(Revised Dec 68) REFERRED TO CONFIDENTIAL DEPARTMENT OF AIR Sev c:..Ef\s (INITIALS) OTHER FILES BEARING ON THIS SUBJECT FOR LATER PAPERS SEE S"'i4 -I -~ f k?:. OR REFER TO SUBJECT INDEX .2~-')-1 L. JO\NT COMCEN R E S T R I C T E D A794 FOLLOWING S CONTENTS OF MESSAGE A1082 DATED 0900352 MAY 72 FM HQEDN TO HQOC PD QUOTE REPORTING OF UFO S!GHTINGS PD FURTHER OUR A1501-0F 12 APR NO REPLY YET RECEIVED FROM DAFI PD SEVERAL AIRMEN AT THIS BASE ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF ONE OR OTHER OF THE FLYING SAUCER QUOTE RESEARCH UNQUOTE SOCIETIES WHICH ARE COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA IN SIMILAR FASHION TO TOW-TRUCK OPERATORS IN EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE REPORTED SIGHTING PD FOR INSTANCE IT HAS COME TO NOTICE THAT ONE AIRMAN ANSWERED AN ADVERTISEMENT AND IS NOW ON LEAVE WITH AN INVESTIGATION SAFARI ON PROPERTY 90 MILES NORTH OF PORT LINCOLN PD ANOTHER AIRMAN IS PRESIDENT OF ELIZABETH SPACERS UFO SOCIETY PD AT BEST WE CAN EXPECT BELATED REPORT ON MOST OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS PD UNDUE MASS MEDIA COVERAGE IS BEING GIVEN TO ACTIVITIES PD MATTER FULLY DISCUSSED WITH DAFI VIDE EDN A1005 OF MARCH PD WOULD APPRECIATE FOLLOW UP WITH DAFI TO EXPEDITE PROMISED UPDATED UFO POLICY J PD UNQUOTE PLEASE ADVISE WHEN NEW POLICY CAN BE ANTICIPATED TO ~ /DEI LSX INFO ~OP/HQOC R E S T R I C T E D AI051 FOR DAFI PD SUBJECT REPORTING OF UFOS PD rEI GHTENED PUBLIC INTEREST IN UFO PHD Ot'lENA AND REORGANIZATION OF UFO RESEARCH GROUPS IS STRAINING PARAMETERS FOR UFO REPORTING IN THIS STATE PD DEPAIR 580/l/1/AIR OF 07 MAR 72 ~OT TO HQOC) INDICATED NEW POLICY ON UFOS WOULD SHORTLY BE ISSUED PD IN VIEW OF LOCAL SITUATION REQUEST EXPEDITE UPDATED UFO POLICY STATEMENT PD FOR HQOC OUR AI005 0~03452 MAR 72 IS CLASSIFibO. MINUTE PAPER (Write on this side only) UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS Sqn Ldr C. R. HICKEY ttached are ASI and Policy directives relating to UFO's as requested in your telecon with Flg Off Gibbs earlier this week. RESTRI<'-rED SUPPOR!' COMMAND AIR STAFF INSTRUariON NO 3/3 UN-IDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS -(Y!Q.!!) INFORMATION 1. For many years, people in various countries have reported sighting& of unusual objects high in the air, close to the ground or even landing on the ground. In most cases there have been valid and logical explanations for these sightings, but on some occasions the information provided has neither been sufficient nor accurate enough to firmly identity the phenomena observed. 2. The Royal Australian Air Force is responsible for invest- igating reports of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in AUSTRALIA and the Trust Territories, and the responsibility for the implementation of this policy has been vested in the two Commands. However, as each / Command covers such a large area, it is considered that the authority best suited to investigate the initial report of a UFO is the nearest RAAF Formation or Unit where local weather conditions, natural phenomena and aircraft movements are well known. 3. This, then, is the principle on which the reporting pro- cedure is to be based and this instruction outlines the action to be taken when a UFO report is received. 4. The original purpose of the investigation of any UFO report was to determine whether or not Australian airspace bas been violated and, it so, what threat was posed b.1 this violation. However, intense public interest in unidentified flying objects, as well as the wide publicity given to reported sighting&, means that investigations have to go further than security considerations would dictate, and every effort is to be made to positively identity the object sighted. 5.. On receipt or a UFO report, which is usuall7 made by telephone, the Formation or Unit Commander is to : a. send a "Routine" precedence signal to Command Headquarters for C Intell o, and Department of Air for DAFI, giving brief details of the observation and action taken; b. appoint an officer, preferably of the General Duties Branch, to initiate inquiries and fully investigate the The officer appointed to investigate the report is to : a. Inverview the person making the report, if possible; invite the person(s) to complete Part 1 of the UFO pro-forma (for example, see Annex) and obtain the maximum amount of RESTRiarED /information RESTRIGrED information possible; liaise with the appropriate civil authorities in order to complete the relevant portions of Part 2 of the UFO pro-forma.; d, assess