Project 10073 Record: Black River Falls, Wisconsin

This document collection details the investigation of a reported 'flying disc' found at the Black River Falls fairgrounds in Wisconsin on July 11, 1947. The initial report was made by H. W. Schaeffer of the Civil Air Patrol to the Fifth Army in Chicago. The object was described as a silver-colored disk, 16 inches in diameter and 7 inches thick, constructed of plywood and cardboard, and equipped with a motor, propeller, and radio cells. Following the report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted an inspection of the object and concluded that it was a hoax. Further investigation by military personnel, including Lt. Colonel Edward A. Sanders, Jr., revealed that the finder, Mr. Schaeffer, had been charging members of the public admission to view the object. The object was subsequently confiscated by the local Chief of Police and secured in a bank vault. Correspondence between the Headquarters of the Second Air Force and the Air Defense Command confirms that the military viewed the incident as a deliberate deception. Colonel R. H. Smith of the Air Defense Command explicitly stated that the contrivance was 'patently a hoax' and advised that no further government funds or intelligence resources should be expended on the matter. The documents include internal military communications regarding the transfer and disposal of the object, with instructions to hold it for a reasonable period before disposing of it in the nearest trash receptacle.