avoided. 2. "Flying discs" will be investigated as provided for in Counter Intelli• genoe Incident Cases, taking cognizance of the USAF Operating Intelligence Echelon structure. Where it ia evident that witnesses, who were together at the time of incident but who are widely separated at the time of investigation would corroborate each other's story, only one witness need be interrogated. If there is a reasonable indication that a reported incident ia a hoax or the fabrication of a publioity seeking individual, no further investigative etfort will be expended. However, a report of such eiroumstances will be auanitted to the FBI offioe concerned. a. CIC personnel attached to the numbered air forces of this command may be utilized to prosecute the investigation of subject inoidents. b. Investigations will be coordinated with the FBI Office concerned in accordance with instructions contained in letter, thi• headquarters, D 333.3 EX, subjeot, "Cooperation of FBI with AAF on Investigation of •Flying Diao' Incidents," 3 September 1947. 3. Report• will be narrative in style and will cov$r only those faota pertinent to the subject. Where aouroe credibility cannot be eatabliahed, or when an incident lacks foundation, the report will merely atate aame. Two types of report will be subnitted on all inoidenta. a. Spot ~•ports (fragmentary reports) will be subnitted on all incidents and will be followed by a Letter Report. b. Letter Reports will be subnitted to report the completed inTeatigation of all "flying diso" incident•• 4. Reports will be aul:mitted in duplicate promptly, usually be regular mail. However, Spot reports on incidents of substantial character, 1. e., thoae in which the patent credibility of the witness is beyond challenge and whoa )eohnical fto,~1' ◄ I
' baokg ,..,,_tible with his observations of an ooourreme obviously not atmo- . spherio- G ~eft\al phenomena, may be transmitted by TWX. Reporta will be submitted directly to J.••4~rters, USAF, ATTN: Directorate of Intelligence, Air Intelligence Requiremed•'f'B$ol\. One 1.nformational copy of each report submitted will be for warded to this command, ATTN, AC of S, Intelligence. Reports will be claesified at least CONFIDENTIAL. BY CCMMAND OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL STRATENEYERs RICHARD W. GEUSS Captain, USAF Aotg Asst Adj Gen
.,. - . SAC, San Francisco February 20, 1948 0 til ector, FBI "] • J 1ttn1W1LYING DISCS I ,,'-\ \ G SECURITY MATTER - X ~ Reference is made to your letter in the captioned matter dated February 12, 1948. You are adVised that Bureau Bulletin No. 57 dated October 1, 1947, still applies with respect to flying discs. The Bureau is conducting no investigations concerning flying discs. We will, however, give the Air Forces any information which comes to our attention and will receive any information which the Air Forces volunteer. • The Headquarters of the Air Forces 1n Washington are being contacted by the Bureau in order to insure that there is no misunders~ing as to the . Bureau's position in this matter. r-.., RGF:rb
..
STANDARD FORM NO. e4
Office Me~ .andum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
•
TO
Mr. Ladd
DATB: 3/1/48
IC', Tolson
:-: ~ie~ Tamn===
FROM
V. P. Ke
: : g~!;r~--
: : lfi~g- _
_
oIB
_
SUBJECT: j FLYING DISCS
: : ~~:--
SECURITY MATTER - X
: : ~.:'.="·=====
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Mr . PeM1
Eon
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IC'. Neas
Reference is made to a memorandum to you f'rom Mr . J. P. Coyne
•
•
L
s
in the above- captioned matter dat~~ February 19, 1948.
The memorandum
indicated that the ~an Franc:h.sco
1 Field Di vision had re·ceived a letter from
the headquarters of the Air Defense Command, Mitchel Air Force Base, New York,
dated February 4, 1948, entitl ed, urnvestigation and Reporting of 'Flying Disc'
Incidents."
This communication indicated that investigations should be
coordinated with the FBI.
The Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Division inquired as
to a change in policy r egarding the investigation of flying discs. A letter
was forwarded to San Francisco advising them that there had been no change in
the Bureau's policy. This matter has been discussed by Special Agent S. W.
·Reynolds of the Liaison Section with Lieutenant Colonel C. P. Martin of the
Intelligence Division of the Air Force. Colonel Martin advised Mr . Reynolds
that apparently the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field was not aware of the
fact that the Bureau was no longer conducting investigations regarding flying
discs. He stated that he would take the necessary action and straighten out
the Air Defense Command as to the present policy regarding incidents of
flying discs .
.
JtECO'RD~ I ~
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, "{}.A~·•vv (/to whether there has ' STANDARl:>l'ORMN0.64 oNI TEn sTATEs GovERNMENT Office Memorandum • • TO Mr. D. M. D ATE: FROM J. P. Co , i~,y~ SUBJECT; ~ FLUNG DI S SECURITY MATTER - X 1 The attached ·1H.r flom,the San Francisco Field Division dated February 12, 1948, raises the question as been a change in policy concerning the investigation of flying discs. RECOMMENDATION:, It is reco!!lTJ).ended that the information contained in the attached letter be discussed by the Ll.aison Section with the Air Forces. ACTION: A letter is attached to San Francisco advising them that there has been no change in Bureau policy. RGF:rb ...
• .. . . S'YVLES BRIOGES. N. H., CHAl"MAN ·• CHAN GtJRN£Y, • C. OAK. • £NH. , KENNETH MCKE:L C. WAYLANO,OROOK\, ILL, CARL HAYDEN, ARlZ, ~~:iHM.;,~~..:.~.:!·. ~~~~::.~~l:=~~D. HOMER FE"'3USON, MICH_.1 RICHARD B, RUSSELL. GA, KENNCTH S. WHERRY, NEBR. PAT MCCARRAN, NEV. GUY CORDON, DREG, JOHN H, OVERTON, LA. LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, MASS, JO.PH C, O'MAl-tONEY, WYO. MILTON R, YOUNG, H .. OAK, TMEOOCUUi FRANCIS GREEN, R. I, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS WILLIAM P. KNOWLANO, CALIP', HEN.RY C. DWORSHAK, IDAHO EVERAR.D H • .SMITH, CLERK CECIL H. TOLBERT, ASST, CL.Due March 22, 1948 Honorable J. Edgar Hoover, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation Department of Justice Washington 25, D. c. Dear Mr. Hoover: Attached you will find letter which may or may not be of interest to your office. However, I felt it should be passed on to you for whatever the infortn,3tion is worth. Kindly return my constituent' s letter although if you wish you make a copy of it. Cordially yours, If KSW:emn-3 l 'M.01~ KEOOH,DED Enc. & I~ "4:-8-fl//-, •Itf ~ INDEXED 31 MAR 27 1948
v ' .> C 0 .. • • p y Benkelman, Nebraska Ma reh 14, 1948 Mr. Kenneth Wherry United States Senate Washington, D. c. Dear Ur . Wherry: On March 13 at 2:30, M.S.T. o'clock in the afternoon I witnessed a strange sight in the sky traveling at a very high rate of speed at a very high altitude. I was first attracted to this sight by a noise of motor or whatever it was. It sound_ to me like that of a train r~mbling in the distance of from 10 t~ 12 miles on a still day. At first glance it looked like it might be a vapor trail left by a high flying plane. But the white streak that was in the sky never changed its shape or did it change in the di recti on of travel. It traveled much faster than any plane I have seen traveling in sky high enough to leave vapor trai 1. As near as I can describe this sight was that it might appear to be a stream lined train traveling at a very high altitude at very high rate of speed. This rocket or whatever it might have been was high enough to disappear from sight while it was yet very far above the hori2on. I am not writing this so that it might seem to be another disc, fan or whatever you might call them . I just saw this and it has been on my mind ans I thought if there was anything that I could be of help to solve this thin g I would write this to you and you can forward this to the proper Dept. if it is necessary. Thanking you kindly Yours Truly /s/ Kenneth ~Frasier &JCLOSURE P.S. This object was traveling from east to west. It looked 1ike it might have trave led over Denver,
. ·"' C • • 0 • p y KENNETH L. FRAZIER • Colo. or a little to the south. I live almost due east about 180 mi. by air and I looked to the south a l ittle to be able to get sight of object. This object was also witnessed by my son who was with me at the time . I saw the smoke cloud left by so called meteor which exploded ouer at Norton_Kans. This object was not~ br ight ball of fire like it was . The siluer streak in the sky traveled as if it were a long connected ~treak. This did n~t resemble a line of smoke left by a train travel tng along it moued altogether as a unit. If it is not against any regulation and if possible would like to have answer to this object . C 0 p y
- . l!arch 241 1948 Honorable K•nneth..__B. United S:tates Senat• Waahtngton, D. c. JJy dear S11na-Oor: Tour letter o/ l!arch 221 29481 wtth encZoeurs# has Men recstved. Stnoe ths eubJ•ct aattsr menttoned tn your oon stttuent's lettsr ts not within the scope o/ authortty o/ thta Bursau1 I have taken the ltberty o.f .forwarding a copy o;t hta latter and yours to .tM ~ecrstary o/ the Amy, llattona1 D6/,nae Butldtng# ashlng ton 1 D. c . # /or hta tn/ormat1on. Your thought/ulness tn brtngtng ~hje to my attentton ta tndesd apprectat•d• I aR •noloatng a copy o/ my letter to JJr. Frasier whtch I thought you mtght like to have /or your /tles# together wtth hta lettflr. Utth ezpreaatons o/ my h1gheat esteea and beat regards, Since rely yours 1 -• Eagar o~ve,::'.\.i1> ,,~ ~ EnclosJ_e 1 Incomi; from Frasier and cop~, of our letter to VWP:jec ' ~ e- .... '-""I COMr.UlNICATIO 'S SES'tiO~ II 1 MAILED 3 * MAR 2iJ 1948 f,;.. , ~~ fittliA&. BllltEAU OF IN~ESTHiATIOlt , 8. DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE ..,, . .. .c.. I him. \)J
• I • Jiarch 341 1948 RECORDED L,,, ... 3gy ~lt3 Ur. Kennsth L. Fraeter Benk•lman1 Nebraaka Your letter dated llarch l41 l948, to tho Honorable Kenneth s. Wherry, United State• Senator, has been re/erred to me /or attentton. Stnc• thtt mattar you i:zeni1oned ta not wtthtn the scope oj authorttu of thta Bureau, I have taken the ltberty o/ jurntah tng a oopy of your communicatton to the Secratary o/ ~he Armu, National Ds/enas Eutldtng1 Uashtngton, D. a., and in tha event you haue anu addittona2 tn/or:n.atton, jt is auggeated you aay destre to communtcats wtth h,n. B'incer•211 11ours1 i .. Ba&ar Hoover ..Tohn Edgar Hoouer Dtrector ~ J (r: r-..: CC: Senator Wherry - ~ r1' ~ ~ ~ rr: (O Name of to111n per Postal Gutde 0 ..... - ~ ..... - . ,_ t:' ... ~ VWP:jec ~ ":'I COMM CATIONS SECTION j AILED :3 * ftiAR 2r, 1948 P.M. r..
STYLES BRIDGES, N, H,, CHAU\ CHAN GURt-&Y, S. OAK, KENNETH MC • C. WAYLAND BROOK&, ILL. CARL HAYDDI CLYDE M, RE£0, KANS. ELMER THOM. JCifSE:PH H. BAL~ MINN. MILLARD E, T HOMER F'ERGUSON, MICH. RICHARD 8. Rl KENNETH $. WHF.RRY, NEBR. PAT MCCARRAt., NltV. GUY CORDON, OREG. JOHN H, OVERTON, LA. LEV£R£TT SALTONSTALL, MASS, JOSEPH C, O' MAHONEY, WYO, MILTON R. YOUNG, N. OAK. THEODORE FRANClS GRE£N, R. I. COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS WILLIAM F. KNOWLAND, CALIF, HENRY C, DWORSHA.t<, ID.AHO April 1, 1948 EVERARD H. SMITH, CLERK CECIL H. TOLBERT, ASST. CL.ERK The Honorable J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation United Stat es Department of Justice \'~ashington 25, D. C. Dear Mr. Hoover: 'tJ:tank you very much for forwarding Mr. Kenneth L~ asier , letter to the proper authorities. Your cooperation in this instance was aeeply anpreciated. ---::...-----
•
llnihb 8tate.s ilepartment of 1.fmitice
Post Office Box 1850
Atlanta 1. Georgia
August 10, 1948
AIRMAIL SPECIAL D!J'.,IV]J.RY
Director, J'l3I
Rill
'
MRS. MADBLINE G~ER~;
INFOBMA.TlOB! CONC:&RNING
Dear Sir:
f-.L I;11 Co })1 ~ c....)
Transmitted herewith for the ltureau 1s information are
copies of a letter, together with enclosure, froa the aboTe
captioned individual..
I:aaa1111.1ch aa there is n.o record in this
office concerning captioned person, no reply has been made to
instant letter. with the tho~t the Bureau may desire to acknow
le~e instant coll!llWlication or communicate further concerning
the matter with the Dallaa Office.
For the information ot the Bureau and the Dallas and
San Antonio Officea, the clippiDgs referred to are transmitted
herewith to the l3ureau, Dallas and San Antonio Office•, it being
noted that Wichita ll'alla it covered by Dallas and !'ort Sam Hous
ton is covered by the San Antonio Office.
Very truly yours,
"
J
K
J ENCL
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Authority:
NND90986
HE~DQUARTERS
AIR MATERIEL COMMAND
MCIAXD-3/FWA/aw
IN
REPLY
ADDRESS
10TH
COMMUNICATION AND
EN•
Wright-Patterson AF Base
,,.
VELOPE
TO
COMMANDING
GENERAL,
A IR
MATIERIEl
l«IIJIJ(ll9 ••••••;,.-.,
COMMAND,
A T T S N T I O N
FOLLOWING OFFICE SYMBOL:
9 September 1948
MCUX0..3
Director
Federal Dlresu of Investigation
Department of Justice
Washington. D. C.
A!l'l!N:
FBI Laborator,y
&IBJ'RCT:
Projeet "SIGN"
Gentlemen:
Accompanying this letter is a small sample of soil. This
eoilr ~s taken from a depression reputed to have been caused
by a'-.Bflying S81l.cer11 described as being approximately two feet
in diameterand. one foot thick which. supposedly settled gently
to the ground, rebounded to a height of abou.t twenty feet and
then contimed. on its journey. Al.though. the declivity was immedi
ately covered by a large washtub a heavy rain fP.1bsequently filled ~
the depression about one/third full of water before any sample of
dirt could be taken.
In an effort to approach this incident objectively to deteI"'
mine every possible clue, it bas been deemed advisable to have
this soil sample analyzed and tested. Upon inquiry, your ~n
representative stated that the FBI Laboratoey would accomplish
the required. tests.
Dt.O.
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It is the desf re of this Head.~1.arte»s-48--&seep-t,ein, in par 1
cu.lar, if there are traces of unusualReme~ or &.loys adhering
to the surface of the particles, o~lf 91V :reJSnb!MaJ i ty in structure
exista aho~ that the soil ms su~;•~intense beat, ll"-"""
or radio-active subst?.DCes. etc. Unfor
•
y, in this regard,
no one thought to forward a. sample
~unding the de
pression 80 no comparison of soils can be made at this time. ~d
the subsequent test show qthing unusual some arrangement could be
made to procure some ,of the surrounding soil 80 that a comparative
analysis could be ma.de.
The aceomp~ing sample bas not been test
ed by any other agency, nor will it be.
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COPIES DESTPC''{;fl
27 0
NOV 181964
'I• • . Project "SIGN" 9 Sept 1948 Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation In the event the tests show nothing warranting further investige,. tion you~ dispose of the sample. The report should be addressed to this Command marked for the attention of MCI.AX0-3. This Division will appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Very truly yours, ,~~W~ Incl W. R. •GEE!MAN fi f~ a~;fF Colon USAF Chief, Technical Intelligence Division Intelligence Department 2
REPORT of the /_\==f}2J t l}=7\ ~ 1..A.BORA.TORT 2-s,__ FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WASHINGTON D. C. To: OOt.obc- ?, 1948 Ca::m.Ttdi~ Oeaeral Air U..t«riel Como.lid Wright-Patterson AF Bue ~, Obio At.tentiont 1JClllO.i.3 There tollcinl "1M Npc,.n ot the WI Labcrator., «i tho ~t.ion Re: ot e'f"idenoe r-eceiTed .trc:im YOU' otf'iee on s~~ ~ ~ ---· ·- \) John Edgor Hoover, Director YOUR FILE NO. FBI FILE NO. LAB. NO. Exot'Nj....e~ Elracl.naUon of Soil Referen,e: RECORDED - ~ ~-146 PC-231J.2CO Specim• ns: Addreu• IAtter dated Septm'ber 9, 1948 lt1craeoopia,,(M.rogrepbto-Geol.ogi.c)
... L-.40 • FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGA. N UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Laboratory Work Sheet ........OORDED 9/22/48 kag 9j3£ 62- 83894-146 v Be: Project "SIGN" File# PC-23142 CO Examination of Soil. Lab. II Commanding General, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Examination requested by: ll:f AF Base, Dayton, Ohio Attention: ~CIAX0-3 Date of reference communication: letter 9/9 Date received: 9/17 Evid . 9/14 Reg.1171535 Examination requested: Micro (Petrographic- Geologic) Result of Examination: Examination by: JEVOJJS ~l, Sample of soil.
.. e ~ERALBUREAU OF INVESTIG _.,.LTED S'l"ATES DEPABTMENT OF :i Laboratory Work Sheet RE'-0-:"ttJ'F.D 9/22/4$ Kai Be: File II till 62-33894-146 Pro.,.ct "5 G 11 Lab. Ii PC•2Jli.a CO Enid.nat.ion ot Soil. Comand111 General, Air Materiel Coca:,.and, flri.cnWatt.eracn Examination requested by: ID Ar Dan, Dayton, cJno At.tent,t en, Oll.I0-3 Date of reference communication: letter 919 Date received: 9/l? ~Yid. 9/ 14 Reg.1171,)S Examination requested: icro (Pet.ro .rapbic-0.oloslc) Result of Examination: Examination by: JGftlS Specimens submitted for examination Ql, SUlple ot ao1l.
• • \ . ' ' . . .. .,... k . - . ~ '} ' ~ RECORDED· 51 \ __: __ _/ F B I ~ 23 OCT 22 ,948 ~
. - I .. .,,, ... • ' j ••-'; , • October :1.9. 1948 J 1 ta Xour 1.ett. r d!l't 4d UclObcr 15. 1948. bna be r cived end J db veut to tbsnk you for the patriOUc cot1v s tiJltch proi.,pt~ ycu to t.lritce aYa1loble 70V ~~ts conce~ tho cubJect YoU tte:it1one4. Sincerely vours, ftOERAL BUREAU OF IHVt:SllGATIOII U S. OEPARTr.lEIIT OF JUSIICE
• I J.,. , -, ' --- -& \ $ cit ,, ei 0 1T, 'JI ,~t· 'ii iJ I Zi ,---.3..lIC\M ll lJO,, _9 a"°i o~ roo 'I)/ ~ ------ .'ti! - u~ .'6i'. ~ ="' -~ l
ice of Contents from
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
.•ottINGTON, D. C .
'
Date~------------
October '7, 1948
Consigned to·• ""Co-nwn-.._,d:tlln......,'!W'"""'tl""e"""t1eral
A:tr Materiel Cormland
WrigJit-fatteraon M tmse
n,.yton. Ohio List of tJiJFe~tins
lfCIAXO-.)
f:co:':MM::':U~N~IC~AT".'""10-NS--SE_C_TI_ON-
ro,..23142 CO
MA( Leo 1
* OCT '!18 1940 P.M.
f'El>£RAL Bcaou Of IN\'[8Tf6ATIOH
U, 8. OEl'ARTIIEHT Of JUSTICE
Mr. Barbo, '1641
Mr. Conrad, 7142 t
__
Mr. Downing, 6228
B _
Mr. Sizoo, '1601
'LI-/
Mr. Baughman, '11 1
~
7 9 7 c; 9' "I
Io/itj,r/1-{
, _
A~••__;.
RIDISTERrotAIL
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
Mai ~ J-1om, place date of shipment and registry number; Shipping Room , show
ate of shipmrp't awjt,i t.~a.l tf~invoi ce; then return it to person whose name is checked 1in column at
ight.
