FBI Correspondence and Memoranda Regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and Flying Saucers (1957-1977)

This collection of documents spans from 1957 to 1977 and details the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) consistent policy regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and 'flying saucers.' Throughout the correspondence, the FBI maintains that it does not investigate UFO sightings, as such matters fall outside its jurisdiction. Instead, the Bureau's established procedure is to refer all reports and inquiries concerning UFOs to the U.S. Air Force, specifically the Office of Special Investigations (OSI). The documents include various inquiries from private citizens, researchers, and organizations, such as Major Donald E. Keyhoe of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and Robert Gribble of the Aerial Phenomena Research Group, seeking information or confirmation of government involvement in UFO research. In each instance, the FBI, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, provides a standard response stating that the Bureau does not investigate these phenomena and that any information received is forwarded to the Air Force. The records also document specific incidents, such as the case of Joseph Perry, an amateur photographer who claimed to have captured a UFO on film, and the FBI's subsequent referral of his materials to the Air Force. The documents further reflect the FBI's internal administrative handling of these inquiries, including notes on the lack of identifiable records for certain correspondents and the Bureau's refusal to comment on or validate rumors regarding government 'hush-ups' or the existence of extraterrestrial beings. The collection concludes with later correspondence from the 1970s, confirming that the FBI's policy remained unchanged even after the termination of the Air Force's Project Blue Book in 1969.