20 JUNE 195$ BRD:FINC Rr-:l'RE5l1'1TA'rllfr. HENDERS<ll USAF Hiuot icol Arthives ASI{ASHAf Al Mo11well AFB, Alo 361 12 ' j . Bpne A SUB.ICI'1 lrletine of lepruentat1Te Henderson and Colleague on tbe lir Force ttd.dentitied ~111: Obj ect (UPO) Progr&ll 1. On 20 .,... 1958, Major Boland , 5A.TLL and Majer 'lack au! .ted b7 llr. A.rcier, AFCIJ1..4D., a nd Major Jtfrna, AJCII-DJ., briefed the tollowtne 8ou Mmera , in the capitol chamber of Repreeent at.in John z . Rendereon, Obio. Jtep. Bendereon, Ohio ftep. Cra.er Rep. llagn\l.ICG Waehingtcm Rep. (lin. ) Walker, Waah1ngton Mr. Mon gel (Ad .Ud--Bendereca) -. Bachelar (Adm. J.id~ralllft') lfr. Toq (Ada .Ud-llr. Jlaf?1u.cn) ~. Oordca (J.dm. lid~ril!en, Jll..oh.) 2, !he brietlne: was prepared in r esponse t a penoul req~e t t he nec .. sU)" briefing aat erl&l. 3. Ueabere ot Coognss are cc:astantl.T beehged bJ c one t.i t\Minh recardina UFO' , b7 l etter, t.el ephoae 11.nd J)e'raooal 'irlt a . With rare azoept.ioo, aueb rcqueat.a are fonrarded to SArLI. tor answer. 'fhe lack ot intor.at.ica on UJoU e professed b7 the Conareuun cauae a certain uount of profeuional ellbarraa ... at. i l a r .. ult, a ueat n1.11ber of Congreu .. n and their acRin1strat1ve aida ba..,. i ndicated an interest i n firrl-hand in.tarutian oo OJ'O' SAPLL, on the W"l'J.n g of :;Ans aDd AFCll, ain~ thh opportunit. to prep&re a DUIIber of bl'i efill& kite , cObt.airdna r eprodu ction& of atatistical infor.ation ll'&phe, indiddua.l cue hhtoriea, a nd nuch ot her related t erial that would gift tbe rea der a r ather coa~prchen~in knowledge of tbe s ubject. Tbua k1 t a were submitted at the t1111e of the ubJect brleNng. It 1 expected that a ... ditional r equeate will be ade far kite as wor d truela r e gardin r their availabill.t7. ' fha CooEJ'a .. ion.l audience was favorabl,y 1-srened by the preeentation. One a ppar@llt dedic ated s keptic, a t the canclue1on of t ha brhnne, profaned hia ce .pleta faith a nd conf i d ence i n t.ba .l1r rorcae hand.lln g of UFO'I! Several a9:ber a i ndi CAted that th.,- WI'Ire now prepared to dl'lal d1rect4' rlt.h their contt1 t ulnta without calllna CD S.l.I'LL. llaj, 8yrno A1CJM/Xli 5. The ubj eot briefing, scbod\Ued tar OM h ou.r, laeteo the t\ll..l mandn.J, .tdcb atteet a \o the Congreuional. at i.a the eubject. Tbe tollowtna 11 believed t o han~ accrued froaa t.hll briet1ng, with ~ ' " preeai.D.cr a. Coo idMCI 1n the Air Force U. 0 Pl"QO'Uo b . An u.nde r st.and a: or the problems the Air Vorce t a o .. 1D admAiat.viD& the prograa. c J.ooeptance of r e spon.sibili t.7 to pononall,y advhe their a onatit'Qilltl CD UFO utten. d o Aareeaont that i t would be umdee t o pva tb8 aubJeot undu. publicity, partic\IJ..Rrl,y 1n an open or olo11ed f ormal ConcreaEiional bearin a . e . D:ht.ruat i n prlvat e or aanhationw and aut.hora , i1Y1ne llftdue 1a~tUII t o the ex1atanc e ot fl1111 eauoere 1\i.W..tine unfavorable public teyateria. 6. a.-. Arcin er.drea .. d the p-oup u a teehnical consultant . lllj. B;rrne, i D the cape.c1t;,-aa adlllinbtrat.iw ooluultant, clurif'jed CCI"U1a a nnera pvm by the rAFLL repr.aentaUq, t o preclude poa!Jible .S...,deretand1..n& an b ow the tJFO prouua h adaird.et ored JJ.r Force w1d4t. 7 o ~ uoellm t brleti.Ae aat.erial pr&jl&rod \.17 APCTN-4 and t.be perecnal attendance of Mr .lreie!r Ybo iapruaed the gr01.1p 1t b hb prot olmd council d .. arve .tpec!al noto u r caeCil tor tu:.ceau or ~ 1. Claaai iad portion. ot the 0 : 0 ~c1 ant.1t1c Panel haport ~ 1953 .. ,.. =ada available t.o and r eceipted ror b:r the conua .. zen R!R .!