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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. 25 …Records were located and thoroughly explored concerning a then-Top Secret balloon project, designed to attempt…
  • p. 27 USAF in September, 1947, the USAF inherited equipment, personnel, records, policies, and procedures from the AAF…
  • p. 29 …EVOLUTION OF THE EVENT FROM 1947 TO THE PRESENT General Ramey's press conference and rancher…
  • p. 31 …This included directing searches at current offices where special or unusual projects might be carried out…
  • p. 35 …USAF records showed that between June 24, 1947, and July 28, 1947, there were five crashes…
  • 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 …It is very probable that this Top Secret project balloon train (Flight 4), made up of…
  • 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. 48 …Copy of Vandenberg's Appointment Book and Diary, July 7-9, 1947 16. July 9, 1947…
  • p. 51 …Schiff complaiiled then that the Defense Department had been "unresponsive" to his inquiries about the 1947…
  • p. 73 …of the physicians who participated in this project. I must respect his confidentially and anonymity. He…
  • p. 74 •Freedom of Information Act Request February 5, 1993 Paqe 3 of 3 PROJECT SIGMA The project…
  • p. 76 SUMMARY OF HQ NAIC RESEARCH INTO THE ROSWELL INCIDENT, UNIDENTIFIED FLYING SAUCERS, AND PROJECT BLUE BOOK…
  • p. 78 …study project officer from 1951-1953 and he investigated a series of reports from 1947. He…
  • p. 104 …assWted command of Ro..;\vell .~rmy Air Field on e July 1947. Colo·nel i1. H…
  • p. 106 …Headqt~':'.!"ters, this station, datod 18 July 1947. 1st Lt. Lewis c. Bohanan. former commanding o…
  • p. 108 …Officer and AACS, regarding Headquarters AMC projects. 22 July- 1947 - Dr. E. M. Townsexrl, PBS, Ft…
  • p. 183 …There was a project run by New York University, out ofHoDoman at that time. It was…
  • p. 196 …Plans .for rasearoh on Project "t.t>cuJ. 1 " z. c. lS:~.-ll, priority lA, include…
  • p. 201 …On the December 1947 baUoon project reports the "service flights" probably refer to the then Top…
  • p. 205 …GeNII was the Project Engineer for the NYU balloon project during the 1947 time frame. I…
  • p. 206 …Dr Crazy and Dr Peoples were the advance people and scientific monitors for our project Dr…
  • p. 213 …I have also been contacted by several researchers and writers and discussed project Mogul and provided…
  • p. 217 Transcript from 8 June 94, Interview with Professor Charles Moore (A) Professor Charles Moore Project Engineer…
  • p. 218 …Is there any type of material from that project that you can think of that would…
  • p. 226 …so essentially you'd say there were no radar reflectors in New Mexico until 1947 until…
  • p. 246 …We got into an operation at Alamagordo in early June of 1947, in which we were…
  • p. 261 …It turns out that during this time frame, 1947, 1948, 1949, there were numerous aircraft accidents…
  • p. 275 …I remained project officer of Project MOGUL through our move of the laboratory from Watson Laboratories…
  • p. 281 …At some point in Project MOGUL did you utilize equipment based at Roswell Army Air Field…
  • p. 299 …B-29 crashed on T/0 from Albuquerque in Jan 1947 and a B-29 crashed…
  • p. 300 …Archivist (202) 504-5416 "no records of Project Mogul; recommend checking with DOE historian or the…
  • p. 309 …However, I was familiar with them because we used them and their products on various projects…
  • p. 318 …1947.4 An examination of unclassified technical and progress reports prepared by the balloon project revealed…
  • p. 320 …in January 1947, is shown in Attachment 2. Over the course of the project, MOGUL had…
  • p. 321 Air Forces, in conjunction with Project MOGUL. 10 The NYU "balloon group" was to develop and…
  • p. 322 …June 1, 1947.19 Present Olll this flight was C.B. Moore, NYU Project Engineer, Charles…
  • p. 323 …Dr Peoples, Project Scientist, decided not to bring the radiosonde recorder (an AN IFMQ1 weighing approximately…
  • p. 326 …Over the course of Project MoGUL, several balloons had landed and been recovered from that area…
  • p. 328 …Additionally, in 1949, General Yates received a full briefing bf the projects, including constant-level balloons…
  • 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. 418 …From September 1946 to Januar,r 1947, Colonel Dut!7 WRI in charge of apnlled nropagation…
  • p. 444 …was decided, during the autumn of 1947 to present the meteorological diagnoses in a different form…
