Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO: Mr. A. H. Belmont
FROM: R. R. Roach
DATE: September 23, 1957
SUBJECT: UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT REPORTED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 1957; INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WATCH COMMITTEE
The following information was obtained by Liaison Supervisor M.W. Kuhnrtz at the Intelligence Advisory Committee - Watch Committee special meeting on September 21, 1957, relative to the captioned matter. The initial report in this matter was given by the U.S. Air Defense Command to the White House on September 20, 1957, reflecting that an unidentified flying object was picked up by radar station at Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, at approximately 4 p.m., proceeding in a westward direction with an altitude of 50,000 feet and a speed of 2,000 knots (approximately 2300 miles per hour). The radar station at Montauk Point maintained an image for approximately one minute, and thereafter it was picked up by a radar station at Benton, Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), which coincided with the Montauk Point pickup and was tracked by Benton for approximately 9 minutes. Thereafter, jamming was reported by several radar stations westward as far as Chicago.
The Watch Committee at its meeting on September 21 was told by the Air Defense Command that the original reports had been downgraded, since there was an 11-minute break in the tracking by the various radar stations, and further that weather stations in the area were of the type which have in the past produced false radar "pips" and electronic information. Also, there were a number of Strategic Air Command planes in the Chicago area on a training flight. The Watch Committee was told that the Air Defense Command has not completed its investigation of this incident; however, in any event it was reported that the phenomena reported west of Buffalo, New York, were not related to the object as reported by Montauk Point and Benton, Pennsylvania.
The Watch Committee concluded that, "It is highly improbable that a Soviet operation is responsible for the unidentified flying object reports of September, 1957." The Watch Committee in considering this matter also concluded that there is no intelligence on Soviet activities which can be related to a missile launching of this type.
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RECORDED - 28
INDEXED - 28
18 SEP 27 1957
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Distribution:
- 1 - Mr. Belmont
- 1 - Mr. W.C. Sullivan
- 1 - Mr. D.E. Moore
- 1 - Mr. L. Whitson
- Liaison Section
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Handwritten annotations and markings:
- Top right: "Tele. Room — Holloman — Gandy"
- Right margin: "Nichols — Boardman — Belmont — Mohr — Parsons — Rosen — Tamm — Trotter — Nease — Tele. Room — Holloman — Gandy"
- Bottom left: "MUK: (7)" and "55 OCT 2 1957"
- Bottom center: "91-16"
- Bottom right: Various signatures and markings including "18 SEP 27 1957" and other illegible scribbles.
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