After this ''Ji?H~ect"name has been initialled, invoice should be placed in administrative fil e.A ENTION FLY ·bo Mr. fllollr I 1,lr. p,-,, 'i,--t .. ,, moAl IURCAU OF tNVtSTtQATION U. S. OEPMTMOCT Of JUSTICE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION • I\ ANGELES 12- 28 - 48 AND SACS HOUSTON, CINCINNATI URGENT I NSPECTOR HOWARD FLETCHER Mr Q ,., ' m G ~, LONN IE EDWARD"-NOACK COMPLAINT. RE HOUSTON TELE~Yii, <a_ 1/ OEC . TWENTY EIGHT . MR . R. C. PERSONS, VASCO .l!bemc ELECTRIC MMTIJVlfAcfll/NG COMPANY, LA, PRESENTLY I N ARIZONA, EXACT WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN TO HIS OFFICE, EXPECTED TO CALL MORNING OF DEC. TWENTY NINE. MR. NATHAN SMITH, SMITH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, SOUTH PASADENA, CALIF . ADVISED HE - . AND PERSONS PURCHASED AIRPORT IN MOJAVE DESERT NEAR HELENDALE, CALIF . STATED THAT IN EARLY PART OF DEC. EXACT DATE UNKNO_#i', PERSONS ADVISED HIM H~ HAD FOUND A FLYING DISK ON THEIR AIRPORT. MR. AND MRS. SMITH, PERSONS, AND LONNIE~OACK PROCEEDED TO AIRPORT WHERE THEY LOCATED DISK, TOOK PICTURES OF IT AND REMOVED .. PORTIONS OF DISK, NOACK RETAINING SOME PARTS AND SMITH KiEPING SOME PORTIONS WHICH ARE STILL IN HIS POSSESSION . SMITH ADvISED THAT DAY AFTER LOCATINGfrHE DISK AN EMPLOYEE CBSERVED PARTS RETAINED BY SMITH, AND STATED HE BELIEVED THE OB~ECT HAD BEEN MANUFACTURED BY OLSEN AND RICE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, TOY MANUFACTURERS LA . SMITH STATED HE THEN CONTACTED OLSEN AND RICE WHO STATED THEY WERE FIN ANCING CLAUDE LERO~OLFERT LA IN DEVELOPING A KITE FOR •1tlllf SALE ON OPEN hARKET AS A TOY. SMITH STATED HE HAD PREVIOUSLY GIVEN OLSEN AND RICE PERSMISSION TO USE HIS PRIVATE AIRPORT AT ANY TIME. OLSEN AND RICE TOLD SMITH THEY HAD TAi~ XPERIMENTAL KITES TO SMITHS/ END PAGE ONE RECORDfl};; t ~ ~ } --Jf:..1 :LI:: - ~ / 1NOEXEtJ - 08 ~ •-s (t G OEC 30'Q48 J 5 1~~ gz~'O
• • ' ., ..t> ,.,, __, m .., , n, < F'l 0 ..., .r r-. t ' rl'l 'O -, ..,.. ', ! . .. t:: !Tl .0
• • . , PAGE TWO AIRPORT AND UPON DETERMING KITES NOT PRACTICAL HAD ABANDONED THE PROJECT. SMITH STATED HE HAD TAKEN SIXTEEN MM PICTURES WHICH ARE PRESENTLY BEING DEVELOPED. STATED WOULD MAKE PICTURES AND PARTS FROM OBJECT AVAILABLE TO THIS OFFICE . SMITH DESCRIBED OBJECT AS APPROXIMATELY SIX FEET IN DIA METER, CONSISTING OF DISK MOUNTED ON AXEL WITH BEARINGS, WINGS ON EITHER SIDE, TAIL SURFACE SUPPORTED ON BOOMS, CUP MOUNTED ON EACH WING TIP RESEMBLING ROCKET POWER CONTAINERS . SMITH STATED DID NOT OBSERVE ANY CHEMICAL OR OTHER MATTERIAL IN CONTAINERS WHICH COULD BE USED AS SELF PROPELLING FORCE . MR . HENRY T. RICE OF OLSEN AND RICE MAN UFACTURING COMPANY ADVISED CLAUDE LEROY WOLFERT FINANCED BY THEIR COMPANY IN DEVELOPING TOY KITE, THAT WOLFERT HAD PROACHED IDEA OF MAKING LARGE MODEL TO BE USED AS TOW TARGET FOR AIRPLANES BUT RICE DECIDED THAT HE MAKE . ONLY KITE SUITABLE FOR SALE AS TOYS . JIU Ill( HOWEVER, WOLFERT MADE LARGE MODEL APPROXIMATELY SIX FEET IN DIAMETER, WEIGHING FIFTY POUNDS, WHICH TOGETHER WITH OTHER MODEL HAD BEEN FLOWN IN DC THREE OWNED BY OLSEN AND RICE TO PRIVATE AIRPORT OF ..MU:llllli PERSONS AND SMITH. RICE COULD NOT RECALL EXACT DATE, BUT_, STATED MWllf IT WAS IN EARLY PART OF DEC . RICE STATED DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN FLIGHT OF KITE, AND THAT IN VIEW OF SIZE OF LARGE MODEL IT WAS NECESSARY TO TOW IT BEHIND PLANE TO OBSERVE FLIGHT . STATED MODEL CRASHED AND OLSEN AND RICE ABANDONED EXPERIMENT LEAVING AIRPORT WITH WOLFERT REMAINING BE HIND TO CONDUCT FURTHER EXPERIMENTS . RICE STATED DID NOT KNOW THAT WOL FERT HAD LEFT THE LARGE MODEL AT THIS AIRPORT UNTIL ADVISED BY SMITH END PAGE TWO
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".Cl• .., PAGE THREE THAT THEY HAD FOUND THE OBJECT. CONTACT WILL BE MADE WITH SMITH, RICE, AND WOLFERT, TO SECURE PHOTOGRAPHS AND SAMPLES. BUREAU WILL BE ADVISED. HOOD END A IN ORDER PLS A 7- 45 PM OK FBI WASH DC WJR HKBllUMilVHBH ~SMR OK FBI HO UICF CI OK FBI CI JW CISC
• ... .... RE'CEIVEO TELETYPE UNIT Dre 29 7 a.1 PH •~8 F.8.1. DEPT. OF JUSTICE ..._, ,..t1 !"Tl n C"") , -..J m ..:0 < 11 ;;::) (• I ..,, :::.., -, TJ '\:I ""= _.. c; ..,
STAN0...~0 ~OR,-, "° 6A • Office M emor! ndum • uNtrno sTATEs GovERNMENT DATE , December 28, 1948 '¼..ITO , MR. D. M. LA: _& ~ IC'". Tolson__ FROM : H. B. FI.ETC~ Jlf llr. ~legg wr. Glavin_ _ ::: ~~~:~1~·=== Yr. Rosen Mr. Tr&CY__ SUBJBCT: O FLYING DISCS __ ::: =:=..=---=---_ Mr. Harl>o__ Mr. ll<>hr.~......-- wr. Pennlngtori_ Mr. QU!llll tam_ Tele. Roo• At J..0':boa .m. today, SAC Willis, Houston, called in and stated llr. Nease__ WISS llolJIIJO__ that Full~ackwell, a busin?ss man~ Housto~, Texas, had furnished WleO Go.nc!y__ certain pictures taken by a friend of his, Lo~ack of the Humboldt Oil Company, Houston, Texas, and had related that Noack had been flying with a friend in a private plane from California to Houston and that at a point about 30 miles east of Lone Pine, California, some object lying on the ground made a very strong reflection and they made a check to determine what would cause this bright reflection. They finally landed the plane and found an object which could be described as being 8 1 in diameter with wings about 4' long. The object is about 1 1 in thickness and in the center there appears to be some type of gyroscope. The wings apparently are fitted with some type of jet propulsion. An examination was made by Noack and his friend and they could find no identi.f.'ying marks and took photographs of the object they observed. SAC Willis stated he had informed Lieutenant Robert Fleming of the ill', Ellington Field, and Captain Bush, the Army representative in Houston, of this object and that Noack would be interviewed that morning in the Houston Office with Lieutenant Fleming being present. Lieutenant Fleming wanted the statements of Noack taken down by a stenographer and he will furnish the stenographer for that purpose. I instructed SAC Willis to funti.sh complete details of this matter by idr mail special delivery, including a copy of the photograph. I further instructed that he furnish the same details to the proper field office because unquestionably the Bureau would want to run this thing out. After talking with you, I phoned SAC Willis back and told him to insure the presence of a Bureau Agent at the time this object was examined by the Army Air Forces and that he should make proper arrangements with the office in California to see that an Agent was present. I also told him to adVise me /I _ of the developments. f ~ HBF:cmw
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Mr. Tolson...... .
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fEDEIIAl tU"lAU OF IIW(STIQATION
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
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COMNUNICA~:N~ ,HIN •
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TELETYPE
FB_y1IOUSTON
12-28-48
1- 12 PM CST
£rRECTOR , SACS CINCINNATI AND LOS ANGELES
URGENT
~
ENTION
IN.SPECTOR HOWARD FLETCHER
s-<vrNGl?rsK.
LONNIE EDWA~
OACK, COMPLAINANT.
COMPLAINANT
RESIDING TWO NINE TWO ONE CHICAGO STREET, HOUSTON, CONTACTED THI
OFFICE DECEMBER TWENTY SEVENTH ON CAPTIONED MATTER AND IN SIGNED
\
STATEMENT TODAY SUBMITTED THE FOLLOWING.
NOACK , EMPLOYED#AS A
MACHINIST BY HUMBLE OIL COMPANY, HOUSTON, LEFT HOUSTON BY COMMERCIAL
AIRLINE DECEMBER FIFTH LAST ON BUSINESS FOR HOLLYWOOD , CALIF .
ON
MONDAY, DECEMBER SIXTH, CONTACTED R. C. PERSON , FOUR ONE ONE SIX AVALON
BLVD. , LA., AN ACQUAINTANCE, WHO REMARKED OF HAVING SEEN ON THAT DATE,
SOME DISTANCE FROM HOLLYWOOD IN A DESERT AREA , WHAT APPEARED TO BE A
FLYING DISK.
PERSON OPERATES VASCO ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING CO. , LA.,
ADAMS FIVE TWO EIGHT ONE.
ON DECEMBER SEVENTH, NOACK, PERSOM, AND
MR. AND MRS . NATHAN SMITH, ONE NAUGHT FIVE SOUTH PASADENA AVE., SOUTH
PASADENA, CALIF. , DEPARTED BY PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE IN SEARCH OF
DISK.
SAME LOCATED APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES NORTHEAST
OF PASADENA AND ABOUT TWENTY MILES NORTHEAST OF LONE P~, CALIF .
PERSON , SMITH, AND NOACK TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS OF Dlt~~• MOV~
NJ)t
fJC/lf_ ,.. 5'tJ
SPEEDGRAPHIC CAMERAS .
THE NOACK FILM WAS EIGHT~1Ik~METERS IN SIZE.J
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AND CAMERA MADE BY REVERE .
DISK LOC.ATED DESERT~ EA NEAR NINE HUNDRE
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ACRES OF LAND OWNED BY PERSON AS PRIVATE AIRFIELD .
NOACK HAD HIS FIL
DEVELOPED BY EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY AT UNKNOWN ADDRESS LOS PALMAS ST. ,LA.
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END PAGE ONERECEIVE0-1..MHl FBI · u. 5. DEPT. OF JUSC!CE RE'rEtVED Or.c 28 3 ss PM 'if8 JAN 6 2 ss PM '~( ~ i c k Nh, -~ tt 1 . •N n~cE1vEn--01REC, F} 8 I r.: B I U.S. of.:ri'T. Uf':,:u:"/tff.€ •'l t;TfCF I ~ -~ • , • # Dre 28 ~ 52 PM '~8 ,... 4 ·-~ .... • . ) •
.,. PAGE TWO THESE FILMS RECEIVED NOACK, HOUSTON, BY MAIL DECEMBER TWENTY THIRD LAST . DISK TO BE APPROXIMATELY SEVEN FEET IN DIAMETER f!!:: SHOWS AND APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET THICK IN MIDDLE WITH FEATHER EDGE ON RIM . ABUTTING SAUCER IN MIDDLE AND ON BOTH SIDES ARE FOUR FOOT WINGS RESEMBLING CONVENTIONAL AIRPLANE TYPE . NO MARKINGS, NO RADIO, AND APPEARED TO HAVE LANDED AT GREAT SPEED . DISK IN COMPARATIVELY GOOD CONDITION. THE ENDS OF BOTH WINGS HAD ATTACHED A SMALL ALUMINUM CYLINDER APPARENTLY FOR JET PROPULSION. ONE OF THESE CYLINDERS OBTAINED BY NOACK AS SOUVENIR AND CURRENTLY IN POSSESION OF r_::: OH~cg FILM SIMILARLY MAINTAINED . SA ROBERT FLEMING 1 OSI REPRESENTATIVE, .E,l.LINGTON FlELD~ TEXAS, NOTIFIED DECEMBER TWENT¥ SEV.E.N.IH . NOACK FILM EXHIBITED THIS OFFICE INSTANT DATE AND SHOWS DISK IN ALL POS ITI ONS AND ARE AUTHENTIC . MR . FLEMING, OSI , ON DECEMBER TWENTY EIGHTH NOTIFIED DISTRICT COMMANDER , FIFTH OSI DISTRICT, WRIGHT FIELD, DAYTON, OHIO. SAC R. B. HOOD , LA., NOTIFIED TELEPHONICALLY OF ABOVE INFORMATION - WITH REQUEST THAT HE MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH R. C. PERSON IN ORDER THAT BUREAU- AGENTS MAY ASSIST OR ACCOMPANY OSI REPRESENTATIVES IN ACTUALLY OBSERVING AND ---- RETR I EV I NG FLYING DISK . .. THIS ACTION TAKEN PER BUREAU INSTRUCTIONS . NO FACILITIES AVAILABLE HOUSTON FOR REPRODUC I NG MOVIE FILM OF NOACK, HOWEVER, STILL SHOTS CAN BE DEVELOPED BY COMPETENT END PAGE TWO
... ·, • RECEIVEO-l. /l nfl F B I U. S. DEPT. OF JU ST!CF. Or.c 28 3 ss PM '118 RFrEtVED JAN 6 2 55 PM 'iJI N r .:kNA , , r, . '' ~ N F B·I 1! , flFP' 1;: •• 1 .C: TI Cf •
.. • PAGE THREE COMMERCI AL REPRESENTATIVES . ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY OSI, DAYTON, OHIO, NOT KNOWN AT THIS MOMENT AND IT IS POSSIBLE THEY MAY DESIRE FILM FOR REPRODUCTION THEIR FACILITIES THERE. IF BUREAU DES IRES LA OFFICE TO OBTAI N FROM PERSON AND SMITH THE IR FI LM AND NEGATIVES , THIS MIGHT BE CONSI DERED. PICTURES TAKEN BY PERSON WI TH FOUR BY FI VE SPEEDGRAPHIC CAMERA AND THZSE PI CTURES SHOULD BE READ I LY AVAILABLE . NOACK FI LM AND PART OF JET PROPULSI ON WI NG TIP BEING MAI NTAI NED HOUSTON AWAITI NG SUGGESTED DISPOSI TI ON AND HANDLI NG BY EI THER BUREAU OR OSI . CI NC I NNATI OFFICE BEI NG MADE COGN IZANT TO COVER POSS IBILITY THAT BUREAU MAY DI RECT LIAI SON WITH OSL, DAYTON. AMSD LETTER FOLLOWS TO BUREAU AND INTERESTED OFFICES ENCLOSI NG SIGNED STATEMENT OF NOACK. WILLIS END A IN O PLS WA 225PM OK FBI WA LS CI OK FBI CI JCL ~ 1-~ LA OK FBI LA EDS DISCM r~ \JJl;t;Jl
• .... RECEIVED TELETYPE UNIT Dre 28 2 29 PH l~8 f .8.1. DEPT. OF JUSTICE 3JHSOf :lO 'ld30 ·s ·o • I 8 :J · u~Jv~·-Ql31\t3J3~ 03"13J3 l:i '
Mr. ToJaon........
Mr. Ce ............
Mr, Gtartu ......... .
Mr. Ladd....... . ...
Mr. Nichol,......... .
Mr. Rosou ......••••
Mr. 'I'rAOJ,'• •• . ...•••• •
lib-, E llD .••.••.•••••
Mr. PenuiDJton .....
Mr. Qiunn Tiurun •••
IUllEAU Of t1CVE.STIGATIO~
~otPAATMEMT OF )USTICE
..
;:MUMICATlOMS $ECTIOII •
. O£C 291948
-~~
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ff/; ~H 10 FROM LOS ANGELES
29
9-07 PM
/DIRECTOR
ROUTINE
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FLYING DISK, LONNIE EDWAR✓NOACK ,
COMPLAINANT .
!3/J-~~j,.<,(
TELETYPES FROM HOUSTON AND LA TWENTYEI GHTH INSTANT,
1!F7W
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THREE PARTS OF SUBJECT DESCRIBED BY r:,cK SECURED FROM NATHAN
j
;&ITH, LA AND EXHIBITED TO HENRY 0
rcE, OHLSON AND RICE
MANUFACTURING COMPANY , THREE THREE FOUR ZERO
EMERY STREETi,~
LA .
RICE POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THESE PARTS AS COMI NG FROM ,A\.
MODEL TOW TARGET CONSTRUCTED BY CLAUDE L. WOLFORD, FIVE FOUR
FIVE FOUR CHESLEY AVE. , LA.
ONE PART BEING STAMPED WOLFORD
& WW PLASTICS MOLDING CO. j LA.
TOW TARGET WAS TESTED BY
RICE AND WOLFORD USING RI CE, s AIRPLANE OVER NATHAN SMITH,s
AIRFIELD NEAR HELENDALE, CALIF.
THE TEST WAS A FAILURE, THE
TARGET CRASHED AND WAS ABANDONED AT THE AIRFIELD.
NO FURTHER
INVESTIGATION BEING CONDUCTED AND THE THREE ITEMS SECURED FROM
I"\
SMITH WILL BE RETURNED TO HIM UNLESS BUREAU ADVISES TO
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CONTRARY,
REPORT WILL BE SUB!.ITTED,
ff:IJ,.-----'
HOOD
RECORDED. 42 I t.d.=:
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CINCINNATI _!,_AND HOUSTON AJ)V • w.
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JAN 3 1949
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Office Memorandum •
lJN lTED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO
MR. D. M. ~
December 28, 1948
FROM
H. B. FIETC~ /J •
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11r. N1cnols_
_
SUBJ ECT:
(1'FLYING DISCS
IC". Rosen__
.IC'. Traer__
:::=·=·..===
llr- tte.rbo__
llr. llOllr__
Mr. Peph{ngw.Q_
Reference is made to the teletype of December 28, 1948,
llr. Quinn Tua_
Tele. Roo■ __
from the Houston Office.
Mr. se.aae__
MU• Kolmiio__
At J:JO p.m., I called SAC Hood of the Los Angeles Office
and i~cted that he attempt to locate Mr. Person and Mr. and Mrs .
Nat~th, secure photographs and film in their possession and also
secure from them the location of the described flying disc. I also
instructed that Mr. Hood send out sufficient Agents to find the disc~
1uee
/
and guard it until it could be properly handled by the appropriate Government -'<...._/_
authority. I also telephoned the Houston Office and told them to send
in the photographs or film in their possession, t ogether with the part which
had been recovered from the machine by the Informant Noack.
At 5 :00 p.m., SAC Hood called back and stated that all work on
this matter should be innnediately discontinued.
They had managed to
reach Mr. Nathan Smith and he stated that he knew al l about this matter;
that it was not a f lying disc, but an object which had been identified
as a tow Idte, 'Which has a disc center and wings. This Idte is actually
made in Los Angeles by the Olson and Rice Manufacturing Company.
A call
was made to Olson and Rice, who admitted making a kite along the lines
described by Mr. Smith and they explained that they had tried to fly it
and it had failed and they had abandoned it.
Mr. Hood stated he did not have full details at the time of his
call, but he did have this report from the Agents. Therefore, I instructed
that he call Mr. Willis of the Houston Office immediately in order that the
film and the part available to the Houston ·Office will not be forwarded
for Laboratory examination.
HBF:esb
RECORDED -42
INDEXED - 42
a~rs
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STAT:rs- GOVE NMtENT.
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DIRPL"l'OR FBI
Bt;ECT! ~ "FLlING SAUO~" OESl!RVED O'Vm
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OAK RIDGE AREA
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There are beine submitted herm.th two photographs of ropu
''.fl""'ns
saucers"which were seen at Oak Ridee, Tennessee, sometime during Jul,y'fe(' .
•
All of the 1.nf'ormation contained in this letter was received from Mt-. a;
RNmMAlf, Chief Investigator, Security Division, Atanio En«rS7 Ccmnias
•••• a
Colonel c. D. GASSm1 Resident Jlnsineer, Air Material Carnrnarn1_., United States
~
1_who ie tho principal army "technioian at the Nuclear ~ ..far__tb.e Pro
pulsion of Aircraft Research Center at Oak Ridee_, Tennessee.
/
Mr. RATHMAN advised that the attached photogr:e.phs were taken by w. R.
/ PRl!SLEY in July of 1947. He stated that interview with PRE3LEY revealed that he
had been snappine photographs of bis f'amil.y in front of hie residence at 218
Il11no1s Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, late in the e.f'ternoon, when he l.ooked
into the sky and observed the vapor trail as emibited by the photograph numbered
"l." PRESLEY stated that he took a snap of this trail, was winding the film to
the next number, when he looked into the sky and"observed the ball of fire as
shown in photograph 2. Upon observine the unusual phenomena, he used his last
lfilm in tald.ng photograph #2.
P.RllSLEY made these photographs available to re
,iportere of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and a story concerning them was run 1n
that paper; however, as shown by the photostatic copy of the newspaper clippine,
whioh is also being submitted herewith to the Bureau, the print was very indis
tinot; the news story did not contain an:r .factual information; and 1t was regarded
generally by the public at the time as a
' ,◊se ~L~le tt-ick.
")
1,
Later, it w.a learned by Mr. RA~llDL.• ....nd Colonel G.ASS:HE that PRllSLEY
had made several copies of this photograph and had distributed them 8lllOJl8 his
acquaintances at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Upon Colonel GASSl!R'e finding tbat the
e__
pho"toei:apha had received some distribution, he requested Mr. RA'IBMAN as Head of
the Can:pllance and Investigations DiVision, to recover as many as possible of
the photographs, advise the persons in whose possession they were found to say
nothing to aeyone concernins them, and to retm-n the said photographs to him
f'or traDSmission to the United States Air Foroe Yii'teD..fgence 'Servica. Mr. RAmMAN
advises tnat7fe- sucoee'a.ed inrounding up twenty-four copies of these photographs,
and that, ac~ordins to the statements of P.RFSLEY, no more copies were made or
distributed. RATHMAN further stated that GASSm had appeared extremely concerned
over the matter and seemed to be quite emphatic that the mtter should be given
no more publloity than was absolutely necessary. RA'lEMAN also advised that he
studied the negatives from which the reproductions were mde, and th y appee.red
A
to be authentic in that trick photography should have been apparent, ut from the ~
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• t . \ .. negatives certainly did not appear to be the case. It was Mr. RATEMAN'e observation that had the negative been "doped" with some sort o'f' chemical, it would have removed the emulsion from the 'f'ace o'f' the ril.m in such a way that the ne~tive would have been thin at the point which is supposedly a ball of fire, v'hereas, in fact, both the vapor trail and the corona of fire are dark on the'negative, indicati118 that it was an actual exposure. It was the opinion of Mr•. RATHMAN that the photographs were, withn.ut doubt, authentic. In accordance with Bureau instructions, no active investigation of this ma.tter was made, but it was deemed advisable to interview Colonel GASSER prior to submitting the photographs to the Bureau. Colonel GASSER~ redicp.ted his remarks concerning the "flyi118 saucers" or "mystery missiles" b; fstat~ that he lmew nothi118 of an official nature concerning them, other than the 'f'act that they were believed by air force intelligence officials to be man-made missiles, rather than some natural phenomena. It was his :rurther belief that a great deal of inf'ormation had been compiled concerning these missiles by air force intelligence, and that research on the matter was being extensively done at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. He also expressed. the opinion that information at the disposal of the United States Army Air Force Intelligence had, in all probability, been made available to the Bureau at Washington, D. C. (Eolonel GASSER then.continued with hie own ideas as to what might be the nature of these discs, which ideas he had formulated through review of those known facts and theoretical conjectures of himself and other scientists concerning the nature of flying discs and method.a o'f' propulsion for such type of aerial mechanism. According to him, flying discs have long been a theoretical possibility and, in fact, a possibility which would ind.icate one of the beet - means by which to break through the barriers of the supersonic area. Scientists have, for many yeaxs, been attempting to develop this type of aircraft. Some experimentation has been done even in the United States, but insofar as is known in the United States at the present time, there have never been any practical developments. As a second '!'actor of consideration, Colonel GASSER stated that insofar as is known to U.S. scientists at this time, there is no known chemical fuel which would make possible tremendous range of flight such as is ascribed to the reported "flyi118 saucers. " There is only one possible fuel which could be utilized. which is in accord with present theory, and that is the utilization of atomic energy;\ As further evidence of this possible means of propulsion, Colonel GASSER calledattention to the vapor trail and gaseous corona described as a ball of fire, which he states might give some evidence to the fact that a radio-active field is present. He explained that th~ corona, or exhaust, has what appears to be layers of intensity which are circular rather than elongated and have no tendency to trail at the extremities, as would be the case if a normal type of exhaust from a oombustion engine was being utilized in the propulsion of these aircraft. He continued that the vapor trail left by the missile appears to be one single line of uni.form intensity which is extremely slow in dissipating. It was pointed out by him that in the case of a normal - 2
. ' vapor trail being left by an aircraft moving at extreme~ high speeds or extremely high altitudes, the vapor trail usually will be from the wing tips and/or the exhau~t of the engines, thus presenting several lines. But, in any event, even ~ouslj onJJ, one line were visible, it would be ~ther quick to dissipate. This indif1ted to him that the vapor trail represents some atmospheric change along the :path or the missile, which voul.d not be the case were it any presently known type of aircraft. "'1.1> 1.L ;e:e continued that 1nf'arma t on shed b him should be the. u;gp.oe ,gon:£'1 enia. in t he was not !E_eald.~ off c a but as a ere l \ j \ Datter of C~EGJ;t1gR. Re s¥atea that the mtter wasoeing g ven absolutely no •aieeem!nation by t he air force or other JD.ilita:cy persOID1el, and that they had not deemed it advisable to advise him of all information pertaining to the missile. He continued, however, that in his conversation w1th representatives at Wright Field and in re&d.ing reports returned to this country by f'ore1gn agents, he had gathered together certain information which might be of assistance in determining whether or not these so-called missiles were authen:tf.o, usable and of claxJser to the United Statee. First, he pointed out that knowledge o£ such a possible aircraft is not by aey meaDS new, it having been known as early as four years ago that same type of flying disc was be1ns experimented with by the Russians. In addition thereto, he stated that more recent reports have been received from representatives of the Central Intell.igence Agency in Southern Europe and Southern Asia to the effect that the Russians were experimenting with some type of radical aircraft or guided missile which could be dispatched for great dis tances out over the sea, mde to turn in flight and return to the base from which it was launched. Thie fact was extremely worthy of notice as experiments in this country have so far only developed to the point where we are concerned with deliverine a missile to the required point of impact, and no consideration has been given to imparting to that missile the ability to return. Seconcll.y, he stated that it is a known fact that the Russians are attempting to develop some type of nuclear energy, that they received a wealth of information concern ing nuclear energy at the time of their occupation in Ge.rmany, and that they too have at their dispoeal the limited supply of the necessary fissionable materials. He stated that insofar as aey opinion as j;o hether or not they have the ability and scientific lmowledge to create such • u - o elled missile is etrictl.J' a matter o£ conjecture, and that he wou esitate o nite statement. He pointed out, however, that the Russians have acme very capable scientists in the field of atomic energy and that, in addition thereto, they took into their custoc:'cy sane of the most advanced and capable scientists of the Ge:r,mn Nation. Re also etated that a peculiar fact concerning the missiles exists from reports he has received which is worthy of notice, and that is that from all appearances, they usually approach the United States from a northerly direc tion and have been reported as returning in a norther.cy direction. None have ever been lmown to crash, coll.ide or disintegrate over American soil, but it woul.d appear that they come to the United States, cruise around, and go back over the North Pole. He states that insofar as is known to him, there has never -3
/ been any piece of one recovered from any source whatever in order that ~tical study of its nature could be nade. Insofar as was known to him, the o~ actual 1fA~er1f,l which would be of~ value in determining its nature ere telephoto :f.ho!!phs which are now in the possession of engineers at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohi How detailed and how clear these photographs are, he was unable to state. Hes ted that one report has been reoeived concerning a collision o:f these missiles with another type of aircraft. This report, according to him, took place a ehort time prior to the report of numerous discs overr the United States, and the report 8l1Bllated from Czeohoslovalda. This report was th.at a Czecho slovakian transport had collided with some unidentified missile while in mid-air over the ocean, and that said missile and said transport bad been complete~ disintegrated vith.out recovery of parts or eurvivors tram eith.er. It was the belief of Colonel GASSER that this undescribed missile was perhaps the same tY'Pe of thing as the f~ng saucer~ Another :factor of' notice, accord.ins to Colonel GASSm, and as is portrayed by the photographs, it would appear that the missiles oan be maintained at a certain altitude above the contour of the ground. This could be done by, means of acme t1"P9 of radio altimeter or radio control. Natu rally, the path of the missile is not in emct parallel to the contour, as its purported great speed would create considerable lag in its flight. Another factor which is wor~ of note, according to Colonel GASSER, is that it is normally reported as beins seen at tremendouelJ' hish altitudes and al.ways travel ing in a straight line. He stated that he himself observed, on one occasion, a single vapor trail coming fran sane type of aircraft at unbelievabl.7 high altitudes, vhioh vapor trail extended tran horizon to horizon in a perfectly straight line. He observed the vapor trail while it was in the process of :formation and states that it vae ccmplete~ unlike ~ vapor trail he had ever observed before 1n all of his experienoe vith the air foroe. It was his judgment that whatever creat ed the vapor trail vas traveliDS at an unbelievably tremendous speed. This, together with reports that when close to the ground,the missile travels at speeds which make possible visual observation of its actions, would refl.ect that there is sane ability to control the speed of these missiles as well as the altitude. ( colonel GASSER concl.uded that this matter, whil.e still purely a matter of gueeevork, is nevertheless a source of great concern to the military establ.ish :ment of this country. Great efforts have been expended by the service to determine Just what the nature of these missil.es might be and, upon so determinins, deci d.e whether or not an adequate defense can be establ.ished. He also stated that it has given impetus to the research being done by the air farce in their own pro gram of nuclear mert53 for the propulsion of aircraft to devel.op guided missil.es) He also advised that insofar as was known to him, there was absolutely no con nection betwem these missiles and the fact that they vere observed close to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He stated that this vas perhaps, and probably, a mtter of coincidence and they were seen in this area merely as they vere seen in forty six of the forty-eight states of the United States during the Month of July when so~ reports were being received. Thie inforr.ration is being submitted to the Bureau for whatever val.ue it may be, and no further action 1n the nntter is beina contemplated by this office, unless advised to the contrary. CCM:bk 65-11 Enclosures - 3 -4-
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sfA.NDAAdtr0AM NO. C~
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~ .Office Memorandum
•
• UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
To
~~rector, FBI
DATE :
12/28/48
FR~ {\ Ac, Houston
syBJ: ~
YING PISCt;: L,
l_;
LONNIE EDWo/OACK, Complainant
Attention: Assistant Director D. M. Ladd
Remytel 12/28/48 in the above captioned matter.
