8 i'UGU:3T 1958 0:!-tHI T rrz B?.lliF'IIh; NCCOFUHCK SUB-C RETURN TO . 1 Arch1ves USAF Histonca ASI(ASHAF-A) I 3611 2 Maxwell AFB, A a repla.ce "PIoject GRUDGE". 6. The peak year of' the UFO progr&n wo.s 1952 '\-Then an aver~e of over 100 reports per month was received. This co:npa.ree \>ri th 10 per month for 1951. The publicity fanfare given to the UFO controversy by the press, publishers, writers and others, r eached a hiJ}l pitch during 1952 and d.evelr>ped e. tendency on the part of the public to ~estion the Air Force' s handling of the alleged "menace" presented by flying snu.cers. This came to a climax i n late July 1952 during the much publicized \!ashington Flying Saucer sightings which purported to show f~ying saucers over the CSJ)itol but which were 1n reality blips on radar ... copes c reated by quite unusual a.t:nospheric cond1c;1ons. Aa a result of this, General s amrord (the then Director of Intell i gence) a few anys after ~he sihting held a. prose conference which was televised ne.tiona.Jly-. Rio explanation and assurance that the UFO phenomena see. were not of interplanetarJ origin and did not constit.ute a thrcut to t he United States were not only received with sk.epticicm l.Ju.t rcra l n re.ct t otally reJected by a l ar&e number of writers, so called UFO experts. 7 . Following thio, General Samford aslrod the CIA to oe c u p a panel of scientists to review the UFO program and the Air Force' s handling of tho situation. 8 . This panel was formed; it consisted o!" sixteen of the most distinguished scientists and authorities i n the fields of physics, radar, geophysics, o.tomic energy, astronomy, rockets, guided missiles, scientific and technical intelligence, propulsion and photo interpretation, in the country. Their conclusiono were tho.t UFO' s (a) held no direct physical threat; ( b ) were not foreign developmenta capable of hostile acts on the United States; and (c) were not unknmm phGnomena requiring the revision of current scientific concepts. Their recomm~ndations were: e.. First, chat the UFO program be de-emphasized bocauae it interfered w1 th chc normal o:paro.tion and mission of many govermnental services e.nd agencies, particularly the Air DefenGe Command, Which ,..,as compelled to use its radar, communicationo, air intercept end other units in inveatigatlng the overThelming number of sightings brought to its attention. All to the detriment of ito normal mission. b . Second that every effort be mtldc to strip the UFO program of its air of mystery in the mind of the public, vith the view of restoring the )Ublics confidence in the Air Force and relieving the public of ~ite unwarranted 9 The correlation which exiots between the type of treatment given the UFO matter by press and publiohers, e.nd the number of reports received is i!!lportant and is shown by this chert. CHART 1 -Frequency of UFO Reports This chart illustrates the effect of the conservative, scientU'ic approach of Life and Look magazines on UFO reports for that period, in contrast to the newspaparo' treatment or the Washington Ro.dar "Flying Saucer" incidents and General Samford's press con:ference. The Ne\1 Yorker' e "middle -of -the- roo.dn treat:nent and its effect on sightings is also interesting to note. 10. Under Project BWB BOOK, it bece:me apparent that i f reporting, investigation and enalysis procedures were tmproved, the 11erccntage of unsolved sightings would decrease. Accordingly, the folloWing procedures were adopted: First , the 4602d Air Intelligence Se1viceu Sqmilron (Headquarters, Air Defense Commo.nd) (now 10-nth) was directed to carr y out all field investigations and prelimjnary evaluations or UFO eigbtings. This organization hao unite deplojed throughout tte u.s . , and they are so highly mobUe that they