Documents / Memo
FLYING SAUCERS memo
CIA Reading Room · 36 pages · text by OCR
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.
“Nature”16 pages
- p. 1 …fundamental scientific research with respect to the nature and causes of unidentified flying objects (Flying Saucers…
- p. 2 …expanded scientific research program to reveal the nature of the various phenomena which are causing these…
- p. 7 …These aspects are to determine definitely the nature of the various phenomena which are causing these…
- p. 8 …Both of these problems are primarily operational in nature but each contains readily apparent intelligence factors…
- p. 9 …much more is known regarding the exact nature of these phenomena.
11. I consider this problem…
- p. 12 …problem which is to determine definitely the nature of the various phenomena which are causing these…
- p. 13 …Both of these problems are primarily operational in nature but each contains readily apparent intelligence factors…
- p. 14 …much more is known regarding the exact nature of these phenomena.
e. The problem transcends the…
- p. 16 …US Government circles knew all along of the harmless nature of these objects, but if they…
- p. 27 …Even through binoculars he could not determine their nature. An F-94 interceptor climbed to 43…
- p. 29 …eye for as long as one hour.
Natural phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere have caused…
- p. 30 …It should be noted that radar anomalies both internal and external in nature still exist in…
- p. 32 …Considering that the remaining cases might have been caused by little understood natural phenomena, the OSI…
- p. 33 …This phenomenon exists but the exact mechanics of its cause, its nature and manner of dissipation…
- p. 34 …centuries, appears in various colors but its nature is not known.
St. Elmo's fire, corona…
- p. 35 …For instance, the cosmic and gamma natural radiation which pours in daily from outer space is…
# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R0060R000100020012-7
c. The reasons for silence in the Soviet press regarding flying saucers.
10. Additional research, differing in character and emphasis from that presently being performed by Air Force, will be required to meet the specific needs of both operations and intelligence. Intelligence responsibilities in this field as regards both collection and analysis can be discharged with maximum effectiveness only after much more is known regarding the exact nature of these phenomena.
11. I consider this problem to be of such importance that it should be brought to the attention of the National Security Council in order that a community-wide coordinated effort towards its solution may be initiated.
25X1A
H. MARSHALL CHADWELL Assistant Director Scientific Intelligence
SECRET
About this file
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.