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. 28 …There was no sign of any metal in the area which might have been used for…
  • p. 30 …and tinfoil has since grown to exotic metals with hieroglyphics and fiber optic-like materials. Most…
  • p. 38 …a thick, foil like metallic gray substance; a brittle, brownish-black plastic- like material, like Bakelite…
  • p. 39 …fine kidskin glove leather and a dull metallic grayish silver, one side slightly darker than the…
  • p. 43 …a "service flight" that included a cylindrical metal sonobuoy and portions of a weather instrument housed…
  • p. 159 …light, as well as some sort of metallic retlecting material that was also very light I…
  • p. 172 …nothing he had ever seen and the metal was as thin as newsprint and as light…
  • p. 173 …Was it some sort of material, metal material or... MC: And it's in one of…
  • p. 177 …Rickett said it looked Hke metal and asked if it was radioactive" ... and you said it…
  • p. 182 …wandered through the security phalanx and saw metallic debris scattered in an outer circle with a…
  • p. 205 …but I betievc they were covered in metal. On review of the photos in the Randle…
  • p. 218 …They talk in terms of materials that look like metallic foil, and specifically that "could not…
  • p. 266 …It's my memory that there was good, bright, aluminum metal foil, not painted stuff on…
  • p. 269 …mylar is a polyethylene, it's a metalized polyethylene. A: It's not really a polyethylene…
  • p. 309 …s ball and jacks set) with a metallic material between the legs. The legs were madeq…
  • p. 318 …the local sheriff and reported that sme metallic debris had come to rest on the ranch…
  • p. 379 …out of It, There was no S(gn of any metal of Corona. today told his…
  • p. 465 …The fabric has been coated with a metallic paint to mw1.mue the effects of radiation…
  • p. 519 Corps ML-310/ radiosonde aneroid unit, a metal helix on a rotating cylinder of insulating material…
  • p. 598 …20, 39 stiffened with metal, .!! - Arrays of rubber balloons cluster, 7 linear, 6 Atmospheric oscillations, 10…
  • p. 864 …15 x i X .030" 24 ST Metal spring bow to hold appendix flat, like pressed…
  • p. 867 Figure 4 Two foot apflendix, showing metal spring bow in position. -13-
  • p. 868 …toggles and loops in the nylon may be used instead of the heavier metal snaps. -14-
  • p. 908 …rotating cyclinder of insulating material with a metal helix wound around the cylinder, and a 6…
  • p. 916 …Spiral--made of nickel or other metal which does not corrode in the atmosphere, .010 inch…
  • p. 917 …Loading edge of the metal spiral will be true and sm.ooth to within .0005 inch…
  • p. 922 …The car- bon should not be so thick as to obscure the metallic appearance of the…
  • p. 932 …GoPPE:R TuBE s" J·-- 58 COILA5SEMBL.Y (SECTION) --.. ....-- METAL HosE TO TANKS c :::{l;::::t…
  • p. 937 …tin cans Metal funnel -8:5-
  • p. 989 …These balloons were easily mistaken for flying saucers due to their shape and metallic exterior coating.
resulted therefrom. Besides the obvious irregularity and illegality of keeping such
information from the most senior Air Force officials, it would also be illogical,
since these officials are responsible for obtaining funding for operations, research,
development, and security. Without funding, such a program, operation, or
organization could not exist. Even to keep such a fact "covered-up" in some sort
of passive "caretaker status" would involve money. More importantly, it would
involve people and create paperwork.
The aforementioned March 1, 1994, SAF I AA tasking generated negative responses
(Atchs 6-12) from all recipients; i.e., all offices reported that they had no informa-
tion that would explain the incident. Consequently, these negative responses led
to an increase in the already ongoing historical research at records centers and
archives.
The extensive archival and records center search was systematically carried out
by the SAF I AAZD Declassification Review Team. This team is composed entirely
of Air Force Reserve personnel who have extensive training and experience in
large scale review of records. (Previous efforts include the Southeast Asia
Declassification Review, declassification of POW /MIA records, and the review of
the Gulf War Air Power Survey records.) The team members all had the requisite
security clearances for classified information and had the authority of the
Secretary of the Air Force to declassify any classified record they found that might
be related to Roswell. SAF/ AAZD conducted reviews at a number of locations,
including the National Archives in Washington, DC; the National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, MO; the National Archives, Suitland MD; the National
Records Center, Suitland, MD; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC;
Federal Records Center, Ft Worth, TX; the INSCOM Archives, Fort Meade, MD;
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; Air Force Historical Research
Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL; Center for Air Force History, Bolling AFB, DC;
Phillips Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, MA and Kirtland AFB, NM; Rome Laboratory,
Griffiss AFB, NY; and the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
A listing of the specific record areas searched is appended as Atch 13. The areas
included all those subject areas logically believed to possibly contain any
reference to activities at Roswell Army Air Field during the period of time in
question. It is anticipated that detractors from this effort will complain that "they
did not search record group x, boxy, or reel z, etc.; that's where the real records
are!" Such complaints are unavoidable and there is no possible way that the
millions of records under Air Force control could be searched page by page. The
team endeavored to make logical searches in those places where records would
likely be found. They were assisted in this task by archivists, historians, and
records management specialists, including experienced persons who have
continually worked in Army and Air Force records systems since 1943. The team
also searched some record areas that were recommended by serious private
researchers such as Robert Todd, who had independently obtained almost
encyclopedic knowledge of the complexities of Air Force records systems,
particularly those related to this subject area.
18

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.