20 JUr! 19 53 BEIEFDTG R PRr.S :~T ,'fJ Vr, H:NDl:.'h;;;OiJ USAF Histo rical Archives ASI(A SHAF-A ) Maxwell AFB, Ala 36112 DNctASSIE.lED FILE CLASS: _ OFFICIAL FILE COPY _OFFICE OF RECORD -1"'947 .:-"t-t")7 UFO Statistics and Data. Requested by Congressman Henderson A FIIN-.d X?r AFCIN-o4X3 r-c IN-4XS ~ Attn: Major Tacker AFcnf- 4E4 AFCIN-44/ Capt.. Gregt>1:.Y/ko 1 . ~erence telephone ~ollll:er&.tiono between your office and this Center on 22 and. 23-f1ay 19 58, and our teletype message, dated 23 May 1958 regarding the prepat-Atio~ and tro.nsm1 s sion of subject IDll.tter. 2 . A'titached documen t reflects the various breakdovns of UFO evaiuo.tions and atat1st1cs'l a s requested by Mr. Henderoon. Also i nc.luded, are ~tailed statistical and othe r ~a ted clata extracted from the USAF Project Blue ~" Special Report Nr. 14. 'l'hiD lbould tul.fill aJ 1 requi on the matter. I ncls : -i luro Statlstic s and. (Uncl) ROUTING AND COORDINATIO N SHEET l AFCIN-11 F ILE CLASS: _ OFFICIAL FILE COPY _OFFICE OF RECORD ,--ul Correspondence Re Congressman Henderson Request to DOD for UPO Data AfCif'l-4X4 APCIN.JU Attn: Maj or Byrne ' \F CIN-4B AFCIN-4E4g/Capt Gregory/kmo/69216 PQPVarded for your informat ion and retention, in accordance with existing \ 'Potfciea that your office be kept informed of actions of this type 3 Incls: 1 r. il;--ej : Ltr to DOD -dta 8 May 58 2. ~ t Ltr SAFIB -~ ~ ft llsg H. I. GII.BE~ Colonel, lEAF ROUTING AND COORDINATION SHEET DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORC E OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Dear Mr. Arcier: . , -- Here is a letter from Congressman Henderson of the 15th District, Ohio, concerning UF0 He asks many questions and we desire to have complete answers to each one in response to his letter. He also wants ten of the best sightings in the last five years which have been classified as "unknowns". Please oblige to th e best of your ability. Boland and I intend to hand-carry the reply to . ~enderson and b rief him on the entir e project as Boland did Chairman Vinson and we intend to show him the minutes of the Panel meetings leading to their Formal Report. suspect the letter was inspired by a constitutent in Ohio but, since the Congr essman uses first person, we must handle as a personal congressional inquiry. need this information in my office r;2.. !.ater tha.g 21 ~Ial 1958 . L Sorry for the time element but their suspense to me is the next day. !../ Inclosure Mr. A. F . Arcier Ai r Technical Intelligence Center Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Sincerely, e cuti Officer blic formation Division Office of Information Services JOHN E. HENDERSON 15th District Ohio COMMI'ITEE: Banking and Currency CONGRESS OF THE UNITED Sl\ S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI~ wASHINGTON I D. c. Hen. Neil H. McElroy Secretary of Defense Department of Defense Washington 25, D. c . Dear Mr. Secretary: I have read with considerable interest the~ =>c::::>k " The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, " by Edward J . Ruppel~ .., telling of the work of Project Blue Book. In order to be brought up to date with res~ 't: to informa- tion developed since Ruppelt left the project, I s Ci appreciate having the answer t o several questions. Briefly, t ~ questions are outlined below. Is Project Blue Book, or some similar pro~ operation to receive, investigate and evaluate UFO Have reports of UFO' s still continued to~ ~ in? If so, since 1953? How are these distribute d by ).Jz:r and month? How many have been classified as "unknowns" by year ~a month? any efforts been made to get more scic1 !L fie data on UFO' s than is provided by visual sightings by groun~ ~ x::-air observers or by visual observance of radar equipment? For eXt. J.J-e films been made or radar screens when a UFO is pick~ 'IUl.:p? Have any efforts been