Responsibility for "Unidentified Flying Objects" (UFOs)

This office memorandum, dated August 8, 1955, is addressed to the Acting Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence from the Chief of the Physics and Electronics Division (SI). The document outlines the history of the Division's responsibility for maintaining knowledge of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), citing three previous internal memoranda from 1953 and 1954. The author notes that the project had been considered inactive and that the Division had been segregating incoming material to identify only those reports that presented a recognizable problem of concern to national security. The author reports that the project required between 10 and 25 analyst hours per month, plus clerical time. Consequently, the Division formally requested to be relieved of these responsibilities. The justification provided is threefold: first, no intelligence of concern to national security had been developed from the project; second, the project did not fall under the provisions of DCID 4/4 regarding Critical National Intelligence Objectives; and third, the Division's participation in the FY-1956 OSI Production Program necessitated the termination of all non-essential activities. The document concludes with a recommendation that the project be terminated and that all associated files be placed in dead storage. The memorandum is signed by Todos M. Odarenko.