F9,P-"'the BU7eau's information, on 12/27/48 Mr. FULLER
"1:fLACKWELL, an attorney with offices 410 Kress BuiLding,
Houston, Texas, telepho~ically contacted the~oton
Office to advise that he had a friend, LONNI
OACK,
who had some information on an object which ight be
a flying disc.
Mr. BLACKWELL stated he was calling in
response to Mr. NOACK's suggestion and as a means of
determining what authorities would have an interest
in this matter.
He said Mr. NOACK was a machinist
employed by the Humble 011 and Refining Company, Houston.
Mr. BLACKWELL, in calling, advised that the disc, or
object, was approximately eight feet in diameter, had a
tail and wings, and apparently was equipped for jet
propulsion.
He stated NOACK had observed this.object
at a desert location near Las Vegas, Nevada;
further,
that Mr. NOACK had taken some movie film of the disc and
that this film was currently in his possession.
Immediately upon receipt of the above information,
Mr. Robert B. Fleming, Special Agent, o.s.r., Ellington
Field, Texas, was notified as was true of Captain Harold
Bush, MID representative, also Houston.
As a result of
these referrals, arrangements were effected with Mr.
NO~ to bring his film to the Houston Office for a showi
~~ P.M., 12/27/48.
This was done with Messrs . Bush,
~~~leming, Noack, and Special Agent Graham W. Kitchel and
~~Cj\,)~C).,, the writer observing.
Arrangements were then made for
~
~ -
Mr. NOACK to again a~pear at the Houston Office on the
i
\\ morning of 12/28/48 in order that his information might be
&:duced to writing.
Mr . NOACK in making his initial
w>pearance at the office surrendered his movie film which
~
~ consisted of one 50 foot roll of 8 nim mov1e •f11m.
Approximately
~)(_,~ <<J-fifteen feet of this roll relates e~ciusively to the pictures
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IJOV1-03Al3J3N. , • • Director Re: Flying Disc HO 12/28/48 While observing the object, Mr. NOACK noted an aluminum cyJ1nder which had become detached from one of the wing tips and he brought this back with him as a souvenir. This cylinder conceivably could act as a rudder, a rocket housing, or fuel tank attachment. Mr. NOACK initialled the cylinder and surrendered it also. There are attached hereto for the Bureau two copies of a signed statement taken from Mr. NOACK dated Houston, Texas, 12/28/48. Two copies of the statement are attached for the Los Angeles Office, and one informational copy is being designated for the Cincinnati Division. The original is being retained in the Houston file. One copy of the statement is attached to the copy of this letter for the FBI Laboratory. During the interview with Mr. NOACK, Mrs. ROSE C. ROTSEL, a stenographer for O.S.I., Ellington Field, recorded the statement for O.S.I. use . Initial information obtained concerning this flying disc was furnished telephonically to Inspector Howard Fletcher at the Bureau, 9 A.M., 12/28/48. Mr. Fletcher requested the Bureau be given a summary of the information by teletype, with interested offices being similarly notified, and that the signed statement of NOACK be submitted AMSD. He further instructed that he did not want the Bureau "side tracked" in the handling of this matter, but that FBI representatives should assume an active interest in the investigation throughout, cooperating, of course, with O.S.I. representatives. Mr . Fleming's headquarters are the District Commander, 5th o.s.r. District, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. On the morning of 12/28/48 Mr. Fleming sent a telegram to his District Commander giving a general summary of the original complaint. Mr. Fleming was unable to advise how the 5th o.s.r. District would handle their inquiry in this matter. He stated this could either be handled by Wright Field dispatching a special plane to California or by having their District Commander, 18D, O.S.I . , San Bernardino, California handle it. He stated 1n any event it would be necessary for O.S.I. representatives to first confer with Mr. R. C. PERSON, named in this statement, as being the individual who initially discovered the flying disc and would lmow also its present whereabouts. -2
• • . . Director Re: Fl7ing Disc HO 12/28/48 Mr. PERSON, as indicated, maintains a business at 4116 Avalon Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, telephone Adams 5281. To insure the Bureau's participation in this matter, SAC R.B. Hood, of the Los Angeles Office, was contacted telephonically at approximately 11:30 A.M. (CST) 12/28/48 with the suggestion he maintain contact with Mr. PERSON. +t1 ,,,JI., ., Also in keeping with Bureau instructions, the roll of / film received from Mr. NOACK, together with the aluminum 71 portion of the fuselage, is being forwarded separately to 1t"",jr the Bureau, attention FBI Laboratory. O _ ti~ ~ tli-' GNW:NK Encl.(2) AIR MAIL SPECIAL DELIVERY ~ iJiqt1 CC: Los Angeles (Encl.) AMSD Cincinnati (Encl.) AMSD FBI, Laboratory (Encl.) Package -3
Houoton, Texas Dec • ?.8, 1948 ,I, LOiffiIE EDWARD )WACK, residing 2921 Cl'.1cago Street, Houeton 17, TexaE, make the following statement to Special Agent Robert D. Plemine and Chr1etopher R. Dradley, reDreeentatlvcc of the Of.t'1ce ot E-pecia'l Investigat ton, Ellington OSI Detachment, Ellington Field, Texoa, and Special J\gents Orahain . &itohel ana Galen N. I1llia who I know to be Special !agents of the Pederal Bureau or InYest1pt1on. On Monday afternoon December 6, 1948, at about 6 P.N., Mr. a.c. PERSON, Mr. YfATHAlf SJII'l'H,. )Ir. C.A. TOCK, Mr. R01SER'J.' BROUSSARD and another man, n&Jl8 not recalled, and I had dinner at the Old Virginia Inn, Loa Angeles, California. After dinner we went back to Mr.. Ssnitn•a electrical manutactur1ng company which he own.a and operates 1l1 Loa Angeles, CA11torn1a. Mr. PERSON told us about aeeing a tlytng diac and we made an appointment to leave early the next mom!~ by car• with our oueraa, to go to the location or the d11c. Mr. PERSON waa detained at some private air f.ield so we did not leave until about 2 P.M. ml. December 7. 1948. We arrived at the acene ot the tlyin.g diso and ~ook pictures of the d1ac which vaa still 171.ng around. Mr. SIIIITB took about 10 1'eet of 16 mm tilm and Mr. PERSOX took five or six ahota wlth a Speed Graphic Camera. He noticed that the t1r•t three shots were taken when the adapter on his lens was closed too much and I don•t icnow 1r they turned out all :right. Jllr. SMIT!I •uggested I hold the t1ying diac up and rotate it around and he would teke llY' p1ctu •1th 1ror came~. Atti!r taking the picture•, we patched the fence o~ Mr. PERSOK'• property where people had been cutting the wire to get to a road. f left and then d~ove baok and had dinner at Eaton•a Inn and they took me back home to Hollywood, ca11tom1a. I would like to recite that I loft Houston, Texan 11:30 A.M. on Sunday; December 5. 1948, tor Cal~fornia by plane and tlew to Hollywood, California on o commercial plane on buoinese matters. On arriving 1n Hollywood, I mot Mr. PERSON in Holly,rood on Monday, December 6, 1948,. and at that time he told :me about the tlylng disc he had located. 'He stated he bad gone to Laa Vegaa by h1a personal plane and saw the disc from the a1~ on hie way back.
.. On December 7, 1948 •• went out J.n Mr. tfA'l'HAlf SNITH'• car and ploked up h1a wife and left hia hoae in South Pasadena about 11 A.M. We drove out to an airport where hia plane was about rorty a1lea trom Pasadena DN he was having the plane repaired. He wanted to be aure the plane was on a truck betore we left for the destination where the di•c •••. Iri aaking thia trip, we proceeded out by a race track and ~•••done ot the Kaiser ateel works and the Virginia Dare Wine Orchard. I would say we went directly north or northeast tr,om Pasadena, ca11rom.1a. We droTe through a town called Matonia (phonetic) and tollowed a roaa through •o•e mountaina and through. a ••11 de1ert. I would eatiute the di•tance trom Pasadena to where the d1ac ••• tound to be about 150 mllea. The terrain 1n wh1oh the diac waa tound could be described •• tlat,deaert. and de■ olate. t would like to •~lain that Jlr. PERSON haa private ~pert,- (an airport which he purcba••d rrom the govemaent) right by the location or the d1ac. Mr. PER.SOR thought the di•c might have been launched tro11 hie ail'J)ort. but whether that ••• it or not - •• don•t know. Nr. PERSON 1a1d he usually tlew at an altitude or about 8,000 te•t and, or course, he tlew lower 1n ao• apaced. He did not mention hia altitude at the t1M he tlrat eaw the diac. 'lbe disc waa located preot1ca117 Juat outa1de his pros:,erty and •• were going north, •o it would be eaat or hia property. He has about 900 acres. When •• arr1ved at Mr. ,PERSON' • propert7, •• aaw the d1ac, or .flying wing, and it n■ on th• ground 1n a aeJll1-vert1cal poe1t1on, approxiJnately a 45 de~• arigle, With the le:t"t wing babedltd in the gr9und. In loold.J:tg at the ground, it appeared that the obJect had hit the earth with cona1derable force and had slid 300 to 400 feet. It wa• dent•d but was generally intact. I th1illc the picture, I took with a Revere 8 - camera quite well ahow th• tom, shape and size or the "wing." I am 5' 7" tall and 1n atand1ng next to the object when it was in an upright poaition, 1t wae alightl7 higher than my height. I would ••7 it waa rollgbly seven feet in diameter, b•fore crashing. On each e1de or the obJect there were w1rma approxillately t~ur feet b7 twent7 inches and three 1nohes thick with an axle that protruded through the dlac and 1.J\to the wing■• It waa aounted on ball bear1nge which the diac rotated on. 2
1be disc .1iielf wae approx1111ately two reet thick in the center, tapering to a reather edge at tll• rim. On the outalde or the disc, near the rill, there were tunnel shaped cupa bradded on and these were apace4 all around on both aides, each cup ti-.C approxiMtel,- twenty tnehea apart. The openings of these cups were to the rear. The d1ac 1teelr was natural al'UD'linum with no paint on it except ot the type or aluminum which waa 24 S.T. and 1t bore th1a stamp. 'l'he ·wings were painted a yellow.green cuaoutlage color. The wing has a leading edge similar to that ot an airplane and tapera to the rear to a teather edge. ll'he wing••• ribbed throughout with altiJDinum r1ba ror substantial atrength. Each wing had a s1.m1lar rocket cartridge on each tip tutened by two bolts. I bad one ot the winga in my po■ aeea1on and have turned it over to the proper authorities. 'l'he cartridge on the one I had waa apparently knocked orr 1n the craeh. • There were two strut bars attached approxi•tel7 twenty 1nchea h-011 the disc leading to the rear with an elevator. Alao, the two struts protruded toward ·the front with something attached, a weight or aome tow a)'Btem, which waa during the oraeh anchored into the ground and bent and we could not exactly determine how 1t waa weighted or controlled. I would say the elevator wu approximately twenty-two inches long and about 5/8 inch thick with a alight taper to the rear and probably ten 1nchea wide. 'nle at"'• extending trom the trailing edge or th• wing to the •levator were •d• ot 5/8 inch steel tubing. The di■ c, in being lifted, would J~dge to weigh rro~ 80 to 100 pounds. With respect to the picture• taken, I took approximately 15 reet ot colored 8 mm film. . Tbe diec was built where they had the proper equipment to do ttie neceeaaey work because the7 had to have a epot welder and bu1ldµig equipment to male• the d1t'ferent angles. I ll1ght add that I ua an in■ tru■ent Ulcer tor the BUlllble 011 and Ret1n1ng. ColllJ)any and haYe a generally good knowledg• of machine and metal work. There was nothing on the object to 1nd1oate ita origin, whether .American or foreign •ke. It would appear, however, from the alum1nwa,worlalianah1p, etc. that it probably waa American 11&.de. -3
Arter we r1ntshed taking our pictures and d1scuaet.ng the object among ourselves, Mr. PER.SOK expreaaed an 1ntent1on or obtaining a truck and hauling the object to his ehop. I cannot say at th1• tiJJle whether he did th1a or not or where the object uy be at this particular ·date. Ve r1n1ehed ' our observation and picture taking at approx1.Jllatel7 5i30 or 6 P.M. on December 7. In reaponae to Mr. Fleming'• inquiry, there waa np"> radio equipment noted on the obJect 1n any: tashion or rorm. We returned to Pasadena, California, that evening arriving 1n Hollywood about 9 or 9,30 P.JII. I took some more pictures that night along BollJW00d Boule•ard on the unt1n1ahed roll or t1lm and then wetn over the Chinese 'l'heatre an4 took a picture or the a1anature or George "Hart and r1ntahed the 1"011. I bought another roll or tilm, and took them to the Eastman Xodak Company the following JIOnday which would be December 13, 1948. A• I Noall, thia la•tman shop waa ,on Loa Palmaa Street 1n Loa Angeles, Cal1tomia. !hey 1nfo1"1114td me they- would deYelop the tilm and that it would be ready on Thur1da,t.. I lett Cal1torn1a on Wednesday so they uiled the t11a to me at IQ' buaineaa addreaa, Bumble 011 Building, Rooa 159, Houston, Texas. I received th••• tilma on Deoeaber 23, 1948. After J.AY return from California I mentioned to several ~ rq bua.ineaa and •oetii.l acQuaintancea that I bad aecn t>.1• object, a. dise or saucer or whatever 7ou Jil.1.ght call it, and tolcl the• that I had taken pictures and would be glad to ahow them when the picture• arriYed. Aa atatedi I Nce1Yed the 111m on December 23 and at 1:30 P.N. on the same date I •bowed the t1lm ~n the projection room at 11\mble 011 to the tol1ow1ng1 D.W. BLAIR; J. HA.'l'TAWAY; d.A. PETERS0JIJ JAMES 8. OLIVI!R; VILLIAN JtIED, JR.; A.E. MBLETON; WAYRE CRAVPOJU>s D.A. BATTLE and two other snen whose names I do not recall. All or theae men work 1n the tnatrwnent ahop with• at HUllble 011 Is Refining Company. I also showed the fil.JI to ay lbrother-1n-law# E. JtULAK, or Pasaaena, Texa■, at home on the tollowlng night. On: Chriatmaa Day I met •o• friends and one ot the girle wu with a young bo7 who waa intereated 1n photography. l do not know tiia naJM but he work• at Southern Pacitic. I told him I had aome pictures or the fly~ d1•c but I did not show him the pictures but explained the di■ c. I think thia boy 18 the peNon who had hie friend at the 11ewepaper contact me.
I got ho• about 10,30 A.N. and PltllUC REED, o~ the C1t7 Deak at the •11ouaton P0at" called• and wanted to know about the d1ac. I told him I oould not g1Te hi■ any 1nt"ol'll&t1on on it. Be begged• tor the atory, but I told him iI would let hill lmow and that I had trienda I had to contact betore I could give hill any 1nfol"lllll.t1on. ! then got 1n touch •1th MP. Blackwood, '1/fT la-,er, the tollow1ng ■orninl and aaked hia 1r he kn &n7one in the PBI. He stated all th• PSI per1onnel he Jmew were no longer station.cl here. I then contacted the J'BI and turned the material over to them. Althougt\ I can't deaor1be where thia obJect 1a located, I believe I could go back to it and I am aure Mr. PEJtSOlf and and Nr. SNITH could go back to it. Nr. MA'fflAK SNITH'• buaineaa addreaa ls Nathan Sll1th Electrical Coapany., 105 South Pasadena Avenue, South Paaadena, Cal1fom1a. Mr. R. c, PDS0K 1a pre■ ident or the Vaaoo m.eotr1cal llllnutaoturing Co111P&ft7, -116 ATalon Boulen.rd, Lo• qelea, Cal1torn1a. Por record p~o•••• 1n takiria the picture• above reteJ:'Nd to., I did ao uatng exJ)o1ure or 16 !'ram.a per aecond at a di.a~ openiq or t6.3. I ua•d••-Xodak l'.odachrome t1lm. All'e"r,0·N The above atate-nt., -de YOlunta-.117 abd ~or 1.he 1 a,111,t• of proper author1t1••, 1• •d• to -;;.y b••t knowledge and bel1e1'. fiepreaentatives OSI, liiiriiton Pleld., Texas PBI, Houaton. Texae -5
• • r-Ac, Houston Janu&l"T 25, 1949 Director, FBI Reterenc. is made to Los Angeles teletype dated 12/29/IJl cid to Houst.oa t.elet.ype dated 12/28/t.S, 61cd the subsequent trans;i.1ttal or an 8ma\ movie film taken by Ur. LOttiIE NOACK, along With aewral parts or the aupposed flying diao to tle l nborato~y for examination. Sineo prior to rooeipt of tte above 1 t.eJU b7 the laborator, the inforir.ation •a:t cbtoined which identitied the supposed t:cy:lng disc as a tow tare;et and later a to7 kite, no examinat.ion was conduct.eel here. Accord1ngl7, these 1t4ima are be1ni returned to 700. via reg;l.atered .:as a3694 cc, SAO, Lo• An&elea H!conoF/\ 4-U .. 60 • • INDfXFD 60 Zl r 31 19' ~j • EX-59
~·)u.snr· 10 .i.cr30 -~ NlN;, '\ l 83 • ~ • ~ (\il1r-: i\ e~-Xl T 8 .1 d0!Vij08~' 1 1 oP, l·lV ss 6 I
"
, Office Memml rldUm • uNtTED sTf r:s GovERNMENT
.,
TO
: The Director
DATE: January 241 1949
\tr. Tolson~
FROM
: D. M. Ladd
11.-. Clegs,__
tJ
:::o~ avl
llr. 111
s
SUBJECT:
FLYING DISCS
!Ir. Ro __
K'
:.: Egan,.::-.:::==
f{fu
I thought you might be interested in the following information
:: ~~~
concerning "Flying D1,:,c..s" which has ~en fl.l,rnished to the Bureau on a
::: ~::;;1,=
confidential basis by Colonel- C ~Gasser, Re~id~- Erlgin~er, Air
:~•==~
Material Comnand, U. S.Arrey, who is the pr incipal anny technician at the
~::=~
Nuclear Ehem::!csr:::t1'iErPropulsion of Aircraft ~E1ai:ch Cent.er. ~-Oak..Ridge,---
Tennessee.
.
Colonel Gasser stated that he knew nothing of an C2flliial._ nature__£f>,Ecerning
''Flfi~g Discs" other than ~he fact that they are believed by Air ,toz:E!, ,El~lljgence
officials to be man-made m.issil~s, }"at.Jler_than so~ natural phenomena. It was his
further bel ief that a great deal of information has been C.Q!!miled concern~ng these
missiles by air force intelligence.., and that r.!_search on the matter was being
extensively done at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
Colonel Gasser then continued with his own ideas as to what .might be
the nature of these discs which ideas he had formulated through review of those
known facts and theoretical conjectures of himself and other scientists concen1ing
the nature of flying discs and .oethods of propulsion for such type of aerial
mechanisn. According to him, flying discs have long been a theoretical possibility,
and,in fact, a possibility- wmcb wou!_d _indicate one of the best means by which to
break through the barriers of the supersonic area. He stated that sc;.ientistLhave,
tor- many years, been attempting to develop this type of aircraft. Some e~ri
mentation has been done_ even in the U~ited Sta~es, bit i nsofar as is .lmown in the
United States at the present time, there have never been any practical developments.
As a second- factor orconsideration, Colonel Gasser stated that _insofar as is known
to U. S. scien_!;ists at this time, there is no known chemical fuel v.hich_would .make
possible tremendous range of flight aich as is ascribed to the reported
11flying
discs." According to Gasser, there is onlY ooe possible fuel;_ which could be
uti:(°ized _which is in.. ac~ord with present theory, and that is the utilization of
atomic energy.
He stated that tru,s subject matter was being given absolutely no disseminc1:tion
by the ~JQT-<;e .9r .Qt.her .milit..acy_personnel and tha.!:,_J,.!!_ey had not deen:ed it
adyisable to advise_ him of all information pertainigg to thi~e .missile. He
/
continued, however, that in his conversation wit_~entatU,es at Wr~_E~ld
_,/
and in reading r~_p,orts returned _to this country by foreign agents, he had gathered
together certain information which might be of assistance in determining whether or
n~these so- call8i .missiles were authentic, usable and of aanger to the United States.
EHM:hhr ~
FEB 8 19 9~p /..
•
He pointed out that knC71'1ledge of such a ~ ssi.ble aircraft is not by aey_means
new and t hat i t was known as early as four years ago that some type of flying
discwas being experisnented...!'i.!.,h by the Rus§,i~s.
In addition he said that mor!;
recent repo~ts .ha.v~ been...received from representatives of the Central Intell~nce
A~ in Sout~ern Europe and Southern Asia to the effect that the Russians were
experimenting wjt]i some type of radical aircraft or guided missile which could be
dispatched for great distances out over the sea, made to turn in flight and ~rn
to the base from which it v.as launcbed.
He related that this information was
extremely worthy of notic9 as experiments in this country have so far onl.y developed
to the point where ~e are concerned with delivering a mi..ssile to the required point
of impact, and no consideration has been given to imparting to that aus sile the
abil ity to return.