  • p. 708 …20 March 1947 N. Y. Meeting No. 12 PROBLEM: 1. The Secretary of the Subcommittee presented…
  • p. 747 …1, 1947 to Ma7 31, 1947 §tqttoa II tt.aearch D1'fie ion, ProJect 1fo. 93…
  • p. 758 …January 1, 1947 to April 30, 1947 CONSTANT LEVEL BALLOON Research Division, Project No. 93 Preoared…
  • p. 776 …The project ~rsomlel !las been usiiU:; work bencl:.ea occ;.i.9ied by other projc:cts…
  • p. 790 …12. :20 l11arch 1947 PROBLEM: 1. The Secretary of t~e Subcommittee presented a request from…
  • p. 819 …June 1, 1947 to June 31, 19"7 Section II Research Division, ProJect No. 9S Prepared…
  • p. 975 …Army Air Forces, in 1947, and later Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, 1961-1965…
  • p. 979 …break during Project MOGUL operations at White Sands Proving Ground, NM, July 1947. Project MOGUL Field…
  • p. 982 …the NYU field trip in June 1947 prompted Project Engineer C.B. Moore to attach additional…
  • p. 983 …Moore, NYU Constant-Level Balloon Project Engineer. Moore pio- neered the use of polyethylene balloons for…
  • p. 984 …Sands Proving Ground, NM, in July 1947, by Project MOGUL balloon and ground-based sensors. Photo…
On July 7, as the NYU group members were winding down their worlk and
preparing to return to New York City, a train of events began to unfold at
Roswell AAF, 60 miles away. Roswell AAF was home of the 509th Bomb Group
of the Strategic Air Command's Eighth Air Force, the only unit in the :world
capable of delivering nuclear weapons. It now appears that the debris from
MOGUL flight no. 4 had come ·to earth on the plains east of the Sacramento
Mountains, about 70 miles from the launch point at Alamogordo AAF (Atch 7).
The fact it descended there was not unusual. Over the course of Project MoGUL,
several balloons had landed and been recovered from that area. In fact, in August
1947, the NYU group had to receive special permission from the Civil Aero~autics
Administration to continue to launch balloons from Alamogordo AAF, since
"balloons have been descending outside of the area [White Sands PJtoving
Ground] in the vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico."36 According to the sole :living
participant in the recovery, Sheridan Cavitt, he, Major Marcel, and MSgt William
Rickett gathered some of the material, which appeared to resemble "bamboo type
square sticks, one quarter to one half inch square," that was "very light"-reflect-
ing material-and a "black box, like a weather instrument." Cavitt believEjd this
material to be consistent with what he knew to be a weather balloon. This debris,
would soon become, for a short time, the focus of national and even worl~wide
attention when it was thought to be a "flying disc."
On July 8, the same day that the NYU/Watson Laboratory group dewarted
Alamogordo, the Public Information Office of Roswell AAF announced the
recovery of a "flying disc" and that it would be flown to Fort Worth AAF for
further examination, How could experienced military personnel have confl!l,sed a
weather balloon for a "flying disc"? The answer was this was not an ordinary
"weather balloon." Typical weather balloons employed a single, 350:-gram
neoprene balloon and a radiosonde for measuring temperature, atmospheric
pressure, and humidity, housed in a cardboard box. If it was to be tracked by
radar for wind-speed measurement, a single corner reflector was added (Atch 8).
The balloon that was found on the Foster Ranch consisted of as many as 2f3 350-
gram balloons spaced at 20 foot intervals, several radar targets (3 to 5), plastic
ballast tubes, parchment parachutes, a black "cutoff" box containing portions of
a weather instrument, and a sonabuoy (Atch 3). After striking the groun~, the
radar reflectors, constructed of very light materials for minimum weight, would
tear and break apart, spreading out over a large area when pulled across the
ground by balloons that still possessed some buoyancy. It should also be
understood that the term "flying disc" was not at this time synonymous with
"space ship," It denoted a disc-shaped flying object of unknown (or suswected
Soviet) origin.
Before the announcement was made, the "disc" was flown to Fort Worth AAF,
at the direction of Brig Gen Roger Ramey, Commander, Eighth Air Force. General
Ramey personally inspected the "disc," became skeptical, and summoned the base
36. NYU, Technical Report No. 1, Table VII, p. 43.

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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.