Documents / FOIA release

roswell

Office of the Secretary of Defense · 993 pages · text from the file's own layer

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published in 1995 by Headquarters United States Air Force. It was written in response to Representative Steven H. Schiff's request and a General Accounting Office audit, and it contains Col. Richard L. Weaver's report and 1st Lt. James McAndrew's synopsis, along with attachments, appendices and photographs. The report says researchers found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concludes that the 1947 debris came from a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 3 …The importance of attachment 32, Lieutenant McAndrew's synopsis, derives from his description of Project MOGUL…
  • p. 13 …Photographs, Project MOGUL Balloon Trains 27. Table No.7, Summary of NYU Constant-Level Balloon Flights…
  • p. 14 …Crane as Project Officer for MOGUL and TORRID, June 18, 1946 9. Memo, Maj Gen Curtis…
  • p. 15 …Army GR-3 Sound Ranging Set, TNT Detonation, and Project MOGUL PT Boat Project MOGUL Neoprene…
  • p. 18 …Project MOGUL resulted from two important post-World War II priorities set by the Commanding General…
  • p. 19 …However, too much activity was going on for the project to remain completely hidden. A MOGUL…
  • p. 25 …balloon project, designed to attempt to monitor Soviet nuclear tests, known as Project MOGUL. Additionally, several…
  • p. 41 …Its name was Project MOGUL (Atch 19). Project MOGUL was a then-sensitive, classified project, whose…
  • p. 42 …These interviews confirmed that Project MOGUL was a compartmented, sensitive effort. The NYU group was responsible…
  • p. 43 …so because he was either aware of Project MOGUL and was trying to deflect interest from…
  • p. 44 …Trakowski provided specific details on Project MOGUL and described how the security for the program was…
  • p. 45 In order to provide a more detailed discussion of the specifics of Project MOGUL and how…
  • p. 46 …First, the recovered wreckage was from a Project MOGUL balloon. There were no "alien" passengers therein…
  • p. 48 …Illustration of Project MOGUL "Balloon Trains" 26. Two Photos of Project MOGUL "Balloon Trains" 27. Log…
  • p. 183 …It was called Project Mogul. SC: Never heard of it. RW: Mogul was designed to run…
  • p. 195 …Equipments used in project "Mogul" are common to other systems or sets that are now class…
  • p. 201 …secrecy agreements for various projects, and I understand that this activity (Mogul, etc. is now declassified…
  • p. 205 …I was not aware that the project had the name MOGUL until1992 when I was contacted…
  • p. 206 …The Watson Lab gear was the microphone equipment specifically for MOGUL. The idea was proposed in…
  • p. 213 …I have also been contacted by several researchers and writers and discussed project Mogul and provided…
  • p. 217 …We have gone through many of the various technical documents related to Project Mogul and some…
  • p. 218 …Project Mogul was probably involved in this incident. The materials that were being used in Mogul…
  • p. 220 …it was offered and was the project officer on Mogul. I have some paperwork here from…
  • p. 226 …proving ground across the Tulerosa Valley; and Project Mogul. I joined the NYU group in January…
  • p. 237 …So you were the project engineer? A: I was the project engineer, and Schneider was the…
  • p. 241 …I interpreted that as saying someone was covering up on Mogul. That was my interpretation when…
  • p. 242 …so you went, moving into Mogul, you did go on the June and July field trips…
  • p. 244 …The balloons that you did launch for Project Mogul and some of the other test balloons…
  • p. 246 …Mogul was classified, and he said it had the same classification as the Manhattan Project had…
  • p. 255 …But the aircraft operation here was entirely to support Project Mogul. We didn't consider ourselves…
  • p. 273 …The balloon was not a weather balloon, but was then a classified project, Project MOGUL, which…
  • p. 274 …I came into being as the project officer on Project MOGUL about November of 1946. I…
  • p. 275 …I remained project officer of Project MOGUL through our move of the laboratory from Watson Laboratories…
  • p. 278 …But we were aware of the sensitivity and of the weakness of security in Project MOGUL…
  • p. 281 …At some point in Project MOGUL did you utilize equipment based at Roswell Army Air Field…
  • p. 289 26 Photographs Project MOGUL Balloon Trains
  • p. 299 …60's; we have no reference to Project MOGUL" Ms Betsy xxxxxxxxxx d) Sperry Hagley Museum…
  • p. 300 …Archivist (202) 504-5416 "no records of Project Mogul; recommend checking with DOE historian or the…
  • p. 318 …The project's classified code name was MOGUL. The current investigation discovered that an experimental ba1loon…
  • p. 319 PROJECT MOGUL Project MOGUL was first conceived by Dr. Maurice Ewing of Columbia University, NY, and…
  • p. 320 …Over the course of the project, MOGUL had three military project officers, or "chiefs": Maj Robert…
  • p. 321 Air Forces, in conjunction with Project MOGUL. 10 The NYU "balloon group" was to develop and…
  • p. 322 …advance team made the first launch for Project MOGUL from Alamogordo (NYU flight no. 3). The…
  • p. 323 …Radiosondes, along with aircraft, were to be the primary method to track the Project MOGUL balloons…
  • p. 326 …Over the course of Project MoGUL, several balloons had landed and been recovered from that area…
  • p. 327 …There, it was identified by Colonel Duffy, under whose purview Project MOGUL operated. Colonel Duffy, a…
  • p. 328 …briefing bf the projects, including constant-level balloons, that made up Project MOGUL.40 While crashed…