can arrive "on the spot' within a very short time o.t"ter a UFO report is receh'ed. This supplies the moat important of all fs.ctora ... timeliness, and leaves the Air Technical Intelligence C(. ter f1ec to perform final analysis and evaluation. &.:cond, the issuance or a specio.l directi\.'C (Air Force Regulation 200-2) which spellu out details and responeibilities of Air Technical Intelligence Cer. ter, Air Defense Co :XUllld and other Air Force units reporting 1nvcatigo.t1on a.nd ana.lysis of UFO sightings. Combining spectrographic and stereo de\'icea. Third, the use ot a special co.mera known as "Videon csmera". This breaks down the light received frO!!l any object into its components, thus permitting the determination ot the eleoents of wt.ich the object io compoced. Seventy- f ive of theoe cameras "rere placed in radar stations and control towero throughout the u.s. Fourth, the submiosiou of all UFO da.ta collected since 1947 to acientiats in and out of tho Ai r Force to deter.mine whether or not a trend or t><.1ttern existed to indicate the nature or existence of tho so-called flying saucers. Th1o program vas handled by the Battelle Memorial Institute. 11. These tour procedures resulted in the following: The AISS units contributed to the decreanc in the nmnber of unknowns approximately frou 1~ to 3~ Next, the new regu, at ion greatly improved repo:t'ting e.nd it empho.::dzecl t .e importance of coopc ro.l;lon by all ld.1. FolC!e un-t ts. llc ... "'., ... he uno of Vidcon cameras, 'lofb.ile not wholly ZU<.!Ccsoful duo to the lack of operating personnel, nroduced r10 results to indicate anything but conventlono.l ~irborne objects. 7inaJly, the Battelle effort produced Project BLUE BOOK, Report no. 14 which in Oct.ober 1955 vas declo.aoified by tbc secretary of the Air Force end released in SU!'il!DarY by the Dep a:d;ment ot Defense. This atudy, which covered 8 years of sight1nas concluded tl.wt: First, tharo is a t-;:,t,o.l Jat:k of evld.5nce tba.t t.heoc unkno\ms w~ra in ical or hos~il~ or a threat to the security of the country. Second, ther e is a tota.l lack of evidence that these unknowns were interplanetary sps.ce ships. Third, there i G a totc.l lack of evidence that these unknowns represented tech!lologicc.l developmenta or principlco outside the range of our present ay scientific kncntledge. 7ourth, there is a tota.l leek of any physic -or mtJ.terl&l evidence not a piece ncrap -or a m1nute frB.S!~nt of these so-called "flying saucers" W1lB ever found. It is our belief that 1t more 1"aediate, detailed obj!;ctive observational dc.ta could have been obtained on the "unlmowna" u:.ost of thcoe too, would have l>een oatiofactorily explained. You may be intereoted in the rS..se and fall of UFO reports through tbe yea.ro, and to see the course or the unknowns which ore obviously tbe prime concern of the Air orce. CHART 2 -UFO Sto.tistics for Ce.lendar Year 191.7 to recent past. the peak year 1952 nnd su sequent decline. CHART 3 UFO Evaluation by Percen-tage 1955-1956 12. On this chart we dlo\\' the ca.t.cgories of our U70 evaluations, for example L955 and 1956 by pcrccrrtage: You will note tllc.t the group which includen howceo, ps:1chopatl s> etc. , hEw been cut in half, and the "unlmowns', from ~ to 2.~. This has rough.ly held to the preennt. (The group n:arked "insufr-icent data" has regrettably risen :from "/% to 9.91>, possibly because of increased oky vatching activities -sale of telescopco have riLsen ov r 2()()if, since Sputnik I) 13. It io eppare"'lt, '!.S previously stated, that, c. prompter in~eetigation becoJes possible , aa more ex-perience in UFO investigation o.nd e.na.lyois procedures is gai ned, and as better utilizot ion of the servicea of scientists is mad , the percentage of "unknowns" decreases . 