Documents / Memo
This CIA file, released in 2001, gathers 1952 memoranda from H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of the Office of Scientific Intelligence, to the Director of Central Intelligence, along with draft letters to the Secretary of Defense and the NSC and a briefing on the Air Force position. It concludes that flying saucers carry national security implications, namely mass panic and air defense vulnerability. It recommends expanded scientific research, a public information policy and study of Soviet interest, noting that about 20 percent of roughly 1500 Air Force reports remained unexplained.
“CIA”26 pages
# Approved For Release 2001/04/02:C1A-RDP81R0056R000100020012-7 25X1A The Air Force Stand on "Flying Saucers" -- as stated by CIA, in a briefing on 22 August 1952 I. The Air Force has primary responsibility for investigating "flying saucers". The unit concerned with these investigations is a part of the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Dayton, Ohio, and consists of three officers (a Captain in charge) and two civilians. They receive reports of sightings, analyze and attempt to explain them. A standard reporting form has been prepared which is used on a world-wide basis. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations checks into each sighting attempting to determine its authenticity and the reliability of the observer. II. (A) The Air Force officially denies that "flying saucers" are: (1) U.S.secret weapons (2) Soviet secret weapons (3) Extra-terrestrial visitors (B) It is believed that all sightings of "flying saucers" are: (1) Well known objects such as balloons (over 4000 are released daily in the U.S.), aircraft, meteors, clouds, etc. not recognized as such by the observer. (2) Phenomena of the atmosphere which (2) Phenomena of the atmosphere which are at present poorly understood, e.g., refractions and reflections caused by temperature inversions, ionization phenomena, ball lightning, etc. III. Not a shred of evidence exists to substantiate the belief that "flying saucers" are material objects not falling into category IIB(1) above. IV. A study of "flying saucer" sightings on a geographical basis showed them to be more frequent in the vicinity of atomic energy installations (which is explained by the greater security consciousness of persons in those areas). That by-products of atomic fission may in some way act catalytically to produce "flying saucers" has not been disproved. The greatest number of sightings has been made at or near Daytoh, Ohio where the investigations are going on. V. Of the thousands of"flying saucers" sighted of which there are records, the Air Force says that 78% have been explained by either IIB(1) or IIB(2) above, 2% have been exposed as hoaxes and the remaining 20% have not been explained primarily because of the vague descriptions given by observers. VI. The Air Force is mostly interested in the "saucer" problem because of its psychological warfare implications. In reviewing publications designed for Soviet consumption, there has not been a single reference to "flying saucers". On the other hand, several "saucer" societies in the United States have been investigated. Key members of some of these societies which have been instrumental in keeping the "flying saucer" craze before the public have been exposed as being of doubtful loyalty. Furthermore the sociites, in some cases, are financed from an unknown source. The Air Force realizes that a public made jumpy by the "flying saucer" scare would be a serious liability in the event of air attacks by an enemy. Air
Memo, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 36 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.