the likely cause of the sighting, if possible, and sign the form, 7. In cases where remoteness of the area of observation makes a personal interview impractical, or where the Formation or Unit Commander is satisfied from the initial inquiry that nothing would be gained from a procedure, he should arrange for Part 1 of the pro-forma to be forwarded and completed by the observer (preferably in the presence of a police officer, an officer of another Service or other responsible person) and return it to the investigating officer, 8. The Investigating Officer is to examine the report and endeavour to identify the object by liaison with regional meteorological stations, Air Traffic controllers, observatories, spacetracking stations or other organisations in the area, 9, Two copies of the completed pro-foxma and Investi~ting Officer's report are to be forwarded to Command Headquarters {for attention C Intell 0) as soon as praoticable. 10. Formation or Unit Commanders are to ensure that no member, in particular the Investigating Officer, makes ~ statementsto the press or public about any aspect of a UFO report already received, the progress of any investigation or the RAAF assessment of the probable cause, Requests for information should be directed to the Department of Air where such inquiries will be dealt with by the Directorate of ?ublic Relations. Victoria Barracks MELIDURNE 3004 teptember 1968 (E.G. FIFE) Group Captain For Air Officer Commanding A Report of Aerial Object Observed pro-forma RESTRI C'l'ED Telephone 690550 RESTRICTED Headquarters Support Command Victoria Barracks St Kilda Road ~LBOURNE, 3004 Headquarters, RAAF Base PEARCE WA 6085 II II LAVERTON VIC 3027 II " POINT COOK VIC 3029 EAST SALE VIC 3852 II 11 WAGGA NSW 2651 Tasmanian Squadron, Air Training Corps, HOBART TAS 7000 No 7 Stores Depot RAAF NORTH DRAYTON QLD 4350 No 2 Stores Depot Det D RAAF DUBBO NSW 2830 ~erence: A. UN-IDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS REPORTS Our 5/6/Air(18) 9th June 1969 1. Department of Air advise that it has become necessary to emphasize the need for additiona~ thought and effort to be put into Part 2 of the UFO report forms. Recent examples received have only dashes or blanks as answers to specific questions, which does not give any indication of the information obtained or sought by the investigating officer. 2. Typical faults include:- a. No entry in the section relating to civil aircraft in the area. There was nothing to indicate that any effort had been made to find an answer. b. No entry in tho planet calculation section. Not only was Venus in the appropriate position at the time, but it was also at its greatest brilliancy. c. Many reports have had no answers to the last three questions on the old form, which makes the entire report virtually useless. The investigating officer is the only person with enough knowledge of the situation to make an estimate of the cause, unless it has been definitely identified from answers to previous questions. 3. As you no doubt are aware, the public is becoming more and more susceptible to the UFO syndrome and for publicity purposes, the press and radio thrive on it. This, in turn, generates questions from political quarters which require answers, sometimes at ministerial level. Unless effort is put into the original investigation, it is obvious that meaningful or credible answers cannot be supplied. 4. Investigating officers are to be advised of the Departmental requirements. Group Captain Senior Air Staff Officer RZSTRICTED St Kll6.a _ .. oc..u MELBOURNE, 3004 Headquarters, RAAF Base PEARCE WA 6085 " " LAVERTON VIC 3027 " " POINT COOK VIC 3029 " " EAST SALE VIC 385 2 " " WAGGA NSW 2651 Tasmanian Squadron, Air Training Corps, 8 Fitzroy Pee HOBART 7000 No 7 Stores Depot, RAAF NORTH DRAYTON QLD 4350 No 2 Stores Depot Detachment D, RAAF DUBBO NSW 2830 UN-IDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS REVISED FORMAT OF REPORTS References: A. Support Command Air Staff Instruction 3/3 B. Our 5/6/Air(10) 16~eptember 1968 1. The format used for Un-identified Flying Object reports has again been revised, in order to obtain slightly more scientific data for the Defence Science Section. The new form, titled "Report on Unusual Aerial Sighting", is to be used as from receipt of this letter. '-. 11 2.. All questions are required to be completely answered in writing; a dash conveys no information at all. On completion of the questionnaire and after full evaluation by the investigat- ing officer, some indication of the nature of the occurrence is necessary. 