He also advised that it is a known f act t hat the Russians are
attempting to develop so~ t~e o!. nuclear energy., that. they .received a wealth..of
information concerning nuclear ~nerSLA,t tbe time of their occupation in Germany,
and that they have at their ..d.is~al a l.im:ited supply of fissionable materials.
He pointed out that the Rµssians have some vecy capable scientists in the field
of atoni: energy and that, in addition thereto, they took into their custody some
of the most advanced and capable scientists of the German Nat ion.
Colonel Gasser stated that a P.eculiar fact conce!:._ning the~ ~iles
is found in reports he has received,that from all appearances the missiles
usually approach the United StatesJrom a northerly direction and have been reported
as~urn7:ng in- a northerly direct ion.
He advised that nO{!e have ever been known
to crash c~llide or disintegrate over American soil, but it woula appear that they
come to the United St ates, cruise around, and go back over the North Pole. He
stated that :insofar as is known to him there has never been a,nz..£!._rt of a missile
of this type recovered from any s::>urce whatever in order that an analytical. study
of its nature could be made.
He stated that on~ report hai been received concerning
a collision of these ~es ~ith another type of aircraft. This report, ac::c::ardi og
to him, emanated from Czechoslovakia and took place a short time prior to the ~Q.tt
ofnumerous cfiscs over the Uni,1:ed States. According to Colonel Gasser a, Czechoslovakian
transport had reportedly collided with some unidentified missile while in mid::air
over1£e"o'cean, ana that the mis§ile and transpor~re co)N?lete~ disinte.ua..ted
without recovery .of parts or survivors fro~her •
. Colonel Gasser concluded that this matter, while still purely a mat\!:
of guesswork, is nevertheless a source of great concern to the military establl.shioont
o(_filils countr,:- He advised that great efforts have been expended by tl_le milJ.i.ary
service to determine the nature of these missiles and upor1so determining, decide
whether or not an adequate defense can'6e eslablished. He stated that it has given
impetus to the research being done by the air force in their own program of nuclear
energy for the propulsion of aircraft to develop guided missiles.
ACTION:
None.
'!be above is for your :information.
-2• Authority: NND 90986 DEPAB'nlENT OF THE ABMY STA.FF J.iESS.A.GE CENTER INCO~INO CLASSIFIED ~LESSAGE CONFIDEllTIAL PAllA.PHRASE NOT REQ,UilillD PRIORITY From: CO Kirtland AY.B New Mexico To: Chief of Staff US.A.F attn Dir of Special Invectigatione Officer of the Inspector General 3 Nr: OSI-l-90 31 January 1949 Reference previous reports. subject: unknown, aerial phenomena, file number 24..8. Sighting of identical object reported at 2255Z 30 Jan 49 by aprx 30 people. Estimate at least 100 total sightings. AEC1 AFSWP • 4th Army. local conwanders perturbed by implications of phenomena. Sighting reported from El Paao, Alburquerque, Alamogordo. Roswell. Socorro, and other locations. All appear to be same object at different points in trajectory. Un.less instructed to contrary this office will make all out investigation with view to location of impact point if any. Request reply. ~ 4,, " 'v / ~ ACTION: AF ?f RECORDED • lG ,(2 - ! INFO: ID. PO -F o 13 fEB '110. ·1JJ,W t i -1fli (l.i IN 321 (,a Feb 49) DTG: 312l.45Z d#./B RC 5/1 t'k \G COPY ~ ~ FEB 2819 - I
Room 5744 _31...,_..,,..__3_______ 1949 __Personnel Fil s ect1on -------·- ----------- --Records Secti _Mrs. Skillman See Me For Appropr iate Action Send File Not e and Return ~ ~ TO: V Director __Mr. Clegg _Mr. Glavin _Mr. Harbo _ _ Mr. Ladd _Mr. Nichols ---Mr. Rosen __Mr. Tracy __Mr. Fletcher -Mr. Mohr _ _ Mr. Carlson _ _ Mr. Nease _Miss Gandy Mr. Tracy....•••••._ Mr. Egan••••••• •-··· Mr. Guroea .......... Mr. Harbo ........... Mr. Mohr ·······-··· Mr. Peonlogton . .... l\fr. Qulo.n Tamm.... t.!.r. Nease................... Mis~ Gandy.__ Clyde Tolson
•• . '11 Office M emorandum • UNITED S11iLL:.u -o-OVERNMENT r Director, FBI SAC, Knoxville 0 "FLYING SAUCEBS" Ol3SERVED OVER OAK RIDGE AREA INTERNAL SECURITY - X DATE: February 18, 1949 Reference is made to Knoxville letter to the Director dated January 10~ 1949, entitled as above. There is being :forwarded for the Bureau's information a cop~ of ~-:=-==j a letter :from Colonel C. D. GASSER, USAF, AMC Engineering Field Officer, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Mr. G. J. RATHMAN, Security Division, U. s. Atomic Energy Commission, Oak Ridge. This letter is self explanatory and reveals that the photographs forwarded with referenced letter are the result of accident or purposeful hoax and are not actually photographs of a "f l:.:1t:1 saucer". I Colonel GASSER personally advisec1: that whi l e the ·photographs are not real, his statements m£ '1<' conc'3r.1i.ng the ext otence of :f'l.y1ng saucers and the opinions '}Y.p:rtc l ~ad by h1L1 nevertheless stand as previously stated. ~~.._ \ ' CCMcS: jjc 65-11 \ ENCLOSURE ATTAOHBID "\ Enclosure ~ ~ ' I J:~,\t 7FEB 251949 ~ i¥
WJRE<JL8/cro/.1k NEPA Project, P. o. Box E C Oak Ridge, Tennessee 10Febru.8.171949 0 p y M:r. G. J. Rathman Chief', Investigation Section Security Division u. S. Atomic Energy Caamission P. O. Box E Oak Ridge, Temeesee Dear Mr. Rathman Thie is in response to your letter dated 16 December 1948, subject "Photographs", with inolosures, addressed to Major D. J. Grant at this site, oonoerning photographs taken during the month of July 1947 by Mr. William Presley ot 218 Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, of an unidentified object that appeared to be f'lying c:JVer Oak Ridge. Since receipt by Major Grant of the abc:JVe material, this ofi'ice has taken steps to secure an evaluation of same by the Air Force of':f'ice of the Chief, Technical Intelligence Division, Intelli gence Department, Air Materiel Cammand, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. As a result, the following informa tion bas been revealed: "When the negative, containing the sphere, is examined by strong incident light, it is noted that the emulsion is raised at that point above the normal level of the remaining emulsion. This indicates that either a drop of' warm.water or a drop of' developer struck the film at this point and rolled down this negative and the succeed ing negative. "To further substantiate this, it will be noted that when the two (2) negatives are placed side by side with the eaaes of the film aligned, the so-called "trail" is con tinuous, that is the two sections :match, indicating the drop rolled on f'ral1 one negative to the next. "Sill :further proot is shown on the fogged edge of the negative containing only the trail. This is proven by the fact that the trail extends beyond the normal format C 0 p y
C 0 p y Ltr. to Mr. G. J. Rathman, Chief, Investigation Section, u. s. AEC, dated 10 February 1949, Re Photographs of the negative. In other words, there is a trail of that section of the negative which was not exposed in the camera. Thie effect shows up in one negative and not in the other because the negative in question is fogged; therefore, this irregularity was developed. "Sti11 f'Urther proof of these defects lies in t.he number of unevenly developed sections of the negative." In view of the above, it is reoam:nended that this entire matter be declassif'ied and that Mr. Presley be advised of the nature o£ the images, if and when the negatives are returned to h1m by your office. For your information, this ottioe is taking the liberty of :turnish 1ng a copy o£ this ~ommnieation to Mr. c. c. Mcswain, Special Agent, F.BI, because of official interest eTidenced by his office 1n the matter. Your cooperation 1n furnishing photographs and negatives, together With information contained in your letter o£ 16 December 1948 to Major Grant, is sincerely appreciated. Vecy truly yours, C. D. GASSER Colonel, US.AF Am EngineerinsField Officer 3 Incle. 2 Negatives l Photostat cc - Mr. C. C. McSwain C 0 p y
Date l/';.'J/49 Consigned to :SAC' HOUSTOr L-26 oice of Contents from BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIO SHINGTON, D. C. Case References i,'1YIN G DIS CS LONHIE ED ·;ARD NOACK , Complainant List of Contents , --- Mr. Mr. mm Movie :--·1m, Mr . parts of supposed flying disc . Mr . COMMuNICAl ION ~CTION Mr . MAILED 16 FEB 8- 1949 P.M. 1 REGISTERED UAIL * RD£RAl BUlliAU OF IN\lf.STIGATION u. s. OEPAIITM&NT Of JUSTICE 3 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Mai 1 Room, place date of shi pment and rei ~[ n~m~ date of shipment and ·JJ.iti 1 this invoice; then return it to persou whose name right. Arter this checked name has been initialled, invoice should be plac ed Harbo, 7641 Conrad, 7142 Downing, 6228 IB __ Sizoo, 7601 Baughman, 7121 i<' I e r ; Shipping Room, show is checked in column at in adm,1nistrative file . ,-- -/ /
~ - _.,-U<DARD PORM NO. 64 • • ·Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Janu~ry 31, 1949 pIRECTOR, FBI TO DATE: FROM :SllC, .S,Ji ANTONIO SUBJECTlROTECTION OF VIT.i'..L IH3T• .LLiSIONS BURE..'.U FILE # 65- 58300 ~ _ii,!; ~ ij77 ~1.t recent ~feekly Intelli.::;ence Conferenceri of G-2, OIU, OSI~ cmd F .~ .I., Jr,- in the Fourth :,rmy .\rec., Oi'ficers of C- 2, Fou::::-th ,\rmy hc:.ve dir.:cu::ised the JJ.::.tter o,t 11Unidentified :.ircrc.ft11 o r 11Unidentificd Aeric.l Phonomeno.11 othe!'\1ise :_::nown a~ 11p13,?o _piscs11 , ~'Flyinf; S~.u~ rsrt., ~c.i:,ct "D~l~s of Fil·e 11 : .'JJ'?:s. _!'~~t-~~~ _i_s__c_o_n_s_3:qe_::::~a_. _o:p__s_e_c_~_~t_ _oy )A.@1:¼~0:C_e__0_1_f_i_e:e:1:s. _0_1~ _b_o_t_l!_ _t_~e. h.r:.-:: _.:-.p._c_ _th~ Lir Forces. It is ;.ell !:no;-m tlu-.t t~1ere hc:ve been during the p2.st tno ~'c.:-.1·s r e)orts from tho vo.rious p~rts of the country of the sit;hting of unicient.ificd 2.ericl objects which ht1ve been cc.llc,d in nc,-is::n-.pGl' po.rl.:.nce 11flying discs" and 1tfly.i.ng sc.ucers11 • The fil•st such sightings T:crc re:)ortcd from .SwedGn, ~nd it wo.s thought thc:.t the objects, the nf'ture of nllich v12s unknonn, r.1ight hr.vo orit,inded in :.cussic.. In Julr 1948 rn unidentified aircrr.ft r1c.s 11seen11 by an Zc.stGrn :.irlines Pilot c.nd Co-Pilot £1.nd onG or rnore p2:;scngcrs of the E2.stE:..rn ,.irlincs Plane over Eontgomery, ~·,1.:-.bama.. This c.ircr2..ft uc.s rG.JOrtcd to be of c.n uncon vcntionel t:;rpG without uin~s 0.nd resenbled gcnc;;;:c.lly n 11 rockct. ship 11 of the tJr1)c depicted in comic stri~s. It •:;~i: ri:;::iorted to he.VG had nindons; to hr:vE. been 1.:-..rgcr th,.n the :3r.stern :.irlines pl2ne, r...nd to hc..vc bc;en tr.:-..veling c.t c.n cstim.:-.ted speGd of 2700 nilc;s .:n hour . It ...'.:)P~['.red out of r. thunder- ~ hec.d ahce.d of the :;:,.stern :~irlincs plcnc rnd iJ:unedic.tcl!· disc.:)per.rGd in c.nothc~ cloud no.rrowly missing ~- collision n ith the 3t.stcrn ;·,irlines :)l2nc . No ~ sound or c.ir di:,turb.:-.nce ,:cs noted in connection 11ith this .:-.pp-.:c.rrnce. 0 l Durins the ,_)~. st t,,o months va.rious sightings of unc~c.;1.:-.incd phcnomcnn hc.ve ~ bcc;n :rc}ortod in thG vicinit;;: of the : . . E. C. Inst..".llc..tion .:-.t Los .~1.:-mos, Ikn Loxico, uh-::rc these p:1enom.:rn:. no,, c._>pcCT to ··be concentr.:-.t<c.d. During Dece.mbe:r 19L:S • n tho 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 13, ll~th, 20th end 28th sightings of uncxpkined :)henomcnc. 1'1erc ;,1c.dc ncr.r Los :,lc'.'.Il\os by Spccitl .".6cmts of the Office of Specitl Investi.6:::tion; ,.irline Pilots; Eilit2.ry :Cilots , Los I.le.mos 3ecurity Ins.)Gctors, c.nd )rivl'.tc citizens . On Jrnu"-ry 6, 1949, nnothcr si:ulc.r objGct ~~['..S sir:,hted in the St'.lns:: r.1~c2. . Dr. LINCOLl! L.. P .. z, c. lfotcorologist • f some note, h.:-.s bcc;n gcnerc.ll;r in chc.rg6 of the • bservc.tions ncr.r Los ..1.:-Jnos, r.tt€lil)ting to l Gr.rn chr.rr.ctGr istics of the unex:_)lr.ined ?h<::nor.,cnr.. U:,:> to this tiiae little concrete inform::.tion h.:-s becm obk.incd. a,, JZ,J :md RECORDED - 13~6_.£;:__ _ ~s:.- 100-7545 F B I cc: El Pc.so -(2J" Little Rock (2) 43 MAR 16 1949__ Dc.llc..s (2) " O!:L:.hor.\e. City (2) Houston (2) ~ J
• DIRECTOR, FBI l /31/49 Th-::rc h2.ve been d<'-:' t ime sightings 1',tich .:-sc tent~.tivel~' considei.'Cd to possibl y rescr.1ble the cxh:cust of some type of jct .)r opell0d object . :Tight- t i me:, si ehtings h<'.VC tc.ken the f orm of lights usuc.lly described D.S brillic.nt grCE.n, sLi.il:i.r to r. t;rGen t r clfic signc.l or br een neon light . Some repor t s indicc.ted thr.t the li[,ht begc.n c.nd ended ;1i th c. red or ormgc f lc:sh . Other rqort ::: h.:-.ve given t he color l'.S red, Tihi te , blu- \:l1itG, and yelloni sh L;r Gen. Tr.:-iling l:1•6hts soi,10 t:L:es observGd l".r c nc.i d to be re.ct.. The s:,ectrum c.n.:.lirnis of one l i i;ht in.di c.:-.tcs thc.t i t i.12.~r be ;:_ copper co,,)ound of the type l:no1:n to be uned in rocket CX;_Jeri,:ients c.nd T1hich co .~)lctely disintegr c.tes U)On cx)losi on, lc:-vine n• de'.n·i s . I t is noted tl1::c :10 de'ur in h-::-.s ever been Lnmm to be l oc:.tcd c.nyi,hero resul t ing f rom the une:x;_)lcined )henomcno.. Recent observ.:-.tions hc-.ve :1..1dic.:-.tcd th2.t the unidE.ntified ::,l1enorJcn2. tr.::vel D.t .:-. r.:.te of spGed c.st.L-:i..:s.ted 2.t .:. ninii,rnr.1 of throe uilGs .)€1' second encl c. nnximum of t1'1E.lve i.1iles per second, or c. m~c:-.n cnlculr.ted speed of scvGn ~d on0-hc.lf :.1ilE-s a sccond, or 27, 000 r.1iles en hour. Thei r rc.)ortGd course indi cc.tcs th.:.t they trt.vel on Qil Ee.st - ~·:est linG ·.iith _}robt.bilit~, th:.t thc~r C . .)pl'oc.ch f r om the Northern ~u.:.dr c.nt , ".'lhich 1:oLu.d be the l e.st str.t_;e of the L,l'cat cii"cle route if thG:' ori.::;in2.ted in Rui:;si ~. :.11en observed they s;..e:.1 to be in lcvc;l flii:;ht .:.t ;:. l:.ci6ht of six to ten 11iles l".nd tbus trc:.velin[, on ~-- t .n,sont to the ear th I s surfr.cc . The:' occ.:-siontll:- di:) .:-.t the. end of the ;,c.th r,nd on t•;o occ.:-sions :::. definite vGrticc.l ch2n.'.;e in _)t.th ,:.:-.8 indic.::.ted. These l)honor.1cnc. hcve not been l:nmm to hc·vE- been si.:;htGd, hm:cver, c..t c..ny intGrmc.dit.tc po:i.nt bet1;ecn ::-mssi,. l"nd Los ;,ltJ,1os, 1Jut only ::·.t the c.nd of the flisht tour.rd the ;:.pp.-.rent rrtc..rget11, n2.1:1ely, Loi:; ..le.mos. In every cc.sG but onG the si12.pc of thc objc.cts hes been r epo1·ted c.s r ound ii1 2. point of light T1itll 2. definite <'-l'Gt. to the Ji[)1t I s source;. One l~c,?ort gi ves .:-. d::.c.moncl she.pc: .:-.nother indicc.tc,; th-.:- t trc.iling lit;hts ,.rG elon._,c.ted. T!1c sizE. i s uau:-.11:r co, !_).:-.red to one- fourth thG cl.i.'.'.;.1ctc;r of the full :noon, .:-nd t:1oy ;1;-ve t.lso been coi.1pc.rcd in sizG to 2. br.s:~ctbr.ll 11i th tre.ili11.:.; li0hts thG size of 2. 02.scb, .11. On no occ~.sion h:--.s sounc: been i".ssocii"'.ted dircctl:· ·.1ith the phonor,1on2., but une:x:_)l .:.ined sounds }12.ve been :.'e)orted f roi'a Los :.1-:-Jnos. On t·.io occ-.sions rei-:>ol"ts t.::-.vc. bGen rccGived of th<:: si.:,hting of multiple uni ts. Some nine sci entifi c re2.sons c.rG s t::tcd to GY..ist l:hi ch indic.:-.ted th.:'.t tho :phcmomenc:. observed .::.r G not due to rnet Gori tes . ThG onl:- concl usi ons rGc.chcd t hus fr.r r.re th2.t the:· .:-.re either hi therte. unobse1'vod n:-.tut'c.l phGnorncn::-. or thc.t they r.re n12.n m::.dc,. ;io scientific ex)crii.wnts c.r c i~nm:n to exist in this country l1hich could give ri:e to such phenomen.:-.. - 2
• • • .,. DIP..ZCTOR, FBI 1/31/49 :;r:·s. L'illELL;.E G~;yHNE ::sr..cH:J:T· E's the subj Gct of c. letter fror.1 the :,tlmtc?. office to the :Surec.u d.:::ted ,·,u[_;ust 10, 1948, entitled, 11LiDELL.iS a· YllNE E&CHiJ~T; Il-1FORE.~:i'ION CONC:S}UHi;G. " .She hr.s 1nritt6n Ilk"l1Y l etters to Jiilit2.ry ;,uthoriti0s concerning her t heories r e.:;c.rding .~tomic Energy. s:!c, h. ·'-· t,cn,..,rdly been considered unrelic.bl G and ) OSsibly ;:wntally unbal c>ncod. She, hm·:cvcr, has submittod to Uilitc1ry 2.uthoritics t he only theory thus f;:,.1• '.mo~·m that hr.s r..n? credi bi lit? r..t c.11, m:.ncly, tht.t the. li6hts .:.re ..12nifcstc.tions of cosnic r.:.ys v!hich c:.rc directed to•,;ard c. specific }Oint. She further theoriz€s thE.t such r.:.ys r.1.r.y intGrfe.rc '.iith the i gnition of 1:1otors c.nd mc.;;r ,2.ccount for vo.rious uncx}lc.incd air ere.shes. Tho wove is subr.u.tted for the confidcmtir.l info:rm.etion of the Bu:ce..:,u 211d offices to ::rhich co) ies of t::i s letter ere directed so th.::-.t thGse offices Dt.y cv.3.ulc.:tc ~y such re.Jorts t he:' r.':t::;/ ht.Ve reccivod o:;..~ r.1t.:· receive 1n t he future. . I '.:. is not0d tl10.t the Fourti1· ;_rr,1y hc.1., the res:1onsibilit;r of ~,:cotc;ctinr, vitc.l inst2;llr.tions r.t Los ..1:-.mo.s, Ne,: L::xico, s.,ndic. n_..se, Nc:i i.:cxico, o.nd c-.--~ H,:>Dc. , Texas. ;'..ny infor;.1c).tion dovGlopcd ::,l1ould be CX[>Cditiousl:- trc.nsrilitted to G-2, Fourth ;.:::;-y. r-:-, ~-.,, further noted that G- 2 2.nd O.S. I. a.re .::.cti voly on.:_;E.[;C.d in inve.stig,:;_ting t his iiu:.tter. No ii"1v6stis:.tion is :icint conducted 'Jy this office. - 3
- ffAN?"R"-~~- 64
-.,
,
,,
•
\;
~ Office
. ,
Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
fV¼ ·:o ,
11r. Ladd ~
DATE: March 14, 1949
FROM
Mr. Fletche:r:~
:::m:n__
llr. Glavln
Mr, !..ad~:~-_-_-_
..... Nlchola__
SUBJ ECT:
wr. Rosen__
FLYING DISCS
..... Tracy__
Mr. Egan:,,.,,....-
::=~
::'. r.:1ngton_
PURPOSE
Mr. Quinn Te.a_
Tele. Rooa__
Mr. Nease__
Illes llolltlis__
Illes O&:ncly__
The approval of the Executives Conference is requested for the
attached SAC letter furnishing to the field the type of infonnation
desired by the Intelligence Division of the Air Force in connection with
the captioned matter.
,.
BACKGROUND
You will recall that by Bureau Bulletin #57, Series 1947, dated
October 1, 1947, the field was advised that effective as of that date the
Bureau had discontinued its investigative activities in connection with
flying discs .
The field was advised that all future reports concerni ng
this matter received in the field should be referred to the Air Forces.
I
Colonel c. D. Gasser, Resident Engineer, Air Materiel Command,
Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft Research, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, has recently and confidentially advised the Bureau that
flying discs are believed by the Air Force to be man-made missiles
rather than some natural phenomenon and that as much as four years ago
it was learned that some type of flying discs were being experimented
upon by the Russians. It was further detennined f r om Colonel Gasser that
most all of the flying discs seen by persons in the United States approached
this country from a northerly direction ana returned in the same direction,
indicating the strong possibility that they are coming from Russia.
The Department of the Air Force has furnished to the Bureau a
' sufficient number of copies of a memorandum dated ~b!'l,)aty 15, 1919 captioned
"Unconventional Aircraft" which can be furnished to our field offices.
STATUS
1~_...l[.-5tfz~ - I
RECORDED - 76
F
At the present time this Bureau is conduct3"1'1ARo2fii.,J:MVt:,igation of
infonnation r eceived in the field relating to the caption-l~Mtter.ef }·..,vl
RECOMMENDATION
, _
~-r.,.,
- d
rt is reccmmended that the attached SAC letter and enclosure be
forwarded to the field to advise them of the type of questions to be asked
of persons who voluntarily submit information relative to 11flying discs. 11
Although no active investigation will be conducted by the Bureau, it is
iJ
believed that the captioned matter is of sufficient importance t o the
internal security-of the country that our field offices should secure as
much information as possible from compai.nants in order to assist the
Depart'm~t,of'l
1 •~ Ai Ferce.