  • p. 329 …Pritchard, a Watson Laboratory Project Officer (not assigned to MOGUL) stationed at Alamogordo AAF. This article…
  • p. 330 …One instance, on April 7, 1947, Crary gave Pritchard a "progress report for MOGUL project to…
  • p. 331 …Project MoGUL Classification Letter 10. Drawing of "Hieroglyphics" by Prof. C.B. Moore 11. Alamogordo Daily…
  • p. 411 …Crane as Project Officer for MOGUL and TORRID June 18, 1946
  • p. 810 …Gave him memo of progress report for MOGUL project to date, talked to Lt Dyer of…
  • p. 975 …a strong influence on the high- priority Project MoGUL (see Apps 8 and 9 ). He also…
  • p. 979 …Crary (left) and technician Phil Chantz taking a break during Project MOGUL operations at White Sands…
  • p. 980 …received and resulted in the initiation of Project MOGUL (see App 6 ). Photo Courtesy of Woods…
  • p. 981 …Marcellus Duffy, a highly capable scientific research officer, was a MOGUL project officer. Maj. Gen. Curtis…
  • p. 982 MOGUL Project Scientist Dr. James Peoples. Peoples's deci- sion not to bring the radiosonde tracking…
  • p. 984 …This modified PT boat that was assigned to Project MOGUL is shown here off Block Island…
  • p. 985 Launch of Project MOGUL neoprene balloons, Alamogordo AAF, NM, June 1947. While awaiting the experimental polyethylene…
  • p. 986 …Moore (right and reaching down) prepares experimental Project MOGUL microphones for launch (Holloman AFB, Alamogor- do…
ST ATEl\1E'N1 OF WITh'ESS
Date: 3 Jun 94 Place: VA
~I Athelstan F Spilhaus, hereby state that Jeffrey Butler, was identified as a Colone~ USAF and Jim
McAndrew, was identified as a Lieutenant. USAF on this date at my home and do hereby,
voluntarily and of my own free will make the following statement. This is done without having
been subjected to any coercion, unlawful influence or unlawful inducement. ~~
-.A~ ~ I was the Director of the NYU Balloon Project and also involved with many other sensitive
'V~'{' activities. Until these discussions, I had no indication of what the "RosweU incident" was. I was
invoJ:ved in numerous unusual activities such as reconstruction of captured Gcnnan rockets,
development of drone planes and the like-such as long range baUoons. The Army Air Force had
seen what the Japanese had done with long range balloons; although not effective as weapons, they
did initiate the long-range balloon research which led to use of balloons for the detection and
collection of debris from atomic explosion. Although I was involved in sensitive classified
programs, I completed secrecy agreements for various projects, and I understand that this activity
(Mogul, etc. is now declassified) and I did enforce "need to know". In part, I left Nl'U because
the administration wanted to know too much about the various projects I was involved in (the
Bikini test). At one time I was sent by the US government to assist the South Africa meterological
efforts and I worked numerous other special missions. Even though the war was over the Cold
War had just started and certain things were sensitive. I recaD that it was Col Duffy who brought
me from the Reserves to active duty. It was during this period that I did become involved in a
"UFO case". Some bush pilot had found some pock marks in dty snow in Alaska in 1950. So we
flew up and saw peculiar rowtd holes in the snow. We landed and took dog sleds to the site and
found craters with a hole in the center. We cored one out of the snow and found a center of
frozen conical ice. I began to think of something I had seen in the desert where glass had been
formed similarly after a lightening strike (the "furnoroles"). I took one back to the university in dty
ice and wrote a classified report. We even simulated a small lightning strike over dry snow (just
from the snow blowing over the swface) and carne up with conical ice formations. This was the
Stony River Incident and it wasn't a UFO. On the December 1947 baUoon project reports the
"service flights" probably refer to the then Top Security project AFOAT 1 (related to MOGUL)
which was to produce a report to the President when the Russians exploded an atomic device and
were ready to produce a droppable atomic bomb. We coordinated aD the listening posts to
determine what stage the Russians were at. Concerning the Watson Laboratory gear, I don't
remember the specifics of what that gear was. I recommend you check with Charlie Moore for
those details. Many of the projects I just new about in general-these were sensitive times-it was
sometimes better not to know too much-I knew about the collection of debris with special planes
daily from Eilson AFB to the North Pole and back, PTARMIGAN flights, that lasted through the
SO's. Concerning the Japanese baUoons, I don't recaU any specifics. ~or do I recaU whether we
had REWARD tags on aU the baUoons. I went many times to Alamogordo AAF and White
Sands--not necessarily for baUoon flights. I worked on naval activity such as the thermal affects on
SONAR. Concerning actual baUoon construction, Winzen ofSt Paul Minnesota, in association
with General :Mills, did most of the baUoons. General Mills also did some baUoon projects. I) 0 A
Winzen made the first polyethelene (non-stretchable balloons). Flight rr5, I really did not get into I:..V1.)
the details of the individual flights or experiments. The polyethelene material was very durable-it
was designed not to burst--you could push a sharp thing through it but it would be difficult to tear

Cases discussed

About this file

FOIA release, from the osd collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 993 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.