Memorandum: Flying Saucers

This memorandum, dated 13 April 1955, is addressed to the Deputy Director/Intelligence from Herbert Scoville, Jr., the Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence. The document serves as a response to a previous memorandum dated 25 March 1955 regarding the subject of 'Flying Saucers'. The primary focus of the document is a critique of an article published in a French magazine, which the author deems insufficient for the proper identification of Unidentified Flying Objects (U.F.O.s). Scoville argues that the article fails to provide enough data to reach a definitive conclusion. He notes that the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book investigation has successfully reduced the percentage of 'unknown' reports from 25 percent to 10 percent through concentrated efforts to track all available information on each sighting. He suggests that if the cases mentioned in the French publication were subjected to a similar thorough investigation, they could likely be categorized within the existing Blue Book framework. The memorandum also mentions that the Office of Scientific Intelligence maintains close liaison with the Air Force Technical Intelligence Center regarding reports from both the United States and foreign countries. Finally, the author anticipates that the astronomical event occurring on 7 September 1955, when Mars will be at its closest point to Earth, will likely trigger a surge in public reports concerning 'flying objects' and 'little green men'. He advises that his office will monitor the situation closely and provide updates on any particularly notable published reports. The document concludes by noting that a copy of the French article and a rough translation are attached for reference.