3. Two copies of the completed form are to be forwarded to this Headquarters where, after preliminary examination, one copy will be forwarded to Department of Air. It should be noted that reports are to be routed through Headquarters Support Command and not sent direct to Department of Air. 4, Section 3 of Support Command Air Staff Instructions will be amended to conform to the above requirements Group Captain Senior Air Staff Of~icer. Copy of revised form ~ ~ RESTRICTED RlilSTRICTED ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE TELEPHONE: PENRITH 2331 TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: "AIRCOMMAND SYDNEY" ..&3cre tary Department of Air Russell Offices CAlffiERRA ACT 2600 HEADQUARTERS OPERATIONAL COMMAND PENRITH 1W NSW 28th October 1971 REPORTED PARTICIPATION OF AN R.A..AF OFFICER AT A SCil!.i~ TIFIC SEMINAR IN ADELAIDE -30 OCT 71 Reference: A. HQOC AI 153 31 Mar 71 1. Attached is a photostat of an article which appeared in The News", Adelaide on ilednesda,y, 6th October 1971. A spokesman for the Australian and ~ew Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science has denied that the body has made any claim that the speakers at the symposium referred to will include an RAAF officer who has investigated sightings. Mr. Colin N rris of the so-called The Australian Flying Saucer Research Society -Adelaide" has also stated that he has not issued such a statement to the Press .Jl.t any time. News" representative informed Edinburgh that the statement regarding RAAF participation in the symposium was passed to the paper by "the UFO authorities" and of his own volition undertook to investigate the matter further. is advised for information. RESTRICTED quadron Leader for Air Officer.Commanding f~vD!lUg !I s~ln~r:eJ"s ,, UFO enthusias ts from all States ll.re enrolling for a symvosium to lJe h eld In Adelaide ou October 30. j The symposium, organ-; sed by t.he Australian a nd : Zealand Associa tion r for the Advancement or i S cience, will discu;;s many or un:dcnt.ificd tlying objec t sight.ings. r ' ~pe~k~rs3!11_Uncluct.l!... !\n I BAAP_ o_nicer w.lJq_llas_i_n: gatcd . sightint:S-t --orhosc wishing to attend 1 muc;t enrol with t\!1/Z.\t\i:i ( trh.'tlhoue 23-3G3G) be fore; October 22. [ A fee of $3 will cover the days lectures. copies of \ o. condensed version of ail papers delivered, and morning akd afternoon tel. fu NE.ws, ~a..A-t.DE. RESTRICTED BEQUESTS FOB INFORMATION ON UFOa i'he recent increue in tlw nuaber or request a ! ar inf'or.. tion regarding unidentified !171ng object baa Mant a increaaed workload !or both DPR and DAFI. To prevent duplication or e!!ort in anavering the enquiriea, DAFI intenda to prepare repliea to such requests for releue bJ DPR when completed. RESTRICTED (R. S. ROYSi'ON) RE::>'l'.RIC T.iill) MINUTE PAPER (This side only to be written on) Subject: UNIDENTIFIED FLYllfG OBJECTS 1 . Attached is a proforma for issue to any person reporting sightings of unidentified flying objects. 2 . Observers have in the past seldom been informed of subsequent investigation of their sightings and this has, no doubt, created bad licity for the RAAF. 3 DAFI intends to reply to observers by way of the attached proforffia and considef that DPR should be responsible for issuing these (R.S. ROYSTON) RESTRICTED GENERAL STATi!l<IENT IN RELATION TO UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS Your report on the sighting of an Unusual Flying Object (UFO) ~as been investigated and the object was You may be interested in the investigation of reports in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom and the following information provides a brief outline of the subject. The investigation of reports of UFOs in Australia is carried out by the Royal Australian Air Force, Directorate of Air Force Intelligence, a t the Department of Air in Canberra. A considerable amount of effort is spent in investigating each report and the majority of observers are interviewed by selected RAAF personnel. Between 23 January 60 and 26 f>tay 71 , the RAAF received 572 UFO reports. Department of Air has assessed that 93 percent were explainable by present scientific knowledge. Six percent of the reports did not provide sufficient information to permit proper analysis and evaluation. One percent of the reports were attributed to unknown causes. The United Kingdom Air Ministry has stated that on an average, 90 percent of the sightings it investigates are explained by causes ranging from meteorological balloons and meteors to aircraft