14. At the present time, the UFO project organization, known as the "Aeria.l Phenol!lena Group," is po.rt of tbe Air Sciences Division of the Air Technical Intelligence Center, Deputy for Science and Coro;ponent. The project monitor io Captain Gregory and a oma.ll Gtaff. Howe.~r, o.c the Air &:!1enct"!' Division coneiots primarily of zcientiste, such as Major Best, their ser\'"ices, ae well ac those of the engineering specialists throughout the Center, are available to the UFO project. The prime UFO ucientiat-conauJ ta.nt is Dr. llyn}}, uho is Professor of Astrophysics and Aotronomy, Ohio State University, Serretary of the American Astronomical Sc iety, and Director of the IG. s~tellite Tra.cl' lng Program. We ar\:: fo~tunate to have him. Other Gcientific perconnel, outside the Air Force, are utilized on an "as needed" 15. During the la.st t'Y.TO ycaro, "\11 increase 1.n UFO reports has been noted. Paralleling t.his increaGe there has been e. great increase i n the number of pri~ate UFO organizations, books, motion picturen, and TV presentations on the subject. The advent of sputni k undoubtedly contributed. 16. T\-ro years or ao ago, there lms only a handful of theae self- appointed research organization~ d~dicated to investigation ana analyaio of UFO' 'i. Ar. of tbi:::; date, there are more than f'if'ty such organizations of which w have lmowledge, end. they are 1ncraacing mon h.ly. 17. In early 1955 .five boolm ~1tten on ,.Flying uaucers" were published. To dsto, over 30 hav~ been publiahed and ha.w recei wd wide circulation here and o.broad 18. Up to ncnt, ei.x motion pictures in circulation having t'flying saucers" cw their theme have been produced. One such !!lOtion picture vao releo.sed in May 1956 and is st.!.ll ::.-cccivtng ~t~ publicity. The main plot of this mvie in ..:entered around tvo colored filrn strips ot co-caJled 'f'J...:ri.ne esucers. " 1:'bese t'Um strlpo were treviO'..taly suhmttted to the Au Force for oxs.'n1nat1on, and consist prjJMrily of l)v:J.ne spoto ot ~igb.t agains-t a blue !lky. Our conclusions were that the obJects in one fill:l vare a1rcrn:f't i tlJld in the other gulla. T'.aese conclusions \Tel~ corroboratc!d 'by e.n i.'ldepeudent. study made by the reoeareb orge.nization of an aircra.:rt monu:f'c.cturer of very high otanding, as wel~ as by the CIA cciontific panel wh:lch I previously mentioned. 19. With vcr-o~ few c:xcc:ptions, both theoo oelf-appointed organizations and the books publ1sh3d, have been highly critical or the Air Force s handl ins of the uro matter. They au exh1b1 a deoh-e to embarraao the Air 7orco. A numl>et~ of tbeoo private orgo.nizations have vr1tten directly to Pres1dont E1senhwe1 General White, to the Secretary of Defcnoe and to importanli tne!Tibcra or tho wgiolat1va Branch of' Col'l,Gr'esa, re~sting or d.emf'l.nr1ina hearingo, brie.f1ne;B or discussions with UlO proJect o:rficio.lsQI 20. lie :w Y.l.itten deWled 1et;ter s to Sonator Knovl.a.nd, Seno.tor-:Syrd Senator Chase, and Representative ttoss:~ Bepre~nta.tivc Henderson, Tollef'son, ua 1m~ a f'ev, reS"....rd.1118 aspoctn or the UFO proSJ, .. am, which hD.ve been brought to theil. e.t~ntion by oo-co.llOO. "UFO r.--pecia.lists. " 21.. Although tl1eae l.J'I~ orga:lizat1ons include sineere, well- ~aning mor:ioero our experience il diseuos1one vith sponsor:; of such organizations has sboun tbat e.ny Air Force explnnat1ons or cta~nts are either ;total] !-!r;!PCep or a.ro met, at the leaot, vith cal~lf!ted sl:;Ptici . Our explanations and ataeemon10s :u-e either ntisinterpreted, misquoted, exaggorated or used out or context, all to tha detriment ot the Air Force in genero.l and the AC3/I in particular. I thi."lk we vould be more impressed by ol.l this were it not so profitable. 