✓
~
EHM :E'HW
Hf I{ \)
,
Attachment::,g ,......, <-.o ( 0 .... 0::, .. . :IJ/J.~/i, :J I J.CJ:/t} ' II I 8 J f,, Hd cs v r YcJV U:J/\13J3tJ ~ !:l:, •.: "-...., ,, ll1 ~ --l:;. t.:;: c-:, ll~ ~· !:!! 3: ~ ~ ~ ....,_ C. ')!:: V, I :n '7 0\ .... ·- ,...., ~ ;g •...:. ~ t.c,
,...-ANDARI> •ORM NO, 64 • •~ i:e Memorandum • UNITED STATES• GOVERNMENT TO DIRECTOR, FBI DATE: March 22, 1949 FROM SAC, SAN ANTONIO SU:BJ ECT: PTIOTECTION OF VITJ,.L INSTALLATIONS BUREAU FILE 65-58300 c..) I I Re San Antonio letter t o the Director dated January 31, 1949, which outlined discussion had at recent nec!:ly Intelligence Conferences of G-2, ONI, OSI and FBI in the Fourth :.my Area concerning 11Unidentifi ed Aircraft" or 11Unidentified Areial Phenomena" •therwise kno\'m as 11flying di scs11 , 11Flying saucers" and 11balls of fire". It is repeated that this matter is considered secret by Intelligence Officers of both the Anny and the Air Force. G-2, 4th Anny, has non advised that the above matter is now termed 11Unconven tional Aircraft" and investigations concerning such matters have been given the name 11Project Grudge" . G-2, 4th Anny, advised on Febr uary 16, 1949, a conference was held at Los ,'i.].amos, Nen Mexico, to consider the t,o-called 11Green fire ball phenomena" 11hich began about December 5, 1948. I t was brought out this question has been classified. "secret" and that investigation is now the primary responsibility of the U.S •. Air Force, Air Eateriel Comm.and, T- 2 . Dr. LilTCOLM Lf~ PAZ of the University of New Mexico, discussed one siting which he himself had made which was termed the "Starvation peak incident11 and des cribed the following characteristics which indicated that the phenomenon could not be classified as a normal meteorite fall. l . There was an initial bright light (no period of intensity increase) and constant intensity during the duration of the phenomenon. I 2 . Yellm1 green color about 5200 Angstroms . 3 . Essentially horizontal path. 4. Trajectory traversed at constant angular velocity. 5. Duration about tY:o seconds. £,. No accompanying noise. ~E3rz:/ RECOUII •ti .., - ! I JEJ:md 2 cc: El Pas• (100-4562) 1!.-- /Jpr. t/- 17'-1? ln I Q 2 cc: Dallas 11 11 Houston 11 11 Little Rock 11 11 Oklahoma City - l.
.. ' • DIRECTOR, FBI March 22, 1949 It ,,as br ought out that since December 5, 1948 t;.hor e he.ve been more t han ten incidents analagous to the 11gr een fireball" above described and some t,•enty other s Y1i th ruiner devic.tions from the above. It is tlso pointed out the.t the only sitings 1·1hioh he.d occurred see.med to have been confined to the Los ~lrunos, Las Vegas,. ru1d ~·iest Texas triapgle , G-2 also c.dvised thct as of Novomber 1 , 1948, in.t'ornw,tion had bc.en r eceived f r om higher lfilitary authorities tm-.t tho Air Force hnd advised that such sitings occur periodical~ and that anot her per iod of siti ngs was then imminent . Further, on Fcbru~.ry 14, 1949, higher 1Iilitary authorities ndvised that it was believed that ult.iJ11ately it would be found that the phenomena in question have a natural explanation.. It is further noted thot c?.bout 7:30 p .,m. , 1!.'..rch 6, 19h9, what was at first thought to be a flar e was seen approximately onc- h<llf mile north of Killeen Base in the area of the Vital Instnllc.tion c.t Camp Hood, Toms, and a second flcro ;ms noticed £!.t 1 : 45 a .m. , J!arch 7, 1949, D..)pr oxinu:.tcly throe miles from Ki llGcn Bo.sc. It hc.s since bocn concluded thc.t t hG flc.res seen near Killeen r.re prob.::.bly simile.r t o the phenomena pr aviously noted in the Los AL."lllos, Sc.ndia Base Area although these ~re the first sitings of such phenomena near Cemp Hood. There apperu-s to be reason to believe th.:i.t the ~hove-mentioned phenomena may be connectGd 11ith secret expt;;rimcmts being conducted by some U.s. Government ...gency as it is believed thc.t the Unitod Stc.tos is fD.rther c.dvanccd in gui ded missile. developmGnt thnn any foreign poner. Although the pr im.c.".cy responsibility for investig~ting such matters is now ,a.th the U.S . A. F. Air Iratcricl Canrnund, G-2, 4th Army i s.still inter ested in being advised of any further sitings of such phenomena Hhich might be observod . - 2
,, .. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION / FonnNo. 1. THIS CASE ORIGINATED AT / HOUSTON REPORT MADE AT DATE WHEN r,tAD.lit PERIOD FOR WHICH MADE LOS ANGELES 12/28 . 29; 1/7,$ 3/30/49 TITLE ..t'LYING DISC~ 1011~"IE EDWA..W1 CK, com9lainant; Houston, Texas, ecember 27, 1948 SYN OPSIS OF FACTS: Object described by complainant as possible flying disc determined to be a model tow target or kite which had been ab3ndoned after unsuccessful tests. Portions of target positively identif'ied by HENRY T. RICE, L.A. manufacturer and erstwhile financial backer as being part of the model target or kite. RUC REFEREhCE : Teletype f r om Houston to Director dated 12/28/!8. Teletype from Los Angeles to Lirector dated 12/2u/48. Teletype f r om Los Angel es to Virector dated 12/29/48. DETAILS: This investigation is predicated upon the receipt of referenced teletype from the Houston Office advising that LONNIE EIJ?ARD NOACK had located an object in the desert near Helendale, California, r esembling a flying disc. This object , described as a flying disc, had been l ocated by NOACK, R. C. PERSON and :t.r. and l rs . NATHAN SMITH of Soutli Pasadena, Califori1ia, approxi mately one hundred and fifty miles northeast of Pasadena or about twenty '7 miles from Lone Pine, CaliJ.'ornia. Special Agent ElJi!ARD OLSEN detemined that R. C. PERSON, Vasco tanufacturing Company, was traveling in Arizona and not available for interview. APPROVED AN P£CIA.LAGENT DO NOT WRITE IN THESE" SPA CES FO"WARDED: IH C H.AftG-K 3 I 1- - ----~ ' --=-,~~~~~~--=-11BOAOm-9 COPIES OF" THIS REPORT Dure au b u l:_'8 ·.tlt1rrw.i .d 2 - Houston ~ 11•€! I J ..-----lffl:lt,tfh-:,y- 1 - IFO #2, Fort 1:acArth~~ 2 - Los Angel es COPJ ,,S D-r;- 1 9 27 v FILE NO. 105-445 REPORT MADE BY .. Wh.T!.iA? ~ROVINSE DPZ CHARACTER OF CASE INTERNAL SECURITY M
,,. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION f'ormNo.1 THIS CASE ORIGINATED AT FILE NO. 1. U•.'i'ON $ REPORT MADE AT DATE WHEN MAD£ PERIOD FOR REPORT MADE BY W HICH MADIE l, J. ~TUELES TITI..S CHARACTER OF CASE .iLYii'.G !DISCS; LONlrrE EU:ARD NOliCK, com,plai nant; Houston, Texas, December 27, 19L8 SYNOPSIS OF FACTS: Object described by complainant o.s possiblo flying disc detel'Jlmed to be a n:.o<iel. tow target or kite lihich had been abandoned after unsuccessful. tests. .Portions o.f target positivel y identified by HENRY T. RICE, L•.•• roanu:.racturer. and erstwhile finru1.cie.l backer as bi..ing -part or the ruodel tareet or ldte. RUC r~mm:: Teletype from Uouston to ~iroctor dated l r/20/48. TeletYPQ from :Los Angeles to Director dat~d 12/28/48. Teletype from Los Angeles to Director dated 12/29/48. DETAitss This inveatigation is predicated upon the receipt o£ referenced lielctype from the Houston Office advisine that LO:rtNm EJJ ARD NOACK had located an object in the desert near ~elendale, California, resmcbling a flying disc. This object, described as a flying disc.:, had been located by t10ACK, R. c. ffiRSOU a.,d la°• and l!rs. NATHAN S'&!I'1'li of South Pasadena., California., approxi. ma.tel.y one hunared and fifty :miles northeast of Pasadena or about twenty miles ~om tone Pine, California. Special Agent JW, ARD OLSElf detet'1llined that R. C. PERSOU, Vasco ,anufacturing Company, nas traveling in Arizona and not available £or interview. APPROVED ANO SPCCIAL AG£NT FO!tWAROEO: 00 NOT WRITE IN THE9E SPACES IH CHARM COPIES OF THIS REPORT lJ.1Nau 2 - 11ouston l - IFO #2, Fort MacArthur 2 - Los Angeles /i
- -- • , .. .• L. A. 105-b45 1 r . N. SMITH, S1.'ITH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 105 Pasadena Avenue, South Pasadena, California, who was with NOACK at the time the object was discovered, advised Special Agent EDiiARD OLSEN on December 28, 19L8, that he was present at the time the object was located on his, SLITH 1s, landing field near Helendale, California. S! ITH advised that they had taken some pieces off the object and that subsequently, upon returning to Los Angeles, he had learned that the object was actually a model kite or tow target which ~UT / '/ had been built by th~/'~Sm1 AND RICE l!ANL'F.lCTURING COMPANY of Los Angeles. r Mr. S1ITH stated that he had talked to both OHLSON and RICE and that they had admitted to him having experimented with the object over his, S1iITH' s, airfield. J.:r . S}..ITH made available three of the parts of the target Tihich he had secured while at the airfield. The information furnis~ed by Mr. SY.ITH w;stmified by Special Agent EJJW'ARD OLSEN in an interview with llr. HENRY . . CE, OHLSot' AND RICE l:A!'lJ'F.i'.CTUlING COMPANY, 3340 Emery Street, Los Angeles. The parts made available by ~ r . SI:ITH were exhibited to l r. RICE, and he advised that the model tow target or kite had been taken to the airfield for flight tests by himself and CIAUDE LER~LFORD, 5454 Chesley Avenue, Los Angeles 43, California. Lr. P..ICE -s~ed that iOLFORD is the inventor of the object and OHLSON A?lD RICE had originally agreed to finance him to develop the tow target or Kite as a toy. l[r. RICE explained that they were primarily interested in developing the contra?tion as a toy kite to be sold in a much smal ler model; hmvever, the inventor, against t1eir -wishes, had developed a much larger model which he had hoped to sell as a tow target to be used behind airplanes . A~ . RICE stated that since he had gone that far they felt that they should give the project a test and ther eupon they took it out to the desert as a precautionary measure. ?r. RICE stated that the flight test was a failure; the model crashed soon after it was airborne and was thereafter abandoned on tte field. In the absence of her husband, l rs. CLAUDZ LEROY '":OLFORD, SL.51.i Chesley Avenue, was interviewed and eY.hibited the three parts of the kite made available by l.'.r, SMITH. She readily identified the three items as part of a kite her husband had built for the 2ICE !iANUFACTlJliirG COt..PANY. She advised that she also accompanied her husband to the desert at the time the tests were made, She explained that the kite had crashed and that the manuficturing company did not want to put any more cash in it so it was abandoned on the desert. The ttree parts of the kite were returned to ~!ATHA.fl: SUITH on January 7, 1949 , The Sub-District Office, I . G. (USAF), 1206 Santee Street, Terminal Annex, Los Angeles, California, was aaprised of the information contaimd herein inurediately upon its receipt . REFERRED UPON CO!PLETION TO l'HE OFFICE OF ORIGIN 2.
4 nit•ll !Haks i!l,purtm,nt of !l.."'i>ER~O'
~.eh.era! iBur.eau nf lnu.estigatinn
Dila.alJl~gt.nn ZS, ii. Qr.
IN REPLY, PLEASE REFER TO
Series
FILE No.----
Marc~
MEMO FOR MR. HOOVER
CALLAHAN
HINCE
NANNA
TOLSON
CALLAN
JONES, M.A.
NAUGHTEN
CLEGG
CARLSON
KEAY
NEASE
CONNELLEY
CARTWRIGHT
LAUGHLIN
PARSONS
GLAVIN
CONRAD
LEONARD
PENNINGTON
HARBO
DOWNING
LONG
RENNEBERGER
LADD
EDWARDS, H. L.
McCABE, E. J.
ROGERS
NICHOLS
EGAN
McCABE, N. H.
SIZOO
ROSEN
FEENEY
McGUIRE
TAMM, Q.
TRACY
FLETCHER, H. B.
McINTIRE
WAIKART
BAUMGARDNER
GURNEA
MOBLEY
WALL
BOSWELL
MOHR
WHITSON
DECLAS/~tf-BY S{Jf{~rr/~
Olt
_,L
K;
7
FLYING DISCS
Your attention is directed to Bureau Bulletin #57, Series 1947, dated
October 1, 1947, relating to the discontinuance of investigation by this Bureau in
matters concerning flying discs.
For your confidential information, a reliable and confidential source
has advised the Bureau that flying discs are believed to be man-made missiles rather
than natural phenomenon. It has also been determined that for approximately the
past four years the USSR has been engaged in experimentation on an unknown type
of flying disc.
7
-
The Department of the Air Force has furnished to the Bureau the attached
memorandum classified "restricted" dated February 15, 1949, entitled "Unconventional
Aircraft, "
This memorandum is being fUrnished to you in order that all agents
assigned to your office can be informed of the type of information desired by the
Air Force in this matter.
As set forth in Bureau Bulletin #57, referred to above, no investigation
should be conducted by your office relative to flying discs, however, the attached
memorandum should be referred to in securing data from persons who desire to
voluntarily furnish informati on to your office relating to flying discs,
Very truly yours,
John Edgar Hoover
Director
, /. "1 -s.::_: Cf ll -
/
Encl osure
NOT RECORDlt) =111
150 APP. 4 1949
-. ........_ -----
FBI SALT LAKE CITY
4- 5- 49
~!OR
U R G E N T
('.) FLYING DISCS .
INFORMATION RECEIVED AT LOGAN, UTAH ELEVEN AM TODAY
r
THAT AT NINE AM A GUARD AT THE AR~Y GENERAL SUPPLY DEPOT, OGDEM, UTAH,
OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN EXPLOSION IN THE AIR ACCOMPANIED BY
A FLASH OF LIGHT FOLLOWED BY THE FALLING OF SILVER COLORED OBJEC1 .
THIS WAS SEEN AT HIGH ALTITUDE WEST OF OGDEN NEAR THE TOWN OF TAYLOR,
UTAH .
ABOUT THE SAME TIME LT . RON HATFIELD OF LOGAN, UTAH PD SAH TWO
PUFFS OF SMOKE HIGH IN THE AIR WEST OF LOGAN FOLLOWED BY FALLING OF
SILVER COLORED OBJECT.
ALSO AT ABOUT SAME TI ME UTAH HI GHl:JAY PATROLMAN
L. N. JEPPSON AT MANTUA, UTAH, SAW A SILVER COLORED OBJECT HIGH UP
APPROACHING THE MOUNTAINS AT SARDINE CANYON BETWEEN LOGAN AND BRIGPAM
CI TY, UTAH AND AS OBJECT NEARED THE MOUNTAIN IT APPEARED ~
EXPLODE IN A
FLASH OF FIRE .
SEVERAL RESIDENTS AT TRENTON, UTAH, WHrtf IS WEST OF
~
LOGAN, HAVE REPORTED TO SO, LOGAN, SEEING \JHAT APPEA-
TO BE TI10 AERIAL
EXPLOSIONS FOLLOWED BY FALLING OBJECT WEST OF TRENTON AT ABOUT NINE
TWENTY AM TODAY .
ABOVE INFOR~•ATION IMMEDIATELY FURNISHED TO OSI,
HI LL FIELD, UTAH . . ANY FURHIER PERTINENT DEVELOPt1ENTS WI LL BE FURNISHED
BUREAU FOR INFORMATION .
OSI PILL FIELD HAS .JUST NOW ADVISED
--
ABOVE
u
PHEr•40MENA PROBAELY CAUSED BY Tt:O B TI<1ENTYIH NES FROM t:ENDOVER FIELD
W~CJ:-ARE PRACTICE - BOMBING IN THE DESERT WEST OF
LOG~N FRO¼ EK {i_rn/.LY / ~
-
HIGH ALTITUDES WHICH WOU~D CAUSE VAPOR TRAILS .
OSI
ECKING
AND
WILL ADVISE THIS OFFICE OF RESULTS .
\~
~~~~ •
9 AP
1 1849
~~MA\~~
f H'lfl\.
~
-1:.
FURTHER
j- rve:
ACK AND
~~ sA I .., • • -- ' 0-J,f ~ ~ !~J OSI RE"'-~ r-,.. HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE TO: ROUTING SLIP u. s. GOVUNfll!NT PRIHTINC. o,Ftcl I. OFFICE A F C SL DATE ~d_ ATTENTeNd /YlLJA.it.~ -Rm IE 107s ~'l 2. OFFICE DATE ATTENTION 3. OFFICE DATE ATTENTION I FOR: FOLLOWING ACTION($) AS CHECKED COORDINATION NOTE ANO RETURN INFORMATION NECESSARY ACTION RECOMMENDATION FILE SEE OR PHONE ME APPROVAL SIGNATURE COMMENT ~ f-' ~ ~ /1...Lc.,.t...-...., z - I :>-a~ i,~ t: ';&_~ Iv d,._ F 13. £. FROM: ra Inff OFFICE 1-trOIK-CO ROOM NO. ~-E,2o3 INDIVIDUAL k PHONE /\fU/77) e - - ~ / ~ 71 0 C, 7 - '><::: r All' H Q l •'orm 12 l&-W400r/ 10 Nov 47 -
• ... ,..._,_ 3;;u snr .:10 ·.t_ 3a ·s ·r, I 8 1 3!J~N0/d ~J U,:.,J/J 6/1, Hd fJT I IZYd~ G3Af3;i3~
• Mr. Pennl,=- ~i.~uil.:,.----= llr, Nease lllU Gandy May 4, 1949 RECORDED - 34 TO: Legal Attache Mexico City, D.F. FROlJ: Director, FBI SUBJECT: FLYING DISCS Reference is made to your letter dated April 5, 1949 captioned as above in wh;i.ch you request a copy of the Air Force memorandum mentioned in SAC Letter #38, Series 1949 dated March 25, 1949. In response thereto there is enclosed herewith the pamphlet captioned, UUnconventional Aircraft•• issued by the Department of the Air Force under date of 11r. ~1aofebruary- l~) 1949 to which refer~nce was made in the above-mentioned SAC Letter. :::fil:T~ 8 :: ~~ sure li1:1t, -· __ llr. Rosen llr. '!'racy ::: =... CC - Fo;reign Service ~s~ (detached) llr. Harbo- llr. llobr,--=-=-_
-' ,... • OFFICE OF TI-IE LEGAL ATTACHE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MEXICO CITY Date: April 5, 1949 To : Director, FBI From: John H. Speakes , Legal Attache Subject : O FLYING DISCS Reference is made to SAC Letter 1~38 , Series 194-9, dated I.Iarch 25, 1949, advisinr, that a copy of a memorand1.un from the Department of the Air Force , dated February 15, 1949, and entitled "Unconventional Aircraft ," as furnished to the Bureau, was being for,,1arded to this office in order that all agents assigned to the !Iexico City Office might be informed of the type of infornation desired by the Air Force in this matter . This is to advise that the above- mentioned enclosure was not received by this office and it is respectfully requested that a copy of this memorandum be forwarded to Uexico City. JUS:ml .;.
RECE.IVt.0 .\TOHIC ENERGY LIAISON SECTION ) ~PR 19 9 14 AM ,~~ F. B. I. U.S. OE.PT. OF JUSTICE °) • H .. • ~ '
•
b~D...RD FORM NO. 64
•
.
•
,.Ojfice Memorandum • UNITED .STATES GOVERNMENT
(1),
TO
DIRECTOR, FBI
DATE:
4-22-49
/
FROM ~
C, LITTIE ROOK
SUBJECT:
UNKNOm{ §.J.IBJECTS;
1
/ll WADE H-KllARRISON -
INFORMANT
v · FLYING DISCS
-
FoR"? SMITH, ARKANSAS (4-16-49)
WADE H. HARRISON, residence address Route 1, Box 29.3,
Fort Smith, Arkansas,. is employed as a Special Delivery messenger by
the Fort Smith Post Office Department.
HARRISON stated that at 5:25 p.m., Saturday, April 16, 1949,
while delivering special delivery mail in Fort Smith, he stopped his
automobile at a signal light located at the intersection of North
Eleventh street and Grand Avenue.
He glanced up at th? stop light and
observed a brilliant object moving in a southeastern direction. He
presumed tb! object was approximately 2 miles high.
He got out of his
automobile and pointed up With the suggestion that other automobile
drivers, stopped for, the signal light, could see the object. He does
not know who an:, of the other people are or what they saw. He was
obliged to move on after the light changed'and the drivers began honking
their horns. He watched th3 object until it was obscured by the line
of trees in that section. He estimated he watched it travel some
.3 or 4 miles before he lost sight of it. He stated the weather was
clear, visibility was good, and there were no clouds near the object.
The object made no noise perceptible to HARRISON.
However, he commented
that be was stopped at an intersection where the traf fie was heavy and
there was considerable noise. He first thought possibly he bad seen
scne type of a r eflector on an airplane, but c ould not locate or hear
a plane anywhere.
✓
HARRISON drove to the 1400 Block of North "C" Street, where
he observed an Army officer, wearing the insignia of a niajor or lieutenant
colonel, standing back of the officer's automobile. He stopped and
asked the officer if he had observed the f'l.y:Lng object. The officer,
name unknown to the informant, answered negati vely and then remarked,
111 am glad other people are also reporting seeing flying objects."
The of ficer then r elated t hat the day previous, Friday, April 15, 1949,
while the officer was traveling oat of Oklahana City t oward Fort Smith,
his wife observed a flying object in the sk;y very similar to that
described by HARRISON.
The officer stated h e saw the object too, but
furnished no more information.
DOS:crc
98-0
Enc.
RfCORDfQ -119
AMSD
~-118
CO:PIES DESTROYED'·
MA1 3 194~
\NDEXEO
2 7 0
NOV 18,1964• • LET TO DIRECTOR 4-22-49 FLYING DISCS HARRISON described the object as appearing some 3 or 4 inches in diameter from the distance he saw it. It was very bright and reflected a light in a manner similar to a mirror. He reported the incident to tM local press at Fort Smith and inquired if anyone had made a similar report. He received a negative reply. In this connection, please find attached an article from the front page of the Southwest-Times Record newspaper published at Fort Smith, Arkansas, Sunday, April 17, 1949. The interview with HARRISON developed he is 52 years of age. He has had considerable college training and attended the seminar:, at Westminister, Maryland 2½ years. He stated that his eyesight is very good for a man of his age am that he has worn r eading glasses only for the past few years. He was positive he had observed the object as related above. He was unable of course to state just what the object was or furnish any additional information concerning it. No information was available at Fort Smith indicating the object bad fallen in that section or that it was observed by others. The Little Rock Office iS making no further inquiries concerning the subject matter. )/ The offices of OSI and MID have been notified of the informa ~ tion set out above, -2
.. • SOUTH\\'"EST - TIMES RBCORD Ft_. Smith, Arkansas April 17, 1949 I • Local Man Reports Seeing Whai\ He Believes Was "Flying Disc" Wa~ rr1son, Fort Smith post office employe, reported Sat urday~ obse,ved what he believed was a "flying disc." Harrison saw what he believed was a "flyini:( disc" as he was driving east on Grand avenue at Eleventh street. He said the object was small and was moving southeastward at a rapid rate of s;Z;peed. He said the object resembled a tiny mirror. • There were no other reports of "flying disc&'' in the area •1 1urday~ I ENCLOSURE
• Mr. Tobon / OFFICE. OF 'OtRECTOR Mr. Clegg ' F®ERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIOM ~r. Glavi7 UNITE0 STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ~ ~;::01a_L April 20 , 1949 ~~::~-- Mr. Gurne a ___ Mr. Barbo___ The attached was sent to the Mr . Jones____ Mr. Mohr____ Di r ector by 1.Yalte r 1Vi nchell . Mr . Pennincton:.._ Tele. Room_ Mr. Nea ■ e ___ Miu Holmes_ Attachment mt 111;l'JdJ;b! I In,~g
•
RECORDED - 128
)
tf
(f
Mr. Tolson
:Z:: g~:~n-
llr. I.Add,--_-_
llr. Ntcnola
llr, lloaen -
, Mr. Tracy-
..,._ £gan._-_-_ -_
wr. aurn,a
llr. HarbO -
Mr. IIOhr.;:::-=-- _
Mr. PeMlngWn_
llr. Quinn Tanm
Tele. !loom
llr. Nease-
lHa, Gandy
•
J
Dato1
ay 21 1949
To:
Director or Special Investigations (I.O.)
