Office Memorandum: Unidentified Flying Objects

This memorandum, dated 3 July 1953, is addressed to the Assistant Director, SI, from the Chief of the Physics & Electronics Division, SI. It serves as a response to a previous directive from 27 May 1953, which had assigned the Division the responsibility of maintaining knowledge regarding reports of unidentified flying objects. The author reports that the Division conducted a review of the project's status, methods, and its relationship to current intelligence activities. This review included discussions with ASD personnel, OCI personnel (specifically Mr. Heckert), USAF personnel, and members of the Scientific Review Board that had been convened by the CIA the previous year. The Division concluded that a thorough follow-up of the project would require the continuous efforts of two analysts and a file clerk, representing a significant typing load. Furthermore, the Division determined that the available material did not indicate a serious, direct threat to national security, and that no new information had been obtained since the Scientific Review Board's findings to necessitate a change in that assessment. Consequently, the Division decided to classify the project as inactive. Moving forward, incoming material will be reviewed periodically to separate reports of unidentified flying objects from other phenomena, and all material will be deposited in files for future reference unless it presents an immediate, recognizable problem concerning national security. The project will be managed with part-time support from one analyst and one file clerk, and a request for one additional filing cabinet was made.