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Declassified UFO / UAP Document

California Committee for Saucer Investigation

📍 Los Angeles, California 🏛 OJI 📄 Office Memorandum
CSICalifornia Committee for Saucer InvestigationWalter RiedelhoaxLos Angelesaerial phenomena

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AI-Generated Summary

TL;DR

This memorandum reports on the activities of the California Committee for Saucer Investigation (CSI), including their plan to stage a hoax in Los Angeles to test public reporting reliability. It also notes the involvement of German rocket scientist Dr. Walter Riedel and pressure from the National aeronautical association for him to leave the group.

This February 9, 1953, office memorandum from the Chief of the Contact Division to the Assistant for Operations at OJI details the activities of the California Committee for Saucer Investigation (CSI). The document highlights the involvement of Dr. Walter Riedel, a former Chief Designer at the German Experimental Rocket Center who was then employed as a project engineer at North American Aviation. The author notes that CSI, composed of private individuals, claimed to be conducting rigorous scientific investigations into saucer sightings, having discarded 75% of reports as requiring no further action while vetting the remainder for reliability. The memorandum reveals that CSI planned to conduct a 'hoax' in the Los Angeles area in January 1953, involving the creation of an aerial visual phenomenon to test public reaction and the accuracy of witness reports. Furthermore, the document mentions that the National aeronautical association had requested that Dr. Riedel disassociate himself from the committee. The memorandum also references an interest in the committee's work regarding sightings as observed in a paper titled 'Rockets Behind the Iron Curtain,' presented by George F. Sutton at the American Rocket Society convention in New York in December 1952.

So serious is CSI with respect to its investigation that Dr. Riedel indicated that they are going to execute a planned "hoax" over the Los Angeles area, in order to test the reaction and reliability of the public in general to unusual aerial phenomena.

Official Assessment

The California Committee for Saucer Investigation (CSI) is described as a group of private individuals investigating saucer sightings. They claim to have investigated numerous reports, discarding 75% as requiring no follow-up and vetting the remaining 25% for reliability. Dr. Walter Riedel, a former German rocket scientist now at North American Aviation, is associated with the group. The document notes that CSI planned a 'hoax' in the Los Angeles area in January 1953 to test public reaction and reporting reliability. Additionally, the document mentions that the National aeronautical association requested Dr. Riedel disassociate himself from CSI.

Key Persons

  • Walter RiedelFormer Chief Designer at the German Experimental Rocket Center, currently Project engineer at North American Aviation
  • George F. SuttonAerophysics Department, North American Aviation, Inc.

Organizations