Department of tbs Air Force
The Pentagon
ashinat;on 25, D. C.
From:
John F.dgar Hoover, Director, Federal Bureau or Investigation
ll'LIDlO DISCS
A reliable and contidential source bas recent';cy'
a.dvisod thia Bureau that during tho first part of April,
1949, t-. C. A. Atkins, 4312 Los Feliz, Jbl~ Z7,
California, had informed him that three employess or the
Dopirtmont of Bccrention in farkn in the city of Los Angeles,
Callfomia, had noticed objoots in the sky which appeared to
be !lying discs.
The above 1.ilfonmtion is bei.Jl8 .f'urnished to you for
whatever aotion you desire am no investigation is being con
ducted relative thereto by- this Bureau.
n i? {l
• t ~
~c:.n,
\jVA
~ e~ebW t~t• ♦ • , COMMl88IONS:R8 MA~UR I E L U X FORD PRESIOE:NT MRS, ROLLIN BROWN VICE•PRE510ENT MRS. WILLIAM J. WILSON C. TON Y PEREI RA ROBERT L. BURNS J. J. HASSETT S ECRETARY - • CITY □r Las ANGELE S CALIF'ORNIA DEPARTMENT OF RECREAT ION AND PARK 309 CITY HALL LOS ANGELES 12 MICHIGAN 15211 GEO. HJELTE GENERAL MANAOER G ILBERT L. SKUTT SUPERINTENDENT OP ~ARK& F'LETCHER BOWRO N . MAYOR Holly~.ood, Calif.April 10, 1949. Mr .\1·-.1 tar Vwinchell New York City, N. Y. My Dear Winchell . (J \Hth reference to9-lying Disc ' :? ~r other flying objects, thought you ½ould be interested in the follo" i ng . It in a measure substantiates your statements. Friday of last week, three name a They conc to check and person a ? ~J *J}tf---" of our de partment employees were working in Griffith Park(the nations largest pcfk) when one of them, De Jarnett by noticed an object sailing through the sky and took good look to try and distinguish it. from planes that frequently fly over . About the same time two of his cen ,,orking about a half mile av1¥y saw the object . checked with each other and arrived at the same lusi0n. It ~as a Disc and they ran to a telephone report the incident. In the meantime DeJarnett started to the location ~here his men ¼ere ~orking to see if they had seen the object. They had both seen it which proves beyond a question of a doubt that something of the Disc type v.-as in the air and i,,hen the third illan stated he also saw it, I am satisfied you are very much right in your statements and I am inclined to call a liar that says(therREOORn(()°. f is•r~ - <t.Jto/ One of your fan ~ .J: INDEXE~~ C. Al tkins . 43l~ Los .i:' eliz
SAC - San Antonio
April Z6, 1949
Director - FBI
;'LYING DJS.KS
~~ . \~"INTERNAL SEC URITY - R
-~
{/
.. $'..~ q¢ /(
.
Reference is made to your letter dated April 4, 19♦ 9, captioned
..P rotection of Vital Installations. •• You are instructed in the future to
£1--'\teport information relating to £lying disks under the above caption.
fn regard to your request for information that would substantiAte or
discredit the statements made by Walter Winchell on bis broadc&ist of
April 3, 1949, your attention is directed to SAC Letter No. 38 dated March 25,
1949, captioned ..Flying Disks.' '
For your strictly confidential information. the data contained in
SAC Letter No. 38 was obtained in confidence from a colonel in the United
States Air Materiel Command, who obtained his inform ation from persons
actively engaged in the investigation of this subject.
No interview with Walter Winchell will be made by' the Bureau con
cerning the source of his statements referred to in your referenced letter.
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APk ~l 1949
~!lt\U O IIYE8TI&A0 STAN!jlARD FORM "".• 6-0 • 'Ojfiie Memorandum • • UNITED STATES GOVERNMEN.T TO FROM SUBJECT: Director, FBI ~ SAC, San Antonio PROTECTION OF VITAL INSTALLATIOOS (Bureau file 65- 48300) V' DATE : April 41 1949 AIR MAIL SP-~CIAL DELIVERY a l':' 22, 1949 which submitted information related by mil itary authorities concerning unconventional aircraft. ...~ ►~ The Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G- 2, 4th Army, has advised ~ ~-, ~ t -hat at 11 :50 P.M. !larch 31, 1949 a lighted object about the size of a basketball, l,:..; :s-t eddish white in col or, followed by a fire trail, was observed southwest of ~~.~Cl~ill een Base, adjacent to Camp Hood, Texas. The observation was made by 1st :.:::: ,) Lt. FREDERICK W. DAVIS, who was in charge of a platoon, Company C, 12th Armored Sr antry Battalion, which is assigned as a part of an alert force (called force ~ ~ Abel) from Camp Hood, whose function is to protect the installation at Killeen c::,..... s 0 Vjff~ .7~~:~2.._~~~C. \ ~ Lt. DAVIS advised that the object was at an altitude estima.~e~~~~ H t-fw 6, 000 ft. , was traveling paral lel to the ground and passed directly over him at ~ffi~ a rapid rate of speed. It was in view 10 to 15 seconds and suddenly disappeared < ::X:: Q high in the sky without having descended. No sound or odor was detected. The night v,as clear and visibility good. The object passed almost directly over the air strip at Killeen Base. When Lt. DAVIS attempted to advise his headquarters by telephone immediately after the sighting, he heard static or electrical interference on the telephone line which he stated might be possible radio interference• . z 0 w G- 2 has advised that other lights of unknoVJn origin were observed on ti: ~ W.arch 6, 7, 8 and 17, 1949, by military personnel of the alert force stationed a.ppro:x:imately 1000 yards east of the fences ,·,hich surround Killeen Base. ti: 0 u The object sighted on March 31, 1949 was reported as being of a ~ a Reference is made to San Antonio letter to the Bureau dated March different nature from the lights seen earlier in the month. It is noted that Mr . WALTEi)\."W April 3, 1949, stated that 11flying dis emanated from Russia. ilTCHELL, on his ~ 11 seen in this 4th Army, contacted had any information that wruld substa evening broadcast, ry defd.nitely ,:i,ffice, inquiring as or discredit the state- Ckl April 4, 1949, G- 2, to whether vre ments made by WALTER WilJCHELL. JEJ:ED 100-7545 LU 0 0:: 0 u w n::: z ::::i
• • Letter to Director April 4, 1949 SA-100- 7545 In view of the interest and concern of 4th Arm:y military authorities who have the duty of protecting the vital installations at Los Alamos, N. M. , Sandia Base, N. M. in the El Paso Division, and the Camp Hood area in the San Antonio Division, it is suggested that the Bureau may desire to arrange to have Mr. WINCHELL interviewed concerning the source of his information that "flying discs" emanate from Russia. It would be appreciated if the Bureau can supply any infonna.tion that can be transmitted to military authorities which would clarify this matter. - 2
' ) . • ~:~ Ila:, 3, 1949 \~~ i r:Z-f3P9d /4 '" vr. Care; T6av s 141 Clai~Dr~ve, Southeast Atlanta, Georgia EX-43 Dear l!r. Davis: Your letter of April Z7, 1949, has been received, and I want to thank you for sending cie the newspaper clipping which you enclosed together nth your observations I concerning tho designs you aubmitted to the federal governoont 1n 1942. Although I would like to be of service, checks of the type you desire are not w1thin the scope of this Bureau• s activities. It was very thoughtful of you to contact me in that regard. Sincerely ~ura, John Edgar Hoover Director WN:rlc J<-p. 11r. Touon Ill'. Clegg - llr. Olavln Ill', Ladd:--_-_-_ llr. Nichols__ ::~:~~ Mr.. Egan.__ Mr. Gumea__ llr. Harbo__ llr. Mohr~~ Mr.. PeDJ'llngtOll:_ 11r. Quinn Tam_ Tele. Roo•- :;,NeO::r
... ... • - • - Al R COOLED ~ 75 ROO M S moornn ~~~~Ill~~~~~~ ~ OUR FOOD IS UN EXCELLED
• • --- .. Z/ ~4ew Data, Ideas About Flying Saucers And Death of Pilot Who Chased One a, l:nllff Prtt1 DAYTON, Ohio, April 27.-Tbe only airman who ever got near a nnnr saucer c1·ashed and died be fore he could describe It, the D&7• ton Journal-Herald said today. Tbe newspaper printed a lengtby dlapatch on the mysterious flyinc dlaca, based, it ,aid, on hitherto un-. publlahed reports assembled at the Wrlr\lt-Patterson Air Force base. Tbe AJr Force Investigation hu proved that the flying saucers "are not a joke." Neither "are they a cauu for alarm to the popula tion," the newspaper said. The CIC>ftst any airman came to the myatery discs was on Jan. 7,, 19'8, when one was sighted over/ Fort Knox, Ky., the dlspatch said. Four fighter planes were sent aloft to Intercept It, but only Capt. Thomas F. Mantell wu able to get close. "I'm closing In to take a good/ look," the newepaper quoted him as ( reporting by radio. "It looks metal lic and of tremendous size. It's go- Ing up now as fast as I am. Th~t•s 360 miles an hour. I'm golnz up after It. At 20,000 feet, It I'm no closer, I'll abandon cha.se." , Mantell's plane crashed a few/ 'l - minute later and he was kllled. The paper said 11. report now on - -~------------- flle at Wright-Patterson Air Force on the other hand It wu not lm-1 are I Base lists 240 domestic and 30 for- pos:-ible that they were. Later the consr elgn accounts of flying discs as Air Force announced it was not form having been investigated. Of these, mi:.klng any further comments on to a 30 per cent seem to have been the discs. proa weather balloon, and the like and The Dayton paper says the report not ~ 30 per cent more are perhaps ex- on which ita story ls based said the 1• plal•ble conventlonally-Ieavln&' 40 "evaluation teams" stated: far per cent maa plalned. "We can't prove or dlsprove the • The Air JI' o r c e recenUy ■aid existence ot aoni,.• ot the remaining ? 'l there wu no evidence that the unJdentlfled objects as real aircraft a '\ dlsca w •re ,aided missiles fired of unconventional design. Iv trom some other country, but that "The possibility that the sau~ ....
• • ·- May 10, 1949 RECORDED - 135 r!DEXED - 135 I I? To : Director of Special Investi gations , (I. O. ) . •apartment of the Air Force The j>enta0 on Washi ngton 25, D. C. From: John Edgar Hoover - Director, Federal Bo.reau of Investigation Subject: INFORW TION CONClOOUNO FLYING SAUCERS HR3. FRAi.~ARDNhla - INl:"t>ruwrr Enclosed is a photostatic copy of a letter dated April 29. 1949, received by this Bureau from Mra. Frank ~ardner concerning flying saucers. The correspondent ho.s been advised tna.t a copy of her letter haa been forwarded to the United States Air i orce. This letter is beine, forwarded to you for any action you~ deem advisable. 11r. Nease U18t Oe.ndy GOMMUNIC!fflONS SECTION BY SPECIAL,,-l.ll(SSENGER * MAY 11 1949 * FE?IWL E~REAU OF fll.ii:STIGlTIOII ll. S, llf.PAIIMHT Of JUSTICE >'Rl,:jmf M llr. Tolson llr. Clegg - llr. Olavln :: lti~~:=1-.;;.,:::-_-_ Ill'. Rosen - llr. Tracy- ,.,-. 1:gan_:::::== ::~~~~ : : ~~:::;"""tng=to=n llr. Qu1an Tam Tele. Room_·_
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.M,~-'.FEDERAL BUREAU OF IN. TIGATION ..- Room 5744 A~cc..._____1949 I I ✓. Mr. Tolson....•...... TO: __Director Mr. Cloirlf............ -Mr. Ladd Mr. Glavin ........... _ _ Mr. Clegg Mr, I.ndd............ __Mr. Glavin Mr. Nichols.......... __Mr. Harbo Mr. Roaen ........... __Mr. Nichols IMr. Trocy........... . __Mr. Rosen Mr. Cpn......... - .. _Mr . Tracy lr. Gnrnea .......- __Mr. Fletcher Mr.Barbo •......•••• Mr. Moh:r ········ Mr. Pemllnirtc,J,..._. __Mr. Mohr __Mr. Carlson Mr. QalnnTamm.... __Mr. Nease __Miss Gandy ____Fersonnel Fi ~t~tron____ -Records Sect Inn • -Mrs. Skillman See Me For Appr opriate Action Send File Note and Return Clyde Tolson
. STANDARD FORM NC>. 64 .... • Qjfice Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ·,, . TO : Director, FBI DATE: May 13, 1949 dJ :~c, Los Angeles SUBr;j; ~YING DISK" REPORT C,!RF0RMATI0N COOCERNING On May 5, 1949 Mr. MEL HODELL, a reporter for the Sun-Star nswspaper, Merced, California, advised Special Agent MARLIN W. JOHNSON, that his paper had been contacted by Lt. Col. STANLEY JACOBS, Intelligence Officer, Castle Air Force Base, Merced, California, re.Lative to any reports that the newspaper might have received concerning "fiying disks" in the Merced vicinity. Mr. HODELL stated a c.Lose friend of his, one WILLI.All H ~, 12-A Langdon Villa, Merced, tad advised him that he had obse~A=HO'l" strange object, and as he is in the Air Cc,rps Reserve, he reported same to the Intelligence Officer at Castle Field. On the same date Mr. GEORGE BREMER, Detachment Commander, Office of Special Investigations, Castle Air Force Base, Yerced, California, advised SA MARLIN W. JOHNSON that he bad heard tt.t an individual bad reported s eeing a '1flyi.ng disk" to the Intelligence Office at the Base but that the Intelligence Officer had not furnished the information to him. Mr. BREHER later on the same date contacted SA JOHNSON arxl exhibited a letter written by STANIEY F. JACOBS, Lt. Col., USAF, Adjutant (Int elligence Officer) to Commanding General, Air Material Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Wright Field, Ohio. This letter contained a statement given by Mr. WILLIAM H. PARROTT 11'hioh read as follows, 11I bad occasion to step from my home, located approximately one mile west of the town of Merced, on the night of April 4, 1949, at approximately 2220. My attention was diverted to a clicking noise of considerable intensity. I stopped on the sidewalk about 20 feet from the front steps am recognized the source of this clicking to be in the sky in an area about 4U degrees from the sur face of the earth in an easterly direction. The sky cend1.tion was 200<Xl thin broken with 12 miles visibility and surface winds were reported as north nine M.P.H. at Castle Air Force weather station. My home is approximately seven miles south of Castle Air Force Base and in an area somewhat sheltered from surface winds,and no appreciable surface wind was apparent at the time the aural observation was made. After about ten seconds of looking into the area described previously as being the source of this sound, an object was observed blanking out stars in describing a flight path in a west or northwesterly direction. Only one object was apparent, its shape can be described as only a solid mass. Its size can be estimated as four or f ive feet in diameter in keeping with an estimated altitude of con siderably less than 1000 (one tbeusand) feet. Color was shown by the reflection of grow:xl lights on only two occasions, and appeared to be RECORDED • 110 l ~ .I - _!<--/If~ 100-2442 - ....; u I. M\fJ :JAW INDEXED - IlO 1 ~A 17 1949 9 E ..Jo AY l..~ COPIES DESTROYED 270 NOV 18 1,54
I LA 100-2442 dull eurfacted, light colored metal. The only ground lights of in tensity were a row of street lights behind me one ha!f block which leads me t o bel.ieve the under surface of this object to be curved in shape. "This object ,men first sighted, ,raa moving vrtry slowly in a west or northwesterly direction. I would estimate that I had it in my range of vision for 35 seconds, after having heard it about ten seconds before locating it. It passed on beyond the house and maneuvered through an arc of turn to the left of about ninety degrees. The clicking sound was continuous throughout this turn, however, it became loudrtr as it returned on its new heading of south or southwest. On its return t he clicking sound became !ouder, but I was unab!e to see it at this time. The click ing stopped when it was at its greatest intensity and appeared to come from a position directly over head. I was unable to see the object after the sound stopped. "This clicking sound, _retained t he same pitch and speed through out the entire course observed, but intensity varied. There was not whistle or roar, but only the clickir.ig noise which might be compared to beaters of a home mixer· that were not properly meshed. No lights or - flame were observed during the entire course with exception of t he previous described reflections twice. No exhaust trail was distinguish able. 11My dog was with me and directed her attention in the general direction of this object's flight throughout its course. She had been romping with me on coming out of the house but without spoken worli stopped and directed her attention on to the previously described area. The cLicking sound might not have been unusual to the dog, but there is a possibility of sounds on wave lengths discernable only to the dog, being emitted." It is to be noted that Mr. PARRCYI'T is a member of the Active USAF Reserve with rank of Major. He attained rating of pilot in August 1941 and has approximately 2200 hours f!ying time. During his act ive duty period in ffi/2 he stated that he had considerable night f lying experience in connection with his military assignment. The Intelligence Officer in the above mentioned letter made the following statement, 11An attempt t o locate other vritnesses in the area or through the loca! news paper proved unsuccessful". Mr. BREMER advised that he is planning to cl.ear with his head-' quarters office and will probably conduct an investigation. The above is being furnished for the information of the Bureau. -2
• • STANDARD FORM NO. 64 -Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT / 'To FROM , ~-F~ 5 P, KEA~ DATE: May 26, 1949111 Ill'. Tolson ~ 111'. E.A.~ Ill'. Clegg - Ill'. Glavi-n- SUBJECT: FLYING DISCS lb", L&Od - Ill'. Ntchor.- 11r. Rosen - Ill'. Tracy- BACKGROUND: Ill'. E:gan,_-_-_-_-_ Ill'. Gurnea Ill'. Harbo - Ill'. IIOhr.;::---=---_ Mr. PeMln,gton Ill', Quinn Tam Walter Winchell forward~c the Director a Western Union Tele. Room Mr. Nease - telegram he had received from Rober pley which stated that he, Ripley, U1ss Hoi.mur- U!es Gan<!Y-=== had the only authentic Japanese f ng saucer ever recovered in this country. Mr. Winchell noted on the telegram, •To J. Edgar Hoover - True?• DETAil.3: This matter was discussed by Special Agent Reynolds with the Intelligence Division of the Array, who advised that they had no information concerning any Japanese flying saucer. ever having been recovered in the United states. This matter was discussed rlth Colonel William E. Carpenter, <SI-USAF, who advised on April 27, 1949 that he had interested himself in the flying saucers and related subjects and that in so far as could be determined by him through his sources in the Air Force, which are excellent, there is no authentic information available concerning the phenomenon of the flying saucers. He advised he would check with the authorities at Wright Field to determine if any information is available coocerning the recovery of a Japanese flying saucer. Colonel Carpenter has now advised that there is no information available ll in any arm of the Air Force to the effect that any flying saucers of any kind have been recovered in the United States. Colonel Carpenter stated delq had been encountered in determining this fact inasmuch as inquiries had been directed through individuals known to him and t1-usted by him and not through the usual channels from which he possibly would receive a stock answer. The details of this case were not discussed by either Special Agen"teReynolds or Sanders with the Army or Air Force and they are not aware of the telegram sent by Mr. Ripley to Mr. Winchell. RID:OMMENDATION: The foregoing is for your information and any disposition being desirable• • fo,., ;11 v r ~ ,;73J'f~ Rt.CO@t.0 • ~l \l't~E.D - 91 ~t /
• • . ' : • 1.111:rnr JO ! d:tl ,, • 9l k'J\\ I 8 J ..o~,o t-03111:; 33ij u ii1· JO t,130 ·s ., ;~. ~ 9 92 AV!, I ~ -~ _i :HIIll •• \1:li,i'.
~ l C-D<fcnedCablo dicated by a suitable aymbol above or pre, Cl.Ass OF SERVICE , This --;:-:-full.1rc 1"clcgTam , r Cable gram unless its de, ferred characteT is in W ESTE1 ·• ~r 1220 SYMBOLS DL• D.-,Lt:tr~r 1fo -v UNIO r ceding the address. A . N , WILLI AMS T>, rum;:~:: ~;·~'"'~v:~··~t ·~-;~;:~~:.:.:·; ··,; •mt ;: T""-\-·;;;ANOARD TIME\;ru,.e-; / -\'/ALTER 11 I Nl-HE ~t/EY PUZA HOTEL c:J G;:- ·- l MI At:. I EEA~H FLO= 11\A ~ 1 I • :HAVE Tt<J~O~N~LY'."".".~AU~T::-:1-:--~E_N_,T:"""~"""'i:;~-J_A_P_A-~,""",E-Srf,_7' I Nu SAU~ ER EVE I< REL OVER EL ~__..., I N THI S COUflTRY. BE .... AO'St OP . YOUR INT~fST 'IN THE PRESENT DA-Y FLY I Nu DI S~S OF· THE RUSSIANS WOULD L l l<E VERY TUCH TO HAVE YOU JO I N r.~E ON THE BEL I EVE IT OR NOT TELEV I S I Of! SHO'.'/ NEXT TU ESDAY APR IL 19TH NBC NETWORI~ 930 TO 10Pf. AND Ld VE YOUR COt.~(.'EN TS ON FLY I NG D I SC AND YOUR EX..;LUS I VE 1<1!0\!LEDuE . e,./". OF TII I S Lt~TEST RUSS I Afl f.1ENACE. REGARDS EE~ I EVE I T OR NO =R I PLEY= e ... , ~ ~"'foilPAN Y WILL APPRECIATE SUGGESl'IONS FROM ITS PATRONS CONCERNING ITS SERVICE
.. ;} RE.CEIVEO - FLETCHER ~ ~v lS 7 4J. Pt'i '1\ 0 ~• RECE.\~t.O ,10MIC £"1ftG1 u~tJ.OM stCT\0" ~76 20'J~ ·~\ f. a.,. u.S.OlP't. Of .n1s11tl -
t..cy 10, 1949
.Mr& • Frank{c.rdner
2310 w. oJrt;r
1 .onte , Celifornin
Dear ra. Gardner:
I wish to acknowledge your letter d:lted April 29, 3.9~.9, .nc. to
exprou ..iy npprecio.tion for your thou.ght!ulneos in writing tone.
In Tiew of the contente ot you.r letter, l have taken the liberty
of sending n copy to the United Stutes Air orce.
In the future, it you have information which tl8Y be of interest
to this .Bureau, you lllDY find it more convenient to communicnte with .r. R. n.
Hood, Special Agent 1n Charge of our Loa Angeles Office, 900 Secu.rit7 Building,
Loa Angeles 13, California .
.lincerely ;youra ,
Jo.nn "Edgor noover
irector
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C~ Los Angeles with cop e~' -Of incoming.
The corresponctent communicated with the Bureau on one previous occasion
enclosing a clipping from a Spanish lan&11age newspaper in T~xas.
She was apparent
ly dissatisfied with the oanner in which the Latin Americans were being treated
in Texas .
A cordial letter of acknowledgement was sent to her. (100-33339)
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COMMUNICATIONS SECTION I
MAILED 1
* f.,H\Y 10 1949 P.M.,., Tol ■ on ~ ✓ Mr. OF~ICE OF DIRECTOR • Mr. Clegg___ ~ FEDjAAL BC,~9.U OF INVESTIGATION Mr . Glavi~< UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Ladd ✓ Nich _ April 25, 1949 Ronn___ Tracy _ _ _ Egan _ ___ Gurnea___ The attached was forward ed to Mr. Barbo___ the Director by Walter 'Winchell . Mr. Jones The notation thereon reads: -- Mr . Mohr____ Mr . Pennin1ton_ "To J. Edgar Hoover. Tele. Room_ Mr. Neue___ Tatt eP" Miu Holmea_ Mi II Gandy___ - r. Mr . Attachment mt I , OJU
2 " ton llr. Quiml Tele. Rooa : ;/~'..,,.:,.~-/ , . ()Jfici.MeJandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 'I/ TO Mr. H. B. Fletcher,y ( F r FROM ~ 23,;;~~dOD ' F.~.~ M ff.gcbo SUBJECT: KA. HRIE llr. Rosen__ llr. Trac:r__ llr. Egan,__ MIS ELLANEOUS 11r. ournea__ )Ir. Harbo__ :: ~:::;I On the afternoon of May 20, 1949, Miss Kaye lochrie, 4900 N. Harding Avenue, Chicago 25, Illinois, was referred to my office from the 11188 Director's Office. Miss Lochrie stated she was going to be in Washington for a few da~s that she was staying at the .Ambassador Hotel. She stated that Ro Palmer, Managing E:clitor of the,Je,ff Davis Publishing Ccmpany in Chica had some infonnation regardiog'--nying discs. Miss Lochrie said that Palmer's theory was to the effect that when people died their souls entered a space on this earth which is, of course, invisible to human eyes. He said that in this soul world there are good arxi bad people am that they have become involved in a war. According to Miss Lochrie, Palmer's theory is that the flying discs which have been seen are the explosives be ing used in the warfare between the good am bad souls. N,iss Lochrie stated that the real purpose of her visit to the Bureau was to get her own name cleared. She said that the FBI has been con ducting investigation regarding her arxi that she wanted to know the results of the investigation. I asked her what kind of an investigation the FBI had been making regarding her and she stated she was under suspicion of espionage activities. I informed her that I could not furnish her l'd.th any information which is contained in the Bureau's files inasmuch as our files have been designated as confidential by the Attorney General. Miss Lochrie accepted this explanation am stated regarding her present activities that she had been in the Wacs as a private am bad re ceived an honorable discharge in 1945. She said at the present time .she is working as a model in Chi<;ago. She impressed me as being somewhat mentally unbalanced.. A check of the files failed to reveal that we have comucted any investigation relative to this individua;, - · -:~ ::J'. ~ t FJB:TD RECOn£D-6?. ~;J -J'S?°f>~- 1f INDEXED· 62 2,JUN7 1949.
