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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17346.txt b/17346.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe5129f --- /dev/null +++ b/17346.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14266 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects +by Edward Ruppelt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects + +Author: Edward Ruppelt + +Release Date: December 18, 2005 [EBook #17346] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS *** + + + + +Produced by The Blue Book Archive + + + + + +THE REPORT ON UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS + +BY EDWARD J. RUPPELT +Former Head of the Air Force Project Blue Book + +Published by +DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC. +Garden City, New York + + + +Note: This work was originally Copyright ? 1956 by Edward J. Ruppelt. +This book is now in the public domain because it was not renewed in a +timely fashion at the US Copyright Office, as required by law at the +time. + + + +Contents + + Foreword + 1 Project Blue Book and the UFO Story + 2 The Era of Confusion Begins + 3 The Classics + 4 Green Fireballs, Project Twinkle, Little Lights, and Grudge + 5 The Dark Ages + 6 The Presses Roll--The Air Force Shrugs + 7 The Pentagon Rumbles + 8 The Lubbock Lights, Unabridged + 9 The New Project Grudge + 10 Project Blue Book and the Big Build-Up + 11 The Big Flap + 12 The Washington Merry-Go-Round + 13 Hoax or Horror? + 14 Digesting the Data + 15 The Radiation Story + 16 The Hierarchy Ponders + 17 What Are UFO's? + 18 And They're Still Flying + 19 Off They Go into the Wild Blue Yonder + 20 Do They or Don't They? + + + +to ELIZABETH and KRIS + + + +Foreword + +This is a book about unidentified flying objects--UFO's--"flying +saucers." It is actually more than a book; it is a report because it +is the first time that anyone, either military or civilian, has +brought together in one document all the facts about this fascinating +subject. With the exception of the style, this report is written +exactly the way I would have written it had I been officially asked +to do so while I was chief of the Air Force's project for +investigating UFO reports--Project Blue Book. + +In many instances I have left out the names of the people who +reported seeing UFO's, or the names of certain people who were +associated with the project, just as I would have done in an official +report. For the same reason I have changed the locale in which some +of the UFO sightings occurred. This is especially true in chapter +fifteen, the story of how some of our atomic scientists detected +radiation whenever UFO's were reported near their "UFO-detection +stations." This policy of not identifying the "source," to borrow a +term from military intelligence, is insisted on by the Air Force so +that the people who have co-operated with them will not get any +unwanted publicity. Names are considered to be "classified +information." + +But the greatest care has been taken to make sure that the omission +of names and changes in locale has in no way altered the basic facts +because this report is based on the facts--all of the facts--nothing +of significance has been left out. + +It was only after considerable deliberation that I put this report +together, because it had to be told accurately, with no holds barred. +I finally decided to do it for two reasons. First, there is world- +wide interest in flying saucers; people want to know the facts. But +more often than not these facts have been obscured by secrecy and +confusion, a situation that has led to wild speculation on one end of +the scale and an almost dangerously blas? attitude on the other. It +is only when all of the facts are laid out that a correct evaluation +can be made. + +Second, after spending two years investigating and analyzing UFO +reports, after talking to the people who have seen UFO's-- +industrialists, pilots, engineers, generals, and just the plain man- +on-the-street, and after discussing the subject with many very +capable scientists, I felt that I was in a position to be able to put +together the complete account of the Air Force's struggle with the +flying saucer. + +The report has been difficult to write because it involves something +that doesn't officially exist. It is well known that ever since the +first flying saucer was reported in June 1947 the Air Force has +officially said that there is no proof that such a thing as an +interplanetary spaceship exists. But what is not well known is that +this conclusion is far from being unanimous among the military and +their scientific advisers because of the one word, _proof_; so the +UFO investigations continue. + +The hassle over the word "proof" boils down to one question: What +constitutes proof? Does a UFO have to land at the River Entrance to +the Pentagon, near the Joint Chiefs of Staff offices? Or is it proof +when a ground radar station detects a UFO, sends a jet to intercept +it, the jet pilot sees it, and locks