22. A rw words ere neccssory, I think, on t!:= extant o.nd ehsra.cter of tbe public participation in the UFO progr&'ll. The cubjcct han c~iZtYJ. UFO PROGRAM ~ A brief history of the Unidentified Flying Object program would, I think, help you to understand some of its problems and deter mine its status. 2. The program started in 1947 when on 27 June of that year a pr i vate civilian flyer named Kenneth Arnold sighted \vhat looked to him like several disc shaped objects near Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington. He described them as flying saucers that was forceably and with much sensationalism brought to the publics attention b y the press. As a result, t he Air Force was given the responsibility of investigating and analyzing such phenomena. This project was called Project SIGN 3. From this date, June 1947, to February 1949 when the name of the program was changed to Project GRUDGE , approximately 375 UFO reports were collected and analyzed. In August 1949, a report on the results was submitted to the authorities. The average pr oportion of sightings which could not be explained, in other words for this period was approximately 2Q%. It was concluded that these unknowns were due primarily to: SAFLL-3 filaj or Brower /mr /76041/50924/11 ueust 19 58 THE U DEH .,cc ill'>-.~ Y Of' 'IHE .I ii.' FC>rce BrioJ'ine fol' the oubco PhennJ ena~ ~ouso .. elect Co: . tt.ee Space I .. <plol a tion o~ Unid.ent.ificl 1 . .t t.1e req ent of t~e !Jut>crJ._.ntt,z.e Chai1.. t.,o r Pcrcv - . scntod btiefin( z.t l4CC ttt:t!ra, . ~;uot 19%, to ' c _bet"c ot "mie .., lbco= - . ittce on Li f> orcc 1lct1v..i.t.icn jn tlcnline ttL.h U o..... l'hio pre$cnttion w -.. r .. ~do by I'r. . ., Lrci.: , uciontific dvioor, r..i.!' :.~.echnico~ Ir.tclli- grJnc.:. v-. t~:;1 end ~aptuin George Gregory, l <LOj~.;;ct Oificer , w o pl't?- scmtt.." a brici' hintory of ~.he ir .nz:cc actic.no il tti.in field, procmdureo ilt>O.:. in handlil g D.Tld clo.::isii'yine each repo~ \.CU ohs(.rvatio:rt unr e. r.tn.tioti..:a1 bl'. .. n.kdmm or. .tll obncyvation& report~'<i. to du.t.e. 2 r_"ne ~bco,;.;~:d t.tcc ,.,.n,u aav:ta ...... of tho cxte!lfiiVc cf!'cJt... c f the ir For\!c to O.fJil.;, ~.J.l po:lsihlc sci ontific .:Jet cdc o! anal.,V!Jis o:ld ho"' tl i .. npp1 ooch uae.l i'l a ti.J!-u~p .fa.uh1o. \.-.: tcducc~4 t'1e nwr.ber o f ~i t.ingo c.:h .1a ~t~liz<..'a f.D 'utul.tlow.,n t o apvrc:. til 1 lA..ly 3 ....... t of thu totul. obsor- vat c s . !t ms o.J.so ~tres" t .., t ~ Force, coni..ra.i'Y to cle.ir.:'s of .. tw~ prof\,;sGion ... l UFO cJ _;. iz-tic.n, .L3 not nne .. r.i.ll not Gllpprc. o nny evidence M1i~h would :.h-ie 'tA.. t Pt.. .. 1 J' a con:;tituto. threat tjQ t h :-:c- cUl'ity of t Lo unit :Jtutus. l. a.dditic , L' ...:UbCO!!lr!iiLtcc \1 ~ a1vited or th rn ber of ci vil.:.::u. (.ll"{.;Cn:t tions 'v ... eed in UF\ ncti v~ tie~ h ;;J r..:.., .. ..n to a totr.l of W u. t Ulv t'.r: act~.v.i.tico of these Ol"[pniz.ticns end spectilcular ne\1!.; tep o. t i."lfl han Cl!Ut'JC , t C crcutest p~oblc. jn t~.l.. f .:cld . The ;:.~ubco:wi t. t.Jo a:...k ' ... aevcr<ll que stio .. t> oe:.u ~in~ dr F'orclw t ads of <: tegorizing va!'.:nus -:itincs either o..:. craft ., billoonn, i.H.;uf cient , a t e , \rlh'1"~1:n, u t c . n.r;cl t \toy t>Tete of cc~t n spc- cifJ.c cas .. ~ 11ich fell in tnece v-..!'iO~n catc 3 . I r . .rcif:r :::.nd apt!in C.-ret;or-j presenT.ed n ver-y wall y:rcpare:t br icf lne t o t'h f:..o.bc nl .ri ttce :ml w re '1iehly co: .LOnded for t~ci r efforts t t.'\ .... close of tnc brief'.i.ng. l'ho Subcon:: ~.t'.tec f.:_ej.,~crs .... ce e>A t o b lefini tel y plc"..st.>d d t'h t~e ;.r Force ppr~c to thi:> problem and .crc appn~ntJ...v sat..:.ofie-.... uith our results to tc. Du.rir.g ttw co\wsc o . : t."'tc b iofi :1g, Ch u1.::.:m f cCoroac.:k, fou~o .. ,cl~-..