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-C":::=---" • ' Office Memorandum • UNITED sTATEs GOVERNMENT TO Director, FBI DATE: June 2, 1949 f\\ROM : SAC, New Orleans ~ SUBJECT: C FLYING DISCS Re SAC Letter 38, dated Jfarch 25, 1949 entitled as above. The Bureau is advised that through the Office of Naval Intellie;ence, NeT1 Orleans, Louisiana, this office has been advised that within the past ten days thr ee sightings of flying disc·s have been reported in the City of New Or leans. The infornation seems to be that the single discs Yrere i n str aight flight and traveling i n a general direction of North, in late afternoon,about the size of an observation plane , but the shape of a saucer. The Navy stated that two witnesses have advised that the object was traveling end over end; that weather conditions were good; that sightings ,·rere made outdoors by persons who did not wear glasses; that the dates Yrere I.lay 18, 19 and 23, 1949. The Navy states that it was possible these objects wer e weather balloons, but that these are used from only one airport, released over an hour befor e the times of sighting and would generally be out of sight in a few minutes. The above is being furnished the Bureau for futur e reference since the Navy has informed that all three instances were investigated by the Army Intelligence• PW/mmd
The Di r ector The on 00-6 , # ' . Mr . Tol1on / ' , I'; OFFICE • o;: D1RECTOA ,/. Mr. Clegg FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIOM I Mr. Glavi~n UNITED ~ STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Mr. Ladd Mr. Ni~• Mr. Ro lfay 23, 1949 Mr. Mr. Mr. attached was sent t'O the Mr. by Wa l te r rfinchell . Mr. Tracy Egan Mr. Mohr ~...-- handwritten notat i on there - Mr. Pennington_ reads: Tele. Room___ Mr. Nease___ " To Hoover ! Miu Holme,_ MiII Gandy___ Ha !"
_,.,.... t .. 'I - f .,,' . • ~fl t. • ~ ,. San lllis Obispo, California Tay 15 , 1949 " 1'Talter Winchell New Yorlt, New York V Dear Si r : Under attached cover you will find a ample our item. Should vou do no more than take ou ~LY]Ji' SA.UCE!l out , care fully r ead the instructi ons, and fly it; I will have accom plished a portion of my e~ectations . For the past few weeks I have list,..ned with more than an in different attitude , to y,ur various Sunday evening broadcasts and col!llllents concerniPg Flyinp f aucers . From the start , much as many another individual who has tried to get ahead by his ovm initiative , I have visial ized what the right type of publicity would do for my interests. To state my actions in any other manner, would belittle your intelliRence, and the werks of forethought and sincerity in which this is submitted. Your coJ11IDent this evening, concerning the Gyroscopic Theories, snarkplu~~ed my actions. Along ~1 ith the phases of merchandising mentioned in the att ached articl es, I should like to mention that one troop of Boy Scouts in Los Angeles are purchasing and Fnthusiastic ally include the~ fls a major portion of their recreation program. By th~se facts , it is apparent that our LYilJ ' SAUC~ is worthy of every effort we are able to summons in makin~ it ';2. :r anot~1).merican pastime of Yo-Yo proportions . / b,'trt~ ti~cffelga.$ Trusting that we are justified of your consideration f r om a nevffi>rorthy standpo~ ;;:;r~ Yours, . ~ nMk ~ 1767 Conejo )r ive San Luis Obispo, Califoria ftFr" r\.~~1) _S8 n ,v - r3 'f . t'S ~\) -~ ,~\_\)~ GY 51949
GREAT FUN FOil THE WHOLE FAMILYI FlYIN-SAUCER performs in an amazing way as you develop your skill in flying it. A novel way lo play catch. You will thi-nk of many games to play. Adaptable lo almost any game. HOW TO FLY launch your FlYIN-SAUCER straight ahead with a snap of your wrist making it spin as fast as possible. DON'T THROW TOO HARD . .. . It's the spinning that gives it lift. Begin by flying about IO feet. When windy, throw across the wind. You will quickly learn how to bank to the left or right.
-- FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS FLYIN' SAUCERS have flight characteristics very slml lar to a irplanes. The SAUCER IS launched In identically the same manner as sa l llng your hat onto a hook--by spinning and forward mo tion. In order to fly In a straight I ine, the SAUCER must leave the hand In a level position. To curve the SAUCER, It must leave the hand banked o r tilted in direction of desired curve--for example: for left curve-the left side of the SAUCER must be tilted down. FOR BEST RESULTS - The spinning of the SAUCER Is most Impo rtant and most difficult to mas ter. Because the spin creates a gyroscopic action which controls the attitude of the SAUCER In flight, a smooth, fast spinning del Ivery should be developed Do not hold the SAUCER too t I g ht . Anal yze your mistakes and make corrections by ti It Ing or banking SAUCER. The correction must be appl led to t he SAUCER as It leaves the hand. SAIL 'EM BACK AND FORTH • PLAY CATCH l!r- :~- Begin by flying you r saucer about 10 feet. The distance you are able to fly it wl I I quickly increase with practice. MAKE 'EM TURN ! By releasing the SAUCER In a tilted manner, you can make It turn to the left o r r ight. Bank It the way you want it to t urn. It Is aavlsable to learn to fly st raight be fo re starti ng to make turns . MAKE 'EM COME BACK ! ;;_~ .,,.,._:', /~/ ~,,,.,,,./ After learning t o / fly straight and make turns, you' I! be able to r make yov r SAUCER return to you by sal I Ing It Tnto the breeze at a sharp angle. The harder a wind blows , tne flatter an an gle you can fly it to make it --a_ l!iUll__ return Spin SAUCER as much as ~ possible. MAKE 'EM SKIP ! Right-handers launch SAUCER so that left si de strikes hard surface. Right side fo r left-hande rs. _ _. - - - - ·- - - - - - \Ilk- - HARD S THE GAME OF HECKLE THE GAME OF HECKLE provides a means of utll lzlng the unique manner in which the FLYIN' SAUCER canoe guided. Ru les and regulations are provided, forming the basis for skll I and competition PLAYERS - Four - with two on each team. OBJECT - To fly SAUCER around HECKLEOS into your partner's circ le. ALL CIRCLES ARES FEET IN DIAM[TtA CENTER s,Ac[ MAY VARY WITH MILITY, Al I players must rema in In their circ le unti I SAUCER Is airborne . The game begins with the Flier (Al attempting to sal I the SAUCER around the HECKLERS In the ci rcles I BJ and (CJ so that his partner in the Receiver's circle IOJ can catch it . Flier IAJ must remain in his circle when serving the SAUCER. HECKLER IBJ must remain in his circle at al I times whl le his te3m is defensive. He may at tem?t to stop the flight of the SAUCER, or distract the Fl le r in any manner. Shoul d he step or fat I out of his circle, his team forfeits I point and the offensive team retains serve. HECKLER (CJ remains in his circle untl I SAUCER is airborne. He may then leave his circle to heckl e the Receiver 10) in any manner so long as he doesn't inte rfere with ff ight of SAUCER o r touch the Receiver, or step Into the Receive r' s cl rcfe. Hecklers forfeit 2 points for each infraction. Receiver (0) attempts to catch the SAUCER In his circle. Should he do so, then his team re ceives 2 points. Should it be necessary for the Receiver to leave his circle to catch the SAUCER, then his team sco res but I point . Should he drop or miss the SAUCER, no points are scored, and the t eams change positions. (AJ changes with CB> and (CJ changes with (0). CC> Is now the Fl ler, and (BJ the Receiver. HECKLER IOJ must remain in his circle, and the HECKLER IAJ becomes the roving HECKLER. Teams change positions when the Receiver fal Is to catc~ the SAUCER. In the event that no Referee is avai Iable, disputes wi I I be settled by mutual agreement, or the flip of a coin. Fi rst team to score 25 points wins the game. KEEP '£M FLYI N' This is a PIPCO PRODUCT San Luis Obispo, Cal if.
Flying Saucers Come from Southern California Do YOU HAVE spots before your eyes? Do vari-colored discs flutter and sail in the air in front of you? Do you see flying saucers in the skies ? If you do, don't call the doctor nor jump on the wagon. And don't worry. Other persons are seeing flying saucers too-seeing them fly through the air-an.:l seeing them on the sales counters of the stores. You can even pick them up and feel them, and, preferably, buy them to play with. It all started many years ago-long before the recent flurry of flying saucers- when a little boy named Freddie used to play with his mother's pie tins. If he threw them with just the right twist of the wrist, they spun and turned in fascinating curves. Freddie grew up into a man called Fred Morrison, who always remembered what fun he had had playing with the pie tins. As a grown-up, he applied his knowledge of aerodynamics to the problem of developing a disc which could be thrown and tossed and its flight controlled by the thrower. He evolved a metal model that sailed through the air in a most satisfactory manner. The curved disc was 9 in. in diameter and a scant 2 in. deep, with radiating arc shapped fins and a heavy outside rim. A snap of the wrist when throwing gives a centrifugal motion to the disc which in turn gives. guidance in flight. The radial fins create a vacuum on top of the whirling disc, and stability from beneath is provided by the heavy rim. The metal model sailed through the air beautifully but also, being metal, it sailed through windows and hedges and other obstacles, somewhat after the manner of a miniature cyclone. A material other than metal seemed a wise idea if the disc-or flying saucer-were to become a commercial product. . A lightweight, slightly flexible plastics looked like the answer, and Morrison brought his metal model to Southern California Plastic Co., Glendale, Calif., to see what might be done in plastics. Stanley J. Gray and Edward L. Ken nedy, president and secretary of the firm, took the metal disc out on the lawn to "demonstrate" its possibilities and were soon breathlessly convinced that a great deal of fun could be had by young and old alike. A plastics model of the disc was carved from a solid block of material, and then a mold made in the shop of Southern California. Engraving of the mold was done by United Engravers, Los Angeles. Then came the problem of the right material. A search was made throughout the range of thermoplastic molding compounds to find the proper material that combined flexibility, impact strength, and stability while in motion. (The discs achieve considerable speed--and strain- when in flight.) Cellulose acetate provided the best combination of properties to do the job. Acetate discs will not break glass windows, nor shatter when falling from a great height, nor scar the finish on automobiles, nor injure the players. That's a real Flyin' Saucer this young mon has just thrown into th, air-molded of tough and lightweight cellulose acetate by Soulhern California Plastic Co., Glendale. Designed in occordance with aerodynamic principles, the Flyin' Saucer spins through the air with the greatest of ease. Note the radial fons on the disc in the boy's left hand. An in• .,esting part of the story is that producing the acetate "Flyin' Saucer" is only part of the story. It is a product with a wide market (how many yo-yos were sold in the US last ·ear, do you suppose?) ; but it must be demonstrated to be sold. Everyone who sees a Flyin' Saucei in action is enthusiastic. Anyone who sees one lying on a sales counter is likely to p:iss by. That presents a merchandising problem that has the sales staff of Southern California Plastic hard at work, thinking up ways and means for demonstrations, action publicity, visual promotional stunts. With a record of steady-selling staple consumer items now on the market, Southern California has no intention of letting the Flyin' Saucers sit on the sales counters. Carefully-controlled distribution, related to on-the-spot demonstrations or pro motional campaigns, has been the rule so far. National markets will not be tackled until all the promotional kinks have been unraveled. . l Reprinted from PACIFIC PLASTICS, August 1948
in ,,. - '5-ky Devil-Ship' Scares Pilots; Air Chief Wishes He Had One Plane Makers Dubious About Alabama 'Thing' By WILLIAM KEY What was that Thint tbat scared the daylights out of two Atlanta Eastern Air Line pDoa the spooky hours Sa~ morning! Is there some stratospheric Loch Ness fire-breathing monster on the Milky Way run between At lanta and New Orleans? The :- lots. C:i;>t, C. S. Chiln. of Atlanta, and Co-Pilot ,J. B. Whitted. of Hapeville. would like to know. The Army Strategic Air Command would like to know. Bht airplane manufacturers al•o are curiou~. but slightly dubious. Pilots Chiles and Whitted told their thrillinJt story upon arriv ing at municipal airport here Sat urday on the Houston-AUanta, Boston run. Here i~ what they say they saw, near Mont,tomery: A gigantic plane without winits, !black against the niJtht i;ky, 5treakin1t through the heaven5 at 5,000 feet altitude with a fiery comet's tail 25 to 50 feet in length. It had a 100-foot fuselaae about four times the circumfer ence of a B-29's, and two rows of brilliantlv lighted 1Quare windows. Creepiest ot all, it was a veritable rJyjrs«J)utchman of the Skies. Nt'ry a living soul was , een aboard_!_~~---- EAL FLIERS DESCRIBE WINGLESS AIRCRAFT Copilot J8hn Whitted and Capt. C. S. Chiles (right). ATIANTA JOIJRNA.L SUlIDAY • 7/25/48
- Contltppp• JJ.r;bt I The pilots admitted they had goose pimples riding pick-a-back on goose pimples. What's more, they said one of their 20 passen gers-C. L. McK1:?h•ie. of Colum bus, Ohio-was awake and ~aw the same thing. Reporters nailed Mr. McKelvie at Kennett Square, Pa. How about it, they asked him-had he seen what the Atlanta pilots said he saw? Well, now, said Mr. McKelvie not exactly. He said he saw "no form of ship" whatever. He saw a "continuous light speed past" lwi window. "But,'' added Mr. McK., 1'I'm not very well versed in aeronau tics, and certainly I wasn't look ing for any Buck Rogers space ship." Out at Santa Monica, Cal., the famo111 Gen. George C. Kenney, chief of the Strategic Air Com mand, was bearded In his den. His eyes twinkled. No, he said, cautiOU5ly, it wasn't one of his planeL The Army as yet hun't 1ot anything like the Thing seen over Montgomery. Not Boelnc Plane "I wish we did," the general said wistfully. "i sure would have liked to see that Thing." So said William M. Allen, pres ident of the Boeing Aircraft Co., up at Seattle. ~I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of our planes," said Mr. Allen, modestly. Almost identical statements is sued by the Army Air Forces at Washington and the United States Weather Bureau at Montgomery tended to throw some light on this fantasy. Both sources sug gested that. the Atlanta pilots had flown past an air radar weather observation balloon. Those things, they explained, are 10 feet in diameter and have square, tinfoil boxes fastened to them. 'the boxes reflect light and "give strange illusions" f!S they twist and turn. Maxwell Field said they send 'em up at six-hour intervals. And Maxwell Fielijs at Mont1 gomery. ATLANTA JOURNAL SUN&Y, 7/25/48
'Aying FloOr Lamp~ Again Sighted Here B;v CHARLES P OU she did see "a great ball of fire I lamp" is at That "flying floor it again! cantaloupe An . Illuminated rolled over the city! And a newspaperman saw "great balls of fire! What's more, two Richmond Va., i;choolteachers say they saw the "fl rt· ,, k same . ame-spu mg 5 Y mon st~r "".h1ch ~as spotted by Eastern Air Lines pilots near Montgomery. Like Red F loor Lamp "I i;aw Halley's comet-and it was nothing like what I saw last 'night," declared Ml·s. W. R. Dell<. of 914 Hemphill a\'e., N. W. Breathlessly, Mrs. Delk continued: . "The front end of it looked like a flying floor lamp-a fiery-red floor lamp. Then it trailed of1 in llittle square sections. "Oh, Halley's comet was nothing like that." 1 \ And Mrs. Delk was joined by al least 15 other Atlantians who saw a Thing which banked and rolled and breathed fire over the city Monday night between 8 p. m. and 9:45 p. m. In the downtown section, Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Sellers were 1minding their own business when I a "reddish-white ball of fire about the size of a cantaloupe with a tail on it" da~ed over buildings. I Mrs. A. C. ~•bY, or'Carey Park, has never seen a purple cow but with a great long purple tail on it." That was about 9:40 p. m. "Bluish Streak of Light" An attendant at the naval air station thought he was watchi:i.'I a falling star, until it started climbing and banked away from Atlanta. To him, it looked like a "bluisdh streakb of ltihght." An now a out e newspaper man. John Batlle, city editor of the Augusta Chronicle, hung up the telephone after a dozen calls about weird goings-on in the Augusta skies. He looked 8':i+' 1:,o=A:11ifl 1/IJI He summoned his st11;Y,.ffl:.i '1'reat balls "' 'ire,._.~ ATIANl'A JOURNAL, 7/27/48
'LIKE BIG F~O'?R LAMP FLYING ALONG' ~ Everybody's Seeing 'Things' I Whizzing Through Night Sky By CHARLES POU . burst in mid-air. of a floor lamp, and it was the ls that Thing no more than a 5. A flash of cherry red fire. prettiest thing I ever saw. It came wayward floor lamp? 6. A meteor. and passed so quick-I guen it Mrs . .Noah Atkinson, of Brook- . Mrs. Atltinson kept her Fly- mu.st have been 500 miles an hour llaven, saw it. And what did that mg Floorlamp secret three weeks. or faster." Thing look like? B~t she knew she wasn't seeing And how about the two air "A great big floor lamp, all lit things when she saw the Thing. line pilots, C. S. Chiles and John up. Oh, il was beautiful!'' . She.and her husband, who also B. Whitted, of Atlanta? And C. M. Bowles, an Expos1- saw 1t, kept mum. The story Well they took off today, tion Mills painter who lives near really sou~ded a little silly unt_il armed'with a camera And th the Municipal airport, Sunday th~ two air line p1lots saw their hope to bring back a· p·ct 1 e~ 0 nicht saw a "huge, brilliantly Thmg gamboling and fire-breath- that Thing ure :U,hted object" streakjng over At- ing through air-line skies early • lanta skies at maybe 30,000 feet. Saturday morning. Be h Th C Mr. Bowles thinks the Thing was After that, she decided hef tale OC rongs ranl straight from Moscow. could be told: At 'Silver Cylinder' Two air line pilots :Cirst were "My husb..,;l'.i 11uu I were sit atartled by the newest astronomi- ting on our front porch the night ASBURY PARK, N. J., J4ly 26. cal "what-is-it" near Montgomery of J uly 5, and at a quarter to 9 (A")-Boa_rdwalk throngs_ at this early Saturday. To them it was "a o'clock we saw this Thing. Our resort city craned their necks wingless craft, spurting flame like front porch doesn't have a screen, Monday at a "s_ilver .cylinder" a Buck Rogers rocket ship." Else- and we were sitting near the they reported flymg !ugh over whcre, all over the country that edge where we could see good. head. Thing was variously identifi~d as: "I saw it first. It was not high They described it as "wll.y up 1. An aluminum covered bal- '!,IP-about _200 .feet, I guess, but in the air," and like a blimp "only loon. it looked hke 1t was right above blunt at both ends." 2, A ball of fire. the treetops. 'Looka there', I Officials, recalling "flying sau- Ai h R -..usually bright light. yelle~ to my husband, and he cers," asked Fort Monmouth per 4. A red and blue flame that saw it too. onnel to see if they could identify "It looked like the top part it. • ,.. ATLANTA JOURNAL, 7/26/48
~ 1515 • 9th St. Yichita Falls, Texas Aug. 5, 1948 Publisher, Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia. Dear Sirs On Jul.7 25, 1948, I mailed a letter enclosing .35 cents i:u coin and an airmail aelf•addreseed enTelop to your circu.lation department, asking for tear sheet ■ of the Atlanta Journal oontaininc the stories on a "strange" or 11JIIY'sterious" aircraft seen aear Monteo11e1"7, Alab&111a, July 24, 1948, by two pilots, Cap't c. s. Chiles and John». Whitted, of the Eastern Air Lines. These have not arr1Ted. I _asked for two copies each of the stories. Enclosed is an additional .35 cents, and another sta11ped self-ad dressed envelop. Will you kindly aee that your circulation department com plies with this simple request? I assure you that my interest in the above stories is prompted by interest in the defense of our count1"7, and you are hereby given my fullest pel'Dlission to turn this letter requ.esti~ the copies of the stories over to the J'.BI, should you wish. Thanking you Tery kindly, I am, Sincerely, /s/ Mra. Madeline Gwynne Merchant Mra. Madeline Gw,ynne Merchant cc/Agent-In-Chari• 7ederal !ureau of Inve■ tigation Atlanta, Georgia
The incident was, I belie'Ye, an important one. And though I haTe already 111&de reports to MaJ. Sidney Newburger of Loe Alamos and to General l!andy, I would appreciate the Mler nevapaper atoriee appearin~ in the preH there. Thanking 7ou kindly, I am, Sincerely, /•/Mrs.Madeline Gwynne Merchant Mra. Madeline Gw7nn• Merchant
g.x 1515 - 9th St. Wichita lalla, Texas A~. 5, 1948 ~nt-In-Oharge, Federal 1'ureau. of InTestigation, Atlanta, Georgia. Dear Sirs Enclosed is a carbon ot a letter requ.estin& tear sheeta of the un usual aircraft •een near Montgomery, Alabama, Jul7 24, 1948, storiea con• cernin& which wen carried by AP and UP, ori~inati~ in Atlanta. It 'IDlq h&Ye been overai«ht by someone in the cire11lation dep 1 t of the Atlanta Journal, or it mq have been 1 alarm" that a woman vould_be re queatinc thi• tn,e ot information, even thoU€h it was published, and there b7 open information. ETen thou«h I cann~t identify Jqaelf to the Atlanta Journal publisher or staff, I can to you. I have worked independently on the problem of aerial llieail••• of which I believe this was an example, with all rrr data ~ing di rectly to officials and member■ of the security o:f'tice of the Atomic Enera Con., Los Alamos Atomic ProJect, Los Alamos, W.M. , and to hi«h members of the War Department, including Gen. Thomas T. lland7 • J'ourth U. s. Anq Coa mander, 1t. Saa Xouston, Tex., head of this u. s. J.:nq district. -, cannot and should·Mt"'t;y•c~"';c t_hat agaJn, let us not wJth the exces o five zeal of the new convert be blind= Y intolerant of those who d t =immediately have the courage ~tna~I _ ~~!~:~ most recently acquired con
, lnv~,;t Novel, New Gamt Flying Sauc•;•, Catch ,-----------== Fancy ol Da) ,ona Beach I Vi,itor, and Re,ident, . By JACK TROY Times-Union Staff Writer f £x-A fTny'Air F ~~ce \fifiers DAY!ONA BEACH, Feb. 14-The Ingenuity of two former Army Air ;:ore~ !lier:; from California ls paymg of!" at this Florida Beach resort where, nowadays the air 1s 1• full of "flying saucers.'; When Major Warren Fransclonl : and Lieut. Fred Morrison of San Louis_ Obispo completed their war experiences ln the China-Burma• I Indl_a and the Italian theatres of op- l ~r~1on, they returned home anrl I Jo ed forces in a novel industry. Morrison had always been I I trigued by the Idea. o! sailing ;i; 1 /pans on the beach, and so h y • ·/ Franscioni put th~lr h- - ..ua tal ents togethP~ ..aa came up with a , 1 plastic version with fins. They then had Invented a new game, a novel , way of playing catch with nylng l saucers. a gyroscopic airfoil aerodY· manically correct. precisely engi• neered and a pleasant way to take exercise. Grid Coa.ch Uses It The football coach at Hemet. Calif., High School was Intrigued with the idea of using the saucers to condltlna his pl<>)'«~., t ..o.,.'- q,.,,,, 1 1 ; • I 1 : 'oala.nce and to reach out to ma,b catches of the discs which. by e•-:--.. tain methods of spinning, bo0111· erang and also sail a.way from the ~ intended receiver. A player has to l,be on his toes to catch them, espe• I clally if the wind ls blowing. I< It rnav be just coincidence, Ran- • scion! and Morrison said toda:V, but E \ the Hemet coach last season tum.ed out his first championship team. The boys were on their toes. ~ Although they had their di&CS \ made in Glendale and had planned l , on extensive West Coast promotion, snow flakes unexpectedly fell and ,~o they headed for Daytona Beach. wMre, according to the tourists. "summer spends the winter." No snow flakes fall here; onr,::, flying saucers. "-'hich are so durable i that they are not Injured by cars E passing over them. t Morrison was shot down In hiS c fifty-eighth mission In Italy but\1 escaped serious injury. The tv.·o J ex-Army officers refer to them-I\ selves as the world's champion Fly- \'t ing saucer pilots, and certainly their novel lnventlor -conceived In t Callfornlli, and promo•.ed ln Florida 1 -ha.& caught on with beach lovers. Jc TheY were smart enough, of 1 course, to patent the Flying saucer , idea in order to capitalize on ready- .I made publicity bor• of repeat ed ,r Saucer sea res arour the country.\ ·\ In throwlnit the 01d pie or calte s tins there always was the danger it I or cutting one's hands. But with \t · \the new plastic tin saucers, the 1 only danger ls getting bopped In I the nose. And only the less agile! t allow that to happen once In a le while. Promotion Main Problem I" Fransclonl and Morris feel that 1 ~ I coaches might find their salllng• gadgets just as handy In training a \ squad as did the coach of Hemet. And they are hopeful tM,t theyI may, in time to come, expand their w11res from coast to coast. At the present time DaytonaI Beach is the only resort that has seen the saucers. The boys are contemplating attending a few fairs and getting their product before ,larger m41-sses of the public. "Promotion ls our only problem," !Morrison declared. "Production ls no Item. All who've tried our in· teresting little 1t~dget seem to have fun sa lllng It. 11nd they also find that they are using muscles long neglected."