} Aut. to Hendereon Rep. Gorden Aut. to Griffen, Michigan Rep. Bachelor Aut. to Cramer Telr. Aut. to Magnuson ~ep. Walker Aut. to Tollesson, Waahington e . llau Rev H shire Rep. Alger ~ ~ Connecticut l.Lvv, CllAA ... (k.Nc-~u{ ~q -\,~MM,Jcf._ iXLlt 1 '1/LW- ~I.A.<. fJ-( C'..cvUJ _ I ~ ~c;U..u.t tfvuo..A .. ytivu/ eta,~ Ucvvvc'i tJ CL-<. cu..,, ~ ..C.cu)-k:.tLcet..AJ..J_ tr f'Ll~ .. fu1YfJ<-uciw pt.-l-tu 4Utu t( FILE Q.AU: _ OFFICIAL FILE COPY _OFfiCE OF RECORD reDGe cma bet~Men ~ ottice &Dd. t.Ma Ccter on *114 ~..S.OD f4 IIUbJec"t ttfte ~t nfi.eo1;,a u. ~ breeklowaa -1ft .....iUilUcma and ~>IL""" ... f'Ulf'Ul all~ em 1ibe ttar. FILE Q..ASS: _ OFFICIAL FILE COPY _OFFICE OF RECORD DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE Here 1a a letter from COngreniii!Ln Hend eraon or the 15th Dhtrict, eoncernins UFO' s . He uks many questions and we desire to have complete ansvere to each one in response to his letter. He e.l.so wants ten or the beat sightinss in the last f'ive years vhich have been classified as "unknovns". Please oblige to the bes t or your ability. MaJor Bol.and and I intend to hand~carry the reply to Mr. Henderson and brier him on the e n t ire proJect as Boland did Chair:nan Vinson and ve intend to abov him. the minutes or the Panel mee tioga leading to thdr Formal Report. I suapect the letter vas inspired by a conatitutent in Ohio but, :! o :=.uaes first peraoo, ve 111\lSt handle as a personal I need this intonation i n my otrice IJ.2..l~tbln_2I. l1!.r 1958. L-M Sorry tor the tie element but their suspense to 111e 1a tbe next CliY. Sincerely, {./'Inclosure Air Technical. Intelligence Center Wright-Patterson Air Force BlUe JOHN E. HENDERSON 15th District Ohio Hoc, Neil B. McElroy Secretary ot Detenee Department or Detenae Waabington Dear Mr. Secretary: COHGRESS OF 'niE UNITED sd'!E:;s HOUSE OF REPRESElt'l'~ WASHINGroN, D.C. COIO<l'l'I'EE' Banking and Currency I have read vitb conliderable interest tbt~k, "'nle Report on Unidentified Flying Objects," by Edvard J, Rupptlt. telling of the work ot Project Blue Book, In order to be brought up to date v i th rcsttc:: t. to informa~ tion developed Iince Ruppelt lef't the project, I !lllJ .0 appreciate having the answer to several questions. Briefly, tltee questions arc outlined belOW', ' Ia Project Blue Book, or some similar pro~ . still i n operation to receive investigate and evaluate UFO ~rte 1 ~ Have reports ot UFO' a still contin~ to CWf' in1f. Ir ao, bow many since 19531" How are thue distributed by.,........ and 1110nth? J' HOW' maa,y have been cla.uitied as " unknovna,. by year _.a. month? c.. Have any ettorta been made to get 1110re a cito .._tic data on UFO' s than ia provided by visual sigbt1nga by grouolt:"'" air observers, or b:y visual observance of radar equip entt7For e ,...._lLe, have any fil.m.B been made or radar acreena vbi!a a UFO is piekC fUq111" Have any efforts been aade accur&tely to track a.nd tri~ Al1.PO a so a.a to give more accurate inl'orma.tioo on speed, siz.e &Dei &1:1 tt:ude'f'/. Have any testa been cooducted to aacertain vbetber there is connection be~ tjeen background radiati on and tbe presence ot a m :Have spectro- meters been uaed to try to ana.lyse the light em:tttd~ UFO's1,Have films been taken ot UFO'a1tdn a.ddition to kDoVing U ~ ot the above or similar efforts have been made, I sbould apprecillt l<nOVing if any of the above or s1mil&r experiments have been planne;, '"Could you turniah 111e reports on say ten of~ beat sighting& in the last five years vhicb have been classified u~owns" 1 4 Baa ~ regu1ar procedure been established to exchange UFO information vith our allies? ft.Have any or our allies iuued official reports on UFO' 11? Sincerely yours, JOINT ME&&AGEFO"M IJnclassifiprJ SI'ACJ JUOP .US&IP'ID 1'01 COIUWHICATIOH CINTII ZlHAl5e ZJ oraJO'Jotato~c. III'I:CIA.L INITitUCTiotill SECY OF AIR FORCE, OIS ~ ATTN: SAFI S- 3 Ma.Jor Tacker /i. 1-'#9 UNCUISSIFIED/ AFCIN-4E4 S:/v 3.2 - E Ret Ltr to Secy or Defense from Congressman Henderson, and your urgent request juat rec d by ATIC for extenai ve info statistics, UFO cues and ansvers to questions requested by Kr. Henderson, and required for personal briefing to be given bim, Tues. 27 Ma,y 58. Confil"'lling our telecomt Impossible to provide large maeo of into required by lb:lda.y, 26 May. Based on similarly imposed requirements in the ~t. Per our agreement, vill tran.amit into and data desired by 'l'l' Mag here, and send sua:mary and 19 47-1958 statistics to lUU' ott'ice by lobada.,y a:rternoon, Before answering queationa or providing info, in order vhich they appear in ltr to Mr. McElroy, & rev facts concerning Ruppelt and hia book should first be given, inumuch aa it appe&ra to be buia tor congreasione.l. request to Dept of Defense. AFCIN-4E4g GEORl T, GIIEOOJIY -Cwr USAF " 1fnC!asSified .. -...ca DO ~II 1'78, I OCT ... WHICH WIU.. U.&D UNTIL UMAU.TIIO D. As With any free-lance author, Mr. Ruppelt's 'lbeori"es, opinions, and conclusions are his o'Wn, and not necessarilY those of the Air Force, His book vas reviewed and passed on by:fiqs USAF fran a security viewpoint~ While most of the statements in his book are factual, the inf'erences and implications that he attempts to leave are d.efini tely questionable As project officer of UFO program, Ruppel t had good knowledge and appreciation of various technical and scientific fields; competent in monitoring investigations, s,tudies; 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 bas relied on many scientists and specialists, whose conclusions are considered 1110re valid. E. Answers and info in order ~ ~jtioc.s submitted in Mr, McEJ..roy's letter: (1) Project Blue Book is a continuous Air Force project; is directly related to Air Force responsi- billty of defense of Air Space over u.s.; and rigidly prescribed by e. 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 I I unc,assified JOINT MllSAGifOIIM ct.6fNUAnON SlllfT I ~N " lilnc/assified COMDR, ATIC (4) Distribution by year and month (Statistics to be band- carried. your office) ( 5 ) lJnknovns by year and moo.th (to be baodcarrled) (6) Yeo (7) Yeo. Numerous timea and of'ten involve very eXperienced radar operators. Tbis is standing requireaent tor radar operators Yben object eonaidered UFO and photo equipment available. Ex.alllples: 5cme time ago Navy rustled to. ATI; ~;;.x:;-~. 