~:. Cou:.i ttoc en .a t.ron.."Ultica w pac.c Elcploration, f'ltrcac,ed the point ~ "' ~ t o Subco;.nj ttce ,. s not holdine .fo!' ru. 1 carincn on unidettifi d. fly:it obj cts but ur..:, . ..! .1; -~, ~ksinterpretation of conventional objects such as aircraft, balloons, astronomical bodies, also atmospheric phenomena, radar misfunc t ions ~nd anomalies, ~. ~ a Second, residual war nerves, mass suggestion and hysteria Fourth, the actions o! psychopathic per soner 4. In December 1949, these findings were released to the public by the Department of Defense and were given wide publicity by the February 1949 to mid- 1951 the project was carried on a low priority basis due to the economy policy of that time. However, in late 1951 renewed public interest and an increase in the number of sightings were reported. This increase in activity was due to the emphasis placed on UFO' s by the press and publicity, and possibly due to t he Ground Observer Corps pr ogram. In the summer of 1951 the project was again reviewed and "Project BillE BOOK" established to replace "Project GRUDGE". 6. The peak year of the UFO program was 1952 when an average of over 100 reports per month was received. This compares with 10 per month for 1951. The publicity fanfare given to the UFO controversy by the press, publishers, 'vriters and others, reached a high pitch during 1952 and developed a tendency on the part of the public to question the Air Force's handling of the alleged "menace" presented by flying saucers. This came to a climax in late July 1952 during the much publicized Washington Flying Saucer sightings which purported to show flying saucers over the Capitol but which were in reality blips on radar scopes created by quite unusual atmospheric conditions. As a result of this, General Samford (the then Director of Intelligence) a few days after the sighting held a press conference which was televised nationally. Hi s explanation and assurance that the UFO phenomena seen vrere not of interplanetary origin and did not constitute a threat to the United States were not only received with skepticism but were in fact totally rejected by a large number of writers, so called UFO experts. 7 Following this, General Samford asked the CIA to set up a panel of scientists to review the UFO pr ogram and the Air Force' s handling of the situation. 8. This panel was formed; it consisted of sixteen of the most distinguished scientists and authorities in the fields of physics, radar, geophysics, atomic energy, astronomy, rockets, guided missiles, scientific and technical intelligence, propulsion and photo interpretation, in the country. Their conclusions were that UFO' s (a) held no direct physical threat; (b) were not foreign developments capable of hostile acts on the United States; and (c) were not unknown phenomena requiring the revision of current scientific concepts. Their recommendations were: a . First, that the UFO program be de -emphasized because it interfered with the normal operation and mission of many governmental services and agencies, particularly the Air Defense Command, which was compelled to use its radar, communications, air intercept and other units in investigating the ovenrhelrning number of sig.}J.tings brought to its attention. All to the detriment of its normal miss ion. Second, that every effort be made to strip the UFO progrmn of its air of mystery in the mind of the public, with the view of restoring the publics confidence in the Air Force and relieving the public of quite unwarranted 9 . The correlation vthich exists between the type of treatment given the UFO matter by press and publishers, and the number of reports received, is important and is shovm by this chart. CHART 1 -Frequency of UFO Reports This chart illustrates the effect of the conser