• • Office_ · • Memorandum • UNITED sTATEs GOVERNMENT DATE: ro : DIRECTOR, FBI floM ')>C RICHMOND SUBJB<-f!,LY~ DISCS SIGIITED /J RADFORD, VIRGINIA HAY 12, 1949 Ther0 are enclosed 4;,:we,- clippings concerning what has been described as a :lying disc sighted at Radford, Virginia on l!ay 12, 1949. The Bureau may desire to refer this to the Department of the Air Force. This office has no infor,nation other than that appearing in the news items which appear to cover the best inforn:ation avai lable. The matter was not reported directly to this office and, therefore, no investigation or inquiries are being made and none of X' the individuals who allegedly saw the thing have been interviewed. U ELB:GTC ~ Enclosures (2) 1~-_J}lJ..1:- 11 11 MAY 25 1949 RICORDED · 78 EX-42
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John Edgar Hoover
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C0MMUNICATlO• • .. Lynch,..ur Advance 5/13/A9 Th&se Aying Discs Are at It Again, Virginians Report Zounds! Here we go again! Inler planetory space-ship? Visitor from Mars? A new Russian rocket ship? Airgoing submarine? Just take your choice, your guess is every bit as good as the next qne according to reports from various sections of Vir ginia and Tennessee on last night's strange phenomenon. What it was, where it came from and where it was going, no one knows, but even Civil Aeronautics Administration officials were puzzled and had no answer. Whatever the thing was, it re sembled a long cigar, with a bright red nose and trailing smoke. Re \ rorts coinciding with that descrip• tion came from localities along an almost direct line through Tennessee and Virginia and seemed sufficient to convince even the most skeptical that what the callers said they had seen was no figment of imagination. The descriptions generally Jn oicated the object came over the couthwest horizon and resembled a ctreak of fire. There seemed to be 1ed lights or a powerful red glow in the nose of the object. Far, back at the tail there was fire and smoke. The first report came from Roa noke about 8 o'clock when ,J. S. Mays and W. F. Mullins. both of that city, said they noticed the object. "It looked like a streak of fire," said Mays, "and appeared to be go ing almost straight up and was stepping on it." Suddenly, he said, it appeared to level off and head eastward, re sembling "a snake wiggling on water." Other reports followed from Kingsport, Tenn., Bristi Pulaski, Chrt·tiansburg and poin s west of Roa ke. 1 w liam C. Flanik, ch t aircraft c-om unicator, CAA, ' Preston Gle airport, said none of the Lyn burg tower men had sighted Iany unusual objects in the sky. FBI RIC'-'t'O!m M?W 141949 l lJ - i3~11 -11r E'NCLOSURf
• • IN RJ!PLY, PLEASE R>!FER TO FILE No. _____ _ B!eheral ihtr.eau of lttu.estigatum 11tniteb itates il.epartm.ettt of iJwrtitt Did You See It? Well, What Was lt? By WELLS CALD'WJ:LL The strange object seen travel ing acro11 the heave_ns just after sundown last night has caused widespread speculation here in Radford as well as in other sec tions of Southwestern V.irginia and Eastern Tennessee. Exactly what the mysterious traveler was, no one here seems to know, and the number of con flicting reports have only added to the confusion. This much seems to be cer tain: the object appeared over the Southwest horizion shortly before 8 p. m. and was moving eastward. Also, it was black, or at least part of it was. A Radford man, Jiving in the east end section, asked that his name not be used, but give this version: "I was working in the yard when I glanced up and saw a long black thing flying across the sky. It came from the direc tion of Pulaski. It looked a great deal like a rounded stick of wood which was burning in front. The object was trailed by either vapor or smoke and faded from view when it seemed to be directly overhead-." Mrs. Alfred Tolley, of 1702 Seventh Street, west, reported her 12-year-old son, Albert, was playing next door and noticed the object. She said her son had been studying comets in school and called her attention to the phenomenon, thinking that it was either a comet or a meteor. "The strange looking object", she said "was long and black with a light on the front end. It seemed to follow the air route from the directon of Pulaski, later turning and heading toward Blacksburg. There was a light on the front end and great long streaks of fire. We saw it for about 10 minutes." Miss Joe Stewart, of the Rad ford College biology department, said she saw the object and as sumed it was the exhaust from an airplane. She added that she was ''in no way alarmed." Fred W. Hurt, of Fourth and l~ _i ?)'l'1~ - /7 f -?'-'CLOStJRc Harvey Streets, gave this ver- 1to be traveling too slowly for sion: "At the first appearance it looked like a comet. I recall Halley·s comet and it resembled that. There was, at first, a bright spot ahead of the stream of fire, but the trail didn"t look so bright ~hen the object reach ed its zenith. "It appeared to be moving slow- Jy at first and later very fast, which indicates that it was quite a distance away when I first saw it. The object seemed to follow a straight path, however it v~ered a little once - in sort of ;l.n arc - and then straighted out agin. I heard no noise." Mrs. James D. Heinline. of 60 Jackson Street, Monroe Terrace, said slie and her husband watch e6 it with some neighbors. "It looked like a long black cigar which was on fire", she stated. "We heard a faint sound, which might have been a small motor. At times it looked like an airplane 'way, 'way off. J thought at first it might be· a comet or a meteor, but it seemed IBedford. 1 1 I FBI - R!CHHO m M.~Y 1 61949 l that. It appeared in the south west and traveled toward the east. There was a kind of red dish looking smoke about it." Miss Dody Jones, of Harvey Street, reported watching the phenomenom with a group of children in the neighborhood. She said it looked like "what I think a comet would look like." "It was a red flare", she con tinued, "which was light on the front. It moved slowly from the Southwest and traveled what seemed to be straight up. It curved toward the east and the fire strealcs trailing it got longer as they began to fade out." L. B. Graybeal, of Christians burg, a former Air Force pilot, estimated the altitude of the object at 6.000 feet. He said there was a light from the object , as it passed over and a "roaring i sound." Other reports have been re- 1 ceived from as far West as Kings- 1 port, Tenn., and as far East as
• • I -== • Remember Flying SaucersrWe/1 Looks Like Flying Seegars Now Flying saucers are passe. Now people in Bristol are see ing "long, cigar- shaped ob ject" flashing across the sky. But Bristolians were not the only spectators ot the strange craft yesterday evening. The flaming object was re ported sighted at Kingsport, Christiansburg and Roanoke and three at Pulaski. Rex Rainey, 1805 State Street, reported that he saw a "whit ish, glistening m;iss, long and cylindrical like a big cigar," flying from east to west about 7:15 Yesterday. He said be sighted the "cigar" flying very rapidly over Virginia Heights and got out his binoculars to look at it. An unidentified caller in formed the Herald Courier last night that she had sighted something that "looked like white smoke with a blue name that traveled to the north and e~" about the same time. "It d' 't look like an airplane," s said, "only like white smoke. I was just a streak and almost o t of sight it was so high." I Another· local woman reported that she had seen a "silver streak that looked like it was about 100 feet long" flash across the sky shortly after seven o'clock. She estimated the speed at about 200 miles per hour. A traffic controlman at Tri Cities Airport, Who asked that his name be withheld, said that the strange craft had not been seen at the airport although they ha,d had inquires on the "cigar-streak." He said he had checked with the Atlanta Air Route traffic control center after receiving inquiries but they reported no knowledge of any jet aircraft in l this Yicinity, He speculated that the streaks may have been caused by a jet propelled plane or planes. "The objects were reported flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet," he said. ''If a jet plane were fly ing that high, it would be mov ing so fast the vapor trail would be about all a person on the ground could see." The controlman said that the Pulaski radio reported two seen there. One about 4 p. m., and the other an hour later. He said that Pulaski also had a pi lot's report of the "streak" trav eling northeast at an altitude ot about 30,000 feet. .Reports on the "flaming ob ject" were received at Chris tiansburg and Roanoke but air ports in those vicinities reported no information on the strange craft.- 13 R, I S /i) )- . ti ER /I ;..}) R 1S1.> J.., l/4 FBI - R:C'-if O m M."1Y 1 7;949 l
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~f-1)letter ,,. • • • FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FormNo.1 THIS CASE ORIGINATED AT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA F ILE NO. 62- 2542 VFH SYNOPSIS OF FACTS: FREDERI~QUARDT submitted ash residue to Fire Marshal' s Office, Philadelphia, Pa., which made chemical analysis. }l.ARQT'ARDT o-r opinion that fire_Aay have been caused by military flare oiU'flying saucer11 • - C DETAILS: This investigation is p~dicated upon a 4 p 1 received from the office of the Fire Marshal, J,,f.::J ~,/~ u ti Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dated May 19., 1949, I ..,,,.) , advising that ashes had been received from one F. )AA'ftQUARDT, purportedly from a fire which had continued to burn for twelve hcurs. A chemical analysis of the ashes had been requested. The Fire Marshal's Office noted that MARQUARDT had at one time worked for the Atomic Energy Commission. Captain MICHAEL HANNAN, Fire Marshal's Office, advised that there had been received through the mail on April 21, 1949, an ash._ sample with a re quest for analysis. In the letter of transmittal, MARQGARDTnad pointed out that the fire had continued to burn twelve hours after water had first been applied. The original letter of transmittal was examined and reflected that an object had entered the roof of the building., caused an explosion, and threw people out of bed. /} Captain HANNAN said he atte~ted to locate MARQUARDT at his residence., 127 South 16th Street, but had bee~unsuccessful. He added ihat at the time the building managev had commented that MARQUARDT had been employed by the Atomic Energy Con:o:nission. }!ARQU.ARDr was then requested by letter to appear at the Fire Marshal's Office. APPROVED AND SPECIAL AGENT' DO NOT WRITE IN THESE SPACES FORWARDED: IN CHARGE t 1------- ~ ----,~---'-~~~__,_..J:...--.'-_R CORDED. 129 zr -03X3aNt REPORT MADE AT DATE WHEN MADE PERIOD FOR WHICH MADE PHILADEIPIITA, PA. 6-15-49 5- 20-49 mu. UNKNO/IN SUBJECT<fmE, SCRANTON, PE!'rnSYLVANI A, UNKN(J'(tN DATE GEORGE--16:l\UTON, COMPLAINANT REPORT MADE BY JAMES L. KIRKLAND CHARACTER OF CASE MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION CONCERNING COPIES OF THIS REPORT ,.....2 - Bureau .... 2 - Philadelphia "
• .. ' . ... ... , li10ITAfJIT83VVH ,O UA3flU8 JAs:1303::i ... . • I I.....- 0J"I :jf.Jl'lf
.. I ..,,. • PH 62-2542 Acting Chief GEORGE KINGTON advised that he had interviewed MAR.cyJ.ARDT at the time he came to the office since Captain HANNAN was absent at the time. He said that he then learned for the first time that the fire in question had taken pl ace near Scranton, Pennsylvania, ~@ Q£.QllI'rea_ about §j ;x;,.. J.'lQl!tho .Pte..viousl ~ • This caused the Marshal ' s Office to withdraw from the caseori a question of jurisdiction and MARQUARDT was advised that any further action on his part should be referred to the State Police authorities. At the same time, KilltTON furnished MARQUARDT with the results of the analysis which had been ~ade of the ash submitted, and which analysis had been made by Dr. EDWARD BURKE, City Chemist, Chemical Laboratory, Room fr'/5, City Hall. This report reflected that the ash contained Magnesium, Alumirrum, Iron, and Calcium in the form of silicates, sulphur and carbonates. FREDERIC iiJ\RQl!ARDT was interviewed at his place of business, the H. A. KULJIAN COMPANY, Broad Street and Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At this ti~ he advised that he had received the sample of ash from a friend, V"O(l)~FER, Lake Ariel, R. n., Wayne County, Pennsyl vania, through the mail. He said that Lake Ariel is about one mil e south of South Canaan, near Scranton, Pennsylvania. He stated that SHAEFFER' s house had burned about six months ago, that the fire had occurred at night during a storm and that a large object had struck the roof and ignited the house which had burned to the ground in less than an hour. He said that he had not been present during the fire but that these details had been furnished by letter fr001 SHAEFFER at the ti.me a sample of the ash was forwarded for analysis. He said that he was of the personal opinion that the ash might be a part of a military flare or a "flying saucer11 • He pointed out that he has been advised by associates in the engineering field that one of the characteristics of some types of flares is the fact that they burn for a considerable period. He stated that the mass of the ash residue had remained ignited for a period of twelve hours. He also stated that he did not think there had been an explosion but that a loud noise had probably been caused by the vacuum created as the missile or objects truck the roof. He added that there remains a quantity of the ash, amounting to one bushel, at SHAEFFER 1s premises at Lake Ariel. - 2
• • • > PH 62-2542 MARQUARDT adv· sed that he had been employed by the Atomic Energy Commission at Oak Ridge until 1943. He was entirely rational. He discounted the theory that a portion of a rooteor had struck the house on the basis of the chemical analysis made by the City Chemical Laboratory. MARQUARDT advised that at the suggestion of the City authorities, he had written to SHAEFF'ffi and suggested that any further in quiries be directed to the State Police. The file of the Philadelphia Office reflect that the records of Immigration aJ)d Naturalization Service were negative to an inquiry concern ing FREDERIC S4ARQUARDT, OEM (Bureau File ?7- 30'S7) . The files of this office likewise reflect that M.ARQUARDT by letter received August 14, 194?, requested of this office the identity of a powder or dust used to catch thieves. Inasmuch as there is no yiql.F'ti.9n indicated within the Bureau I s jurisdiction, there is no further investigation being conducted in this matter. However, the ash residue obtained from the Fil·e t.arshal' s Office is being forvrarded to the Bureau Laboratory for any interest or study the Laboratory may desire to conduct relative to flares or in connection with the possibility of the presence of "flying saucers" • - CLa3ED - 3
. . . ... FBI ,IAHA [ff-.,LCTOR FLYING DISCS, ~ ,AL BUREAU or 1..11..... , ,..... .... • ll. s. CiEPARTMEln or JU:iTICE COMMUNICATIONS SECTIOK 7- 14-49 4- 55 U R G E N T INFORMATION CONCERNING . t Mr. ToJs;, ~ (, PM CST Aff>U/ / / ;rffe ; ~ / • "?~ ., /,/ WHILE ON VACATION RC C AT LAKE OF THE WOODS, NEAR KENORA, ONTARIO, CANAvA, SA CL:r=fE G. MATTHEWS OBSERVED UNCONVENTIONAL AIRCRAFT RESEMBLING FLVI~ DISC • .....-.- HE HAS FURNISHED FULL INFORMATION CONCERNING SAME TO U. S. ~R FORCE INTELLIGENCE, FORT CROOK, NEBRASKA, AND SAME ~ILL NOT BE REPORTED TO THE BUREAU UNLESS ADVISED TO THE CONTRARY. END ACK ) 94::ti PLS OK f WASH DC EJC ~
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STANDARD FORM NO. 64 \_. • Office Memorandum • uNrTEn sTATEs GovERNMENT ,i>f" TO DIRECTOR, FBI DATE: July 21, 1949 ~ FROM SAC, NEW ORLEANS SUBJECT: YLnNG DISCS AND SAUCERS MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATICN CONCERNING For the Bureau's information, several citizens in the community of Alexandria, Louisiana, have recently reportedly seen flying discs. The Alexan dria, Louisiana daily paper has carried nUJD3rous articles concerning this. At a recent meeting of the Young Mens Business Club in Alexandria, a member suggested that since Alexandria, Louisiana is known as a convention city, the club should try promoting a convention of flying saucer seers. This particu lar comment appeared in the Alexandria paper and was picked up by the JJ' lines. Mr. A. M_y"D~GELO, a member of the Young Mens Business Club, advised Special Agent WALTER E. )()EJU..E that since the JJ' release, they have received a large number of requests regarding the convention of flying saucer seers from many parts of the United States. Mr. DeANGELO wt.ates that the interest of the people is evidenced by their inquiries about convention particulars, stating they are flying saucer seers and want to attend such a convention. This gentleman further advised that in view of the volume of inquiries coming in, it appears that the YMBC will have to hire an employee to handle all the correspondence. It might be noted that he advised a representative of the Air Force from Barksdale Field, Louisiana, has inquired as to plans of a .flying saucer convention, stating that they are interested in furnishing an observer if such a convention were held. This information is being furnished the Bureau, as it is possible such an enterprise may cause people to falsify that they have seen flying discs or fly ing saucers. Such falsifications might be made so that they might attend such a convention or become official delegates thereto. WEM:gp 62-0 63JUL29 · ,
I SAC, Phoenix Jwie 30, 1949 Director, FBI ILLIAll WrBR:Pmoms INFOi"WATIOU CONCERNING FLRHG DISCS Reiutlet Juno 8, 1949, captioned "Fltina Discs. " It ia believed that the reference appearing 1n the tirat line ot yoar referenced letter to the Blu-eaQ 1a incorrect. Complete detail.a concerning the c:atter reterred to in 1our referenced COIJlllluni.cation appear 1.o a letter from your ottice dated September 4, 'J.947, and not Septvmber 9, 1947. Pursuant to ,10ur request, .rou are granted authority to tumt.ah the attached blind tJ1m0randu.1J1, which was forwarded to the Bu.reau with 1our referenced letter !or approval, to lb-. 1qnn c. Aldrich, OOI repreeentativo, Phoenix, li.r1£ona. Attacliment EHM:EFF ~ .;::.. 0 7\ ~ .r::. c.:o • ' llr. Tolson l::; 8½:~n- llr. Ladd.--_-_-_ llr. Nichols llr. Rosen - llr. Tracy- ..... llgan._-.:::::::= llr. OUrnin ::: :..~-== 11r. Pennington_ llr. Qulrm Tam_ Tele. Roo11__ :f;/"~ ----·-- • COMMUNICATIONS SECTION MAILED 15 JUL 11949 P.M. * .Dtn~ il. ~ or l~STl~!IO'f JllS11C£
, -~ STANDARD FORM NO. 64 • • • Office-- Memorandum • uNrTEn sTATEs GovERN MENT TO Mr. H.B. Fletcbe# DATE: June 30, 1949 FROM Lish Whitson TOJ.aon__ Ladd___ Cle..._a:__ SUBJECT: WIWAM ALBERF: /4 ODES INFCRMATION C CERNING Glavin__ NlcbOle__ a FLYING DISW Roeen__ Tracy__ ll&rbo__ 1/ollr___ Purpose T9le, Rooa_ --·- OoDc17__ Your approval is requested in order that the attached letter and memorandum can be forwarded to the Phoenix Office, authorizing that office to furnish the attached memorandum to Mr. Lynn C. Aldrich, OSI representative, Phoenix, Arizona. BackgroWld In July 1947, William Albert Rhodes was jointly interviewed by Special Agent J. Bailey Brower (Bureau Agent) and George Fugate, Jr., A-2 representative from Hamilton Field, California. The purpose of the interview was to secure from Yr. Rhodes information and photographs of a flying disc, which bad been sighted and photographed by Rhodes. The complete results of the interview and subsequent events are contained in the attached memorandum submitted by the Phoenix Office. Mr. Lynn C. Aldrich, OSI representative at Phoenix, Arizona, has requested the Phoenix Office to furnish him complete facts relating to this interview, which are to be subsequently forwarded to the OOI Office at San Francisco. According to Aldrich, Mr. Fugate, referred to above, has been questioned concerning this matter by his superiors and he has advised them .that his recollection is "hazy11 on the matter. According to Aldrich, Yr. Rhodes has apparently now requested the Air Force to return the photographs, which were previously obtained from him. Recommendation It is recommended that the Phoenix Office be advised that the memorandum attached may be forwarded by them to Mr. Aldrich, OSI representative, Phoenix, Arizona. Attachments EHlbEFF , I
0 ' 1 i!lureau of linorstigutinn. 3llnibh §fates il.e.partm.ent of Ilustire Phoenix, Arizona June 8, 1949 t Director, FBI 0 RE: FLTING DISCS Dear Sir: Refer Phoenix letter to Bureau, dated September 9, 1947, captioned, REPORTS OF FLYING DISCS, for the attention of Assistant Director D. M. LADD, setting forth the result of an interview con ducted by GIDRGE FUGATE, JR., then a representative of the Air Force Intelligence, from Hamilton Field, California, and Special Agent J. BAILEY BROWER with one WILLIAM ALBERT RHODES, 4333 N. 14th street, Phoenix, Arizona, concerning his observation and photographing of an object which was considered by the Air Force of significance from a security standpoint. On June 7, 1949, Mr. LYNN C. ALDRICH, OSI representative, Phoenix, Arizona, called at this office, advising that he had been rAquested by his superiors in San Francisco to obtain detailed in ,.,_ fonnation concerning this interview since RHODES awar~tly.. hasw,_,..._._ / requested the Air Force to return the Rhotographs. \ i;;dthii: P - ':). FUGATE, when questioned by his superiors concerning the matter, stated his recollection was "hazy" on the matter. OSI is anxious to secure the substance of information in the Phoenix file concerning this matter. Mr. ALDRICH was furnished the substance of the interview, as set forth in letter of reference and he has now requested that he be furnished with a blind memorandum setting forth this information in detail in order that he may make U available to the OSI at San Francisco. es •
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• ~- • t m • UNITED S1 ,-OVERNMENT TO THE DIRECTOR DATE: -July 20, FROM D. M. LADD p,-, SUBJECT: ---- C) You will recall that Mr . Ernest Cuneo advised the Bureau of a letter which Walter Winchell had received from an ind i vidual in Los Angeles indipaJing that he had seen a flying saucer leave the ground within h i s view and in which letter he theori2ed that this mi ght have been a land ing from another planet. ( The Los Angeles Office was requested to locate and interview the writer of this letter , Peter Camerlon Jones , 164 West 37th Street, Los Angeles 7 , California. The Los Angeles Office has now advised that the present owner and former manager at this address have no knowl edge of any Peter Camerlo~nes and that other investigation to locate Jones was unproductive . It would appear, th~,;,efore, that this may have been a prank. ;;, You may desi re to advise Mr. Cuneo that there is no such person at the address given inasmuch as he indicated that Mr. Winchell ;ntend✓o do a ol umn on this litte r. DML : FA RECORDED - 5 IHDEXEll • 5 20
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