lights. The other 10 percent probably remain unexplained because of lack of reliable information. In 1966 the University of Colorado, under contract to the USAF, spent two years processing and investigating all American reports. It3 findings have been published by Bantam Books as 'The Condon Report' s general conclusion is that 'nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge' and that 'further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby'. A panel of eminent scientists, chosen by the US National Academy of Sciences, has examined and endorsed the Condon Report. The USAF 'Project Blue Book' investigation of unidentified aerial objects between 1953 and 1965 analysed 7,641 UFO reports. It concluded that: a. 80 peroent of sightings were natural phenomena, hoaxes, birds or man-made objeots; b. 17 percent of sightings provided insufficient data to permit thorough analysis and evaluation; and c. three percent were unidentified. US and Soviet space exploration has found no evidence to support the theory of life on planets in our solar system. It seems that the Y~iner series of space exploration to Mars has proved it a 'dead' planet. The only other source of extra-terrestrial life, then, would have to be in another 'solar system. It would seem, therefore, that whilst it may be possible for extra-terrestrial life forms to visit Earth, it is improbable. (Subscription) MINUTE PAPER (This side only to be written on) ,:,ub}ect: UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS 1. Refer ence foli o 73. 2. In Dec 68, DAFI issued a policy letter informing HQOC and HQSC that all information on sightings of UFOs would be released by Department Air (DPR). Rather than change this policy, it is suggested that DAFI be responsible for the statements. I see very little work involv ed - no ore than 15 minutes per week -and the work c ould be done in conjunction with extraction of details for summaries. MINUTE PAPER (Thii side only to be written on) GENERAL STATEMENT IN RELATION TO UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS Your report on the sighting of an Unusual Flying Object (UFO) has been 1.nvest1.ga.ted and the object was;tf 7J .JF~ .... :;. ........ . You may be interested in the investigation of reports in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom and the following information provides a brief outline of the subject. The investigation of reports of UFOs in Australia is carried out by the Royal Australian Air Force, Directorate of Air Force Intelligence, at the Department of Air in Canberra. A considerable amount of effort is spent in investigating each report and the majority of observers are interviewed by selected RAAF personnel. 4. Between 23 January 60 and 26 May 71, the RAAF received 572 UFO reports. Department of Air has assessed that 93 percent were explainable by present scientific knowledge. Six percent of the reports did not provide sufficient information to permit proper analysis and evaluation. One percent of the reports were attributed to unknown causes. The United Kingdom Air Ministry has stated that on an average, 90 percent of the sightings it investigates are explained by causes ranging from meteorological balloons and meteors to aircraft lights. The other 10 percent probably remain unexplained because of lack of reliable information. In 1966 the University of Colorado, under contract to the USAF, spent two years processing and investigating all American reports. Its findings have been published by Bantam Books as 'The Condon Report'. Its general conclusion is that 'nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge' and that 'further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby'. A panel of eminent scientists, chosen by the US National Academy of Sciences, has examined and endorsed the Condon Report. The USAF 'Project Blue Book' investigation of unidentified aerial objects between 1953 and 1965 analysed 7,641 UFO reports. It concluded that: a. 80 percent of sightings were natural phenomena, birds or man-made objectsJ b. 17 percent of sightings provided insufficient data to permit thorough analysis and evaluation; and c. three percent were unidentified. US and Soviet space exploration has found no evidence to support the theory of life on planets in our solar system. It seems that the Mariner series of space exploration to Mars has proved it a planet. The only other source of extra-terrestrial life, then, would have to be in another 'solar system'. It would seem, therefore, that whilst it may be possible for extra-terre