REPORT
GAO INVESTIGATION OF "THE ROSWELL INCIDENT":
RELEVANT HOLDINGS AT THE AFHRA
8 March 1994
Preface
On 1 March 1994 a facsimile transmission from the Secretary of the Air Force, Office of
Administrative Assistant (SAF/ AA) directed the Historical Research Agency to support
the General Accounting Office's investigation of "the Roswell incident" Specifically, the
Agency was directed to identify any records in its possession concerning the
investigation and reporting of air vehicle and other crash incidents similar to the
reported crash of a weather balloon near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947 ("the
Roswell incident"). This report presents the search procedure and results and indicates
some possible additional locations for Air Force files on the Roswell incident
Definition of a Search Strategy
The AFHRA/RSQ (Inquiries Branch) was assigned the task of responding to the
SAF/ AAZ directive. On 2 March 1994, Inquiries Branch staff developed a list of possible
file locations which might contain relevant documents. Primary items on this list were
Roswell AAFld installation histories, together with unit histories of the Air Force
organizations stationed at Roswell in June-July 1947. In addition, the following rubrics
were identified for insertion into the Agency's finding aids:
Roswell
Roswell Army Air Field
Unidentified Flying Objects
UFO(s)
Weather Balloon(s)
Results of the Search - Unit Histories
In June/July 1947, the principal Air Force unit stationed at Roswell was the 509th Bomb
Group (H). This group, its constituent squadrons, and support organizations were
therefore indicated as the most likely locations for any reporting about the Roswell
incident in Agency files. On 3. March 1994, the unit histories of Air Force organizations
stationed at Roswell AAFld were retrieved and examined page-by-page for any entries