made accurately t o track and triangula~ n .... J'FO' s so as t o give more accurate information on speed, size and al\ tude? Have any tests been conducted to ascertain whether there i s ~ connection be- tween background radiation and the presence of a ~ JHave spectro- meters been used to try to analyse the light emi ttedt -:r UFO' s? Have films been taken of UFO' s? In addition t o knowing 11 , -=ny of the above or similar efforts have been made, I should apprecia~ ::knowing i f any of the above or similar experiments have been plann~ Could you furnish me reports on say ten of~ last five years Which have been classif'ed ~ best sightings Hon. Neil H. McElroy Has any regular procedure been established to exchange UFO information with our allies? Have any of our allies issued official reports on UFO's? Sincerely yours, John E. Henderson SII:CUitiTY CLAS8Ir'ICAT1 JOINT MESSAGEFORM , nclas~fif'\rJ SI'ACI! BBLOF RI!SBRPBD POR COMN.UNICATIUI'o Cl!NTBR / / I"RECI:OI:NCI: ACTION PRIORITY TYI". NSQ (CIIIt A ) ACCOUNTING ORIQ, OR ltltFEIUI TO CLA881triCATION orr ltEI"ttltENC. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS SECY OF AIR FORCE, OI S ; I ,/ ' ATI'N: SAFIS- 3, Major Tacker q ft-1 ;r-9 UNCLASSIFIED/AFCIN-4E4 S-/ [ ' _{ 2 -E Ref Ltr to Secy of Defense from Congressman Henderson, and your urgent request just rec' d by ATIC for extensive info, statistics, UFO cases and answers to questions requested by Mr. Henderson, and required for personal briefing to be given him, B. Confirming our teleconv. Impossible to provide large mass of info required by Monday, 26 May. Based on similarly imposed requirements in the ~ast. Per our agreement, will transmit info and data desired by TT Msg here, and send summary and 1947- 1958 statistics to ~Jur office by Monday afternoon. c. Before answering questions or providing info, in order which they appear i n ltr to Mr. McElroy, a few fact s concerning Ruppelt and his book should first be given, inasmuch as it appears to be basis for congressional request to Dept of Defense. SIGNATURE ./ s" W T YI"ED NAME AND TITLE I~L~tlf!/lij{rtfll~ ttl) ~ GEORGE T. GREGORY CAPT USAF ~ SECURITY CLABSIF~CATIO~ r TYPED (or Jlll,.t>.tl) NAME AND TITLE v R EPLACES DO FORM 173, I OCT 4g, WHICH WILL BE USED UNTIL !:XHAUSTED r; / ,.V ,21' SECURITY Cl.ASSIFICATIO v u r .f. , JOINT MESSAGEFORM-C01i fiNUATION SHEET COMDR, ATIC D. As with any free-lance author, Mr. Ruppelt' s Theorfes, opinions, and conclusions are his own, and not necessarily those of the Air Force. His book was reviewed and passed on by :iHqs USAF from a security viewpoint only. While most of the statements in his book are factual, the inferences and implications that he attempts to leave are definitely questionable, As project officer of UFO program, Ruppelt had good k.nowledge and appreciation of various technical and scientific fields; competent in monitoring investigations, studies; collecting and correlating data for analyses, and conclusions. However, he was not an expert in highly specialized fields such as astrophysics, meteorological optics, psychological influences, etc., for which Air Force has relied on many scientists and specialists, whose conclusions are considered more valid. E. Answers and info in order ~ questions submitted in Mr. McElroy' s letter: (1) Project Blue Book is a continuous Air Force project; i s directly related to Air Force responsi- bility of defense of Air Space over u.s .; and rigidly prescribed by a standing directive, AFR 200- 2 , for the detection, identification and analysis of things in the air that may be a threat to u.s . (2) Yes, Reports still continue to come in. (3) Since 1953 a total of 2764 reports have been received, for an average of slightly over 550 per year AFCIN- 4E4g 'f: U. t. GOVERNMENT PRI NTINQ OPPICEr Ut ...... UZUII SECURITY CLASSIFICATIC JCINT MESSAGEFORM -... u , INUATION SHEET nc!ass.ified COMDR, ATIC ( 4) Distribution by year and month (Statistics t o be hand - carried your office) ( 5 ) Unknowns by year and month (to be handcarried) (6) Yes (7) Yes. Numerous times,and often involve very experienced radar operators. This is standi ng requirene nt for radar operators when object considered UFO and photo equipment available. Examples: Some time ago Navy rus hed to ATIC approximat~ 3000 ft of radar film of UFO observed . Also, a B- 36 radar operator with 11 y.rs experience photographed exceptionaJ~sharp UFO's shoWing on his screen while fl:;;ing over the South Atlantice~ Analysis . ..SI<)... , .,.;,-:;w._ ,,.,, ' confirmed the 't"f~7 !I! of the UFO's:('(w -s::~ing"'"~WU~--...e..r..""cJ..2.VM;uv has been done through Theodolite, radar and other instruments. Triangulation is a part of the standard analysis technique, and is utilized where two or more observers report the same object f rom separate locations . (9) Yes. Results negative. For example, Geiger Counter sweeps of some aircraft involved with alleged UFO' s at high alt itudes shows a slightly higher radioactivity than nonnal. Reason: Aircraft receive a greater dosage of cosmic rays at hi'gb altitudes Example: Mantell Case, ( which apparently prompted this query). ( 10 ) Yes. Spec ialized combination spectrographic -stereo- camera instruments are located in approximately 60 strategically located sites in the u.s . Results: negative. Only conventional objects in those few spectrographic photos taken. AFCIN- 4E4g 'tf U. S. GOVEAHII EIIT PAINTING OFFICE SECURITY ClASS! FICA Tk JCINT MESSAGEFORM -CoNTINUATION SHEET COMDR, ATIC (11) Yes. Those not found to be hoaxes, photographic flaws, mistaken identification, and optical illusions caused by adverse weather, light exposure or other conditions , are at best, only large and small indeterminate spots of light. (120 In order to improve its investigative, detect1on and analytical techniques and capabilities, the Air Force is continuously testing experimenting in this field. example, the world- wide "Moonwatch facilities are often called upon for data to assist in identifying reported unidentified aerial objects. services of all professioa~ astronomical observatories are at the Air Forces disposal, (( ""-~ ~ the FBI, OSI, ONI and others where needed. (13) Ten best "Unknowns" of the last five ( 5 ) years (Re telecon between Maj. Tacker and Capt. Gregory 1 330 hrs, Fri. 23 May 58. . The conclusion was that this i and that interview with Mr. Henderson could cover subject. ) (14) The Air Force is advised of f oreign sightings by various UoS. government agencies and personnel overseas. Until recently very few foreign UFOs reported. Definitely established i ncrease is proportionate t o number of Flying Saucer and UFO books distributed overseas. (15) Only a very small percentage of UFO reports officially issued by for e i gn governments or our allies. The majority generally qualify them with mpinion that Objects are probably aircraft AFCIN- 4E4g 'tf U. 1. GOVUNII ENT P RINTING O,ICEt l&l.._nuse SECURITY CLASSIFICATIC INUADON SHEET CONDR, ATIC F. Recormnend that the "Air Force Semi-Annual UFO Report" recently submitted by this Center, be brought to both Senator Saltonstall's and Congressman Henderson' s attention, particularly para B.6, which proves that concerted, wide- scale campaign now under way to contact all members of Congress t o pressure Air Force re UFO' s . COORDINATION: Col. Gilbert - A FCIN-4E Mr. Arcier -AFCIN4X Maj. Byrne -AFCIN-Xl AFCIN- 4E4g 'tf U. S. GOVUNMEHT PtUNTIHG OPPIC1 MEMOPANDUM FOR RI CORL Byrne t m Jjn A. ~ UBJ 'G'T: Briefing of Repr sent; ti vc Hende' ::-on nd ColleagueE on the Air Force Unid ntified Flying Ooje~t (UkU) Pro~ram 1. On 20 June 1958, Jlajor BoL.n A, SAFLL nna .fajor Tackl:r , c AF ... " , aaPisted by .Mr. Arcier, A ClN .. 