on with his radar, only to have +the UFO streak away at a phenomenal speed? Is it proof when a jet +pilot fires at a UFO and sticks to his story even under the threat of +court-martial? Does this constitute proof? + +The at times hotly debated answer to this question may be the answer +to the question, "Do the UFO's really exist?" + +I'll give you the facts--all of the facts--you decide. + +_July_ _1955_, E. J. RUPPELT + + + +CHAPTER ONE + +Project Blue Book and the UFO Story + +In the summer of 1952 a United States Air Force F-86 jet interceptor +shot at a flying saucer. + +This fact, like so many others that make up the full flying saucer +story, has never before been told. + +I know the full story about flying saucers and I know that it has +never before been told because I organized and was chief of the Air +Force's Project Blue Book, the special project set up to investigate +and analyze unidentified flying object, or UFO, reports. (UFO is the +official term that I created to replace the words "flying saucers.") + +There is a fighter base in the United States which I used to visit +frequently because, during 1951, 1952, and 1953, it got more than its +share of good UFO reports. + +The commanding officer of the fighter group, a full colonel and +command pilot, believed that UFO's were real. The colonel believed in +UFO's because he had a lot of faith in his pilots--and they had +chased UFO's in their F-86's. He had seen UFO's on the scopes of his +radar sets, and he knew radar. + +The colonel's intelligence officer, a captain, didn't exactly +believe that UFO's were real, but he did think that they warranted +careful investigation. The logic the intelligence officer used in +investigating UFO reports--and in getting answers to many of them-- +made me wish many times that he worked for me on Project Blue Book. + +One day the intelligence officer called me at my base in Dayton, +Ohio. He wanted to know if I was planning to make a trip his way +soon. When I told him I expected to be in his area in about a week, +he asked me to be sure to look him up. There was no special hurry, he +added, but he had something very interesting to show me. + +When we got wind of a good story, Project Blue Book liked to start +working on it at once, so I asked the intelligence officer to tell me +what he had. But nothing doing. He didn't want to discuss it over the +phone. He even vetoed the idea of putting it into a secret wire. Such +extreme caution really stopped me, because anything can be coded and +put in a wire. + +When I left Dayton about a week later I decided to go straight to +the fighter base, planning to arrive there in midmorning. But while I +was changing airlines my reservations got fouled up, and I was faced +with waiting until evening to get to the base. I called the +intelligence officer and told him about the mix-up. He told me to +hang on right there and he would fly over and pick me up in a T-33 jet. + +As soon as we were in the air, on the return trip, I called the +intelligence officer on the interphone and asked him what was going +on. What did he have? Why all the mystery? He tried to tell me, but +the interphone wasn't working too well and I couldn't understand what +he was saying. Finally he told me to wait until we returned to his +office and I could read the report myself. + +Report! If he had a UFO report why hadn't he sent it in to Project +Blue Book as he usually did? + +We landed at the fighter base, checked in our parachutes, Mae Wests, +and helmets, and drove over to his office. There were several other +people in the office, and they greeted me with the usual question, +"What's new on the flying saucer front?" I talked with them for a +while, but was getting impatient to find out what was on the +intelligence officer's mind. I was just about to ask him about the +mysterious report when he took me to one side and quietly asked me +not to mention it until everybody had gone. + +Once we were alone, the intelligence officer shut the door, went +over to his safe, and dug out a big, thick report. It was the +standard Air Force reporting form that is used for all intelligence +reports, including UFO reports. The intelligence officer told me that +this was the only existing copy. He said that he had been told to +destroy all copies, but had saved one for me to read. + +With great curiosity, I took the report and started to read. What +_had_ happened at this fighter base? + +About ten o'clock in the morning, one day a few weeks before, a +radar near the base had picked up an unidentified target. It was an +odd target in that it came in very fast--about 700 miles per hour-- +and then slowed down to about 100 miles per hour. The radar showed +that it was located northeast of the airfield, over a sparsely +settled area. + +Unfortunately the radar station didn't have any height-finding +equipment. The operators knew the direction of the target and its +distance from the station but they didn't know its altitude. They +reported the target, and two F-86's were