3000 tt or radar film or UFO observed. ~ .... ,,..,.... Also, a B-36 radar operator vi th ll yrs experience photographed exceptiona.llJ&barp UFO' a shoving oc hi a ocreen vbile tl>;ino over tbe South Atlantict1.Anal;'oi~ ~ confirmed the #ht,q o'f the UFO's:f'( ) Ye~ ai:king has been doDe through 'lbeoc!oll te, r;;; and otber c.....J ~ inatl"\Denta. Triangulation is a part of the ataod.ard anaqaia technique, and 11 utilized where tvo or more observers report the aame obJect !"rem aep~te l.oeations. Resulta negative. For example, Geiger Counter swepa of some aircraft involved Vitb alleged UFO' a at high altitudes ~bowa a slightly higher radioactivity than normal. Aircraft receive & greater dosage of eoslllic ra,ys at hi:gb al.titudu Mantell Cua, (\lhich appare11tly prompted this query} (10) Yeo. Spacial.ized combination spectrographic -stereo- camera inatrumenta ant loc&ted i11 approXimately 6o strategically loc&ted aitaa in tha u.s . Results: negative. Only conventional objects 111 thoaa fev spectrographic photoa taken. J ~ ,-N lfn'Cf;Jssified AFCIN-I,E4g JOINT MmAG&ORM-culiiNUATION SHill I~'"_,.,.,_ "' Unclassified COMDR, ATIC Tbose oot tOUDd to be hoaxes, photop"aphic: rla.ve, mistaken 1dent1tication and optical illusions caused by adverse veather light exposure or other condi tiona best, o~ large and am&ll indeterminate spots ot light. (1.20 In order to illlprove ita investigative, detection and analJrtical tecludquea and ca~illtiea, the Air Foree is continuous} testing and experiment!~ in this field. example, the vorldvide "Moonvatch" faciUtiea are often called upon for data to assist in identifying reported unidentitied aerial objects. The services of a.ll aatronomical observatories are at the Air Forces disposal, iMIIIIIIIIIIII& tbe FBI, OSI ONI and others \/here needed. (13) Ten beat "Uillmovna" ot the laat five (5) years (Re telecon,.. between MaJ. Taeker and capt. Gregory 1330 hrs, Fri. 23 Ha,y 58 . 'lbe conclusion vu that this JW?"'itf"'h! (lo..,.\tl it la. ..1t.j ~ aDd that interviev v1 tb Mr. Henderson coul.d cover (14) 'Ihe Air Force is advised or foreign sigbtings by various u.s. government agencies and personnel overseas, Until recently very rev foreign UFOe reported. Definitely established increue is proportiocate to n\JIII.ber ot Fl1118 Saucer and uro books distributed overseas, (15) very small percentage of UFO reports offici&l..ly issued by foreign governments or our al.Ues, Tbe major! ty generally quality them vitb ~1111on that ebjects are probabJ. &ireratt ,~, 1JhtTass!fied -. JoiNT MI5SAWOIM -cZINUAllON SHifi . I"""'" """''""'~ ~ Unclassified Rec011111eDd that t.be "Air Force Semi-Annual UFO Report" recently submitted by tbi1 Center, be brought to both Senator Saltonatal..l'a and Con,greuman Henderson' a attentioa, partieularl,y para B.6, \lhieh proves that concerted, vide scale CUIP41gn nov Wlder vay to contact all members or Coogreu to preuure Air Force re UFO's. COORDINATION: Col, Gilbert-AFCIN-4E-AL~ J1r.. h /J j(_f'_ /,1/(./},c. I m .... Arcier -AFCIN4X <V'I 2,~ w;.,. Byrne -AFCIN-Xl I ~MCIII-4E4s I;;; I~ 1-~ 111rclassificd