4Xl, c..nd Uajor Byrne, AFCIN-XlA, briefed the following Bouse members, in the Capitol chamber of Representative J ohn E. Henderson , Ohio. >O Ren. Henderson, Ohio Pep. Cramer, Florida Magnuson, Washington Rep . (urs. ) \alker , Wa hinrton Jr. .!on eel (Adm. Aid--Hnderson ) Mr. Bac~elar (A<m. Aid--Cramer) Mr. Tf)ly (Adm. Aid--lr. Ua,-nuson) Gordon (Adm. Aid--Griffen , lLoh. ) 2 . The briefinp-vras prE-pared i n r { sponRe t a oer aonal rr au t by Rep. HPnaerson who had reviously submitted a SPries of questi e UFO' s . AFCIIi prepared the answers t o these aue"' "' d "" ... the necessary briefing material. 3 o UPmber~ of Con~e$S are consta tly besieced by conr.tituenta regarding UrQt s , by l (tter , toleph'n~ und pprsonal i its. With rare exce )tion, uch rc.JUe ts are f or'lfardca to ~AFLL for ansv;er . The lack of i nformation on UrO' s professed by the Congress~an causes a certain amount of professional Lmbarrass~ent. As a result , a creat number of Conl"rcc,smen e~nd their aC11Dlnistr:.tive .:.ids have jn..J.c . ted an .Lntore:~t in first- hand information on UI<O' s . f6FLL, on t he ure:tng of AFIS and A CIN, siezed this op,,ortunity to ore are o nlli:lber of briefing kit::;, ' ( ntaining r 'proJurtions oi' t t_stical :i nform::ttion h \rt c c..no graphs, individual case hi torics, and nuch other relatea ~t~rial that woulc ive the reader a r thor cooprchenaive ~1owledge oi the subject. Thes e kit s wnre sutrnittcc at the t :me of the aubjert briefing. It is ( X'J' ctea that a di tional requ'!sts will be nu c'e for ki~s es wor d tra~tls regardin their a~a lability. 4. The Con r essiona l ,udience was J'uvora ly impressed by the presntation. One appar~nt dedicated skeptic, at the concluslon o; t he br~ efine, pro e"' ed his complete i'ai th and ccm inence in the Air li'oroe' s banal n of U 0 ' s . Several rnsmher s indict1.ted that they vmre now prepa.rcr-1 to oeal directl y with tt eir consti tu nto m thout. calling on ~ AFLL. ORAlDUU FOR R~CORD Byrne A. Cl l1/'1.1A 5. 'l'he subject briefin(,, ~chcdul~d far one how,. la~tec the fnll mornin , which att~at.s to the Congressional interest in the oubjoct. The .following in believed to have accruvd from tho br1o.t'.1ng, roth members oxpreesingt a. Confia nee in th'3 Air Fol'cc U 0 proo:ru.n. b. An uncierst.and nt oi' tho problcr!.ls the A-r !<ore f oea in admin1ator1nij the progrnm. Co Acceptance of rcsponsibl.lity to }'Ql'Oon.ally aavisa their oonntitucnto on U~ matters. d . Agreement that it would be umdne to give the sul!ject undue publicity, partic:ulnrly in an op n or rlosed formal Concr~ssional hearing. e . Distruct ~n plivut organizat1onH e.nd authors, as givine undue 1m ... tus to the exintunce of "flying saucer~tt ana stimUL~tin& unfavorable public hysteria. 6 . , P.rcier a dressed the fl"OUp as a t.c.;chnicr..l consultant. Maj. B,yrne, i n the capacity as admjni3trat1ve consultant, cl~rified Ct!rtain anmver a r.1 ven by t.'le A LL reprusP-ntr:.t).va, to preclude possible misunderstanding on h~ the U 0 orocram is adrrdnistored Air Faroe r.ido. 7 . The tJxocJ~ent briefing material prepared y J\FCIN-4 n the pereonal attendance of rciGr, ho imp1es cd t.he croup ?:_th hie profound council, doverve special nota aa r e on or s~ccess of the s. Cla~IJi icd pootions of the U. 0 ci nti.fic R ncl l apo!"t of 1953 wera made a\ail ble to and 1eceip~cd for b:> the Concre Eh en Rep. Cramer, Florida Rep. Hende!_son, Ohio R~p. Mognuson, Washington R~;r ~On$~1 Asst. to Henderson Rep. Gorden Asst. to Griffen, Michigan Rep. Bachelor Asst. to Cramer Telz Asst . to Mognuson Fep. Walker Asst. to Tollesson, Washington Rep. Bass New Hampshire Rep. Alger Texas Connecticut l CCLLc 1 ~ u..,tA- LJ...f..fl vLU ~cA.A, C ( -Ctc) /LlLLl(l. OL6-e_CLt,t,tf&t..tid r ~tJl,t'--..l-l l 'Cl 0<.A~Ll t Ll-tc Cc, Ol--l_. L Ll ttJ. Q v t:.{ ~ '--( l ccXc t(. L-t t CL L L .. P , L DViA U ~ t/g/1-