PROPOSED STUDY ON THE "FLYING SAUCERS" PHENOMENA; INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

This memorandum, dated December 5, 1952, from V. P. Keay to A. H. Belmont, details the proceedings of an Intelligence Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting held on December 4, 1952. Supervisor M.W. Kuhrtz of the Liaison Section attended the meeting on behalf of the Bureau. The document reports that while the agenda items were not of direct interest to the Bureau, the committee discussed the "flying saucers" phenomena. A significant point of discussion was a recent presentation by a German atomic scientist regarding a theory on "saucers," which had reportedly spurred British intelligence efforts to obtain the scientist's paper. Furthermore, the committee noted that observations in Africa provided evidence that "saucers" were not meteorological phenomena, a finding that challenged the prevailing theory held by the Air Force. Consequently, military members of the IAC proposed that a group of scientists be assembled to study the data and identify the nature of the phenomena. It was suggested that if the "saucers" were determined to be a scientific development, the IAC should determine a course of action for the U.S. Government, particularly if the development was under the control of an enemy. The document concludes with an action item for the Liaison Section to obtain details regarding the African observations from the Air Force.