scrambled. + +The radar picked up the F-86's soon after they were airborne, and +had begun to direct them into the target when the target started to +fade on the radarscope. At the time several of the operators thought +that this fade was caused by the target's losing altitude rapidly and +getting below the radar's beam. Some of the other operators thought +that it was a high-flying target and that it was fading just because +it was so high. + +In the debate which followed, the proponents of the high-flying +theory won out, and the F-86's were told to go up to 40,000 feet. But +before the aircraft could get to that altitude, the target had been +completely lost on the radarscope. + +The F-86's continued to search the area at 40,000 feet, but could +see nothing. After a few minutes the aircraft ground controller +called the F-86's and told one to come down to 20,000 feet, the other +to 5,000 feet, and continue the search. The two jets made a quick +letdown, with one pilot stopping at 20,000 feet and the other heading +for the deck. + +The second pilot, who was going down to 5,000 feet, was just +beginning to pull out when he noticed a flash below and ahead of him. +He flattened out his dive a little and headed toward the spot where +he had seen the light. As he closed on the spot he suddenly noticed +what he first thought was a weather balloon. A few seconds later he +realized that it couldn't be a balloon because it was staying ahead +of him. Quite an achievement for a balloon, since he had built up a +lot of speed in his dive and now was flying almost straight and level +at 3,000 feet and was traveling "at the Mach." + +Again the pilot pushed the nose of the F-86 down and started after +the object. He closed fairly fast, until he came to within an +estimated 1,000 yards. Now he could get a good look at the object. +Although it had looked like a balloon from above, a closer view +showed that it was definitely round and flat--saucer-shaped. The +pilot described it as being "like a doughnut without a hole." + +As his rate of closure began to drop off, the pilot knew that the +object was picking up speed. But he pulled in behind it and started +to follow. Now he was right on the deck. + +About this time the pilot began to get a little worried. What should +he do? He tried to call his buddy, who was flying above him somewhere +in the area at 20,000 feet. He called two or three times but could +get no answer. Next he tried to call the ground controller but he was +too low for his radio to carry that far. Once more he tried his buddy +at 20,000 feet, but again no luck. + +By now he had been following the object for about two minutes and +during this time had closed the gap between them to approximately 500 +yards. But this was only momentary. Suddenly the object began to pull +away, slowly at first, then faster. The pilot, realizing that he +couldn't catch _it_, wondered what to do next. + +When the object traveled out about 1,000 yards, the pilot suddenly +made up his mind--he did the only thing that he could do to stop the +UFO. It was like a David about to do battle with a Goliath, but he +had to take a chance. Quickly charging his guns, he started shooting. +. . . A moment later the object pulled up into a climb and in a few +seconds it was gone. The pilot climbed to 10,000 feet, called the +other F-86, and now was able to contact his buddy. They joined up and +went back to their base. + +As soon as he had landed and parked, the F-86 pilot went into +operations to tell his story to his squadron commander. The mere fact +that he had fired his guns was enough to require a detailed report, +as a matter of routine. But the circumstances under which the guns +actually were fired created a major disturbance at the fighter base +that day. + +After the squadron commander had heard his pilot's story, he called +the group commander, the colonel, and the intelligence officer. They +heard the pilot's story. + +For some obscure reason there was a "personality clash," the +intelligence officer's term, between the pilot and the squadron +commander. This was obvious, according to the report I was reading, +because the squadron commander immediately began to tear the story +apart and accuse the pilot of "cracking up," or of just "shooting his +guns for the hell of it and using the wild story as a cover-up." + +Other pilots in the squadron, friends of the accused pilot-- +including the intelligence officer and a flight surgeon--were called +in to "testify." All of these men were aware of the fact that in +certain instances a pilot can "flip" for no good reason, but none of +them said that he had noticed any symptoms of mental crack-up in the +unhappy pilot. + +None, except the squadron commander. He kept pounding home his idea-- +that the pilot was "psycho"--and used a few examples of what the +report called "minor incidents" to justify his stand. + +Finally the pilot who had been flying with the "accused" man was +called in. He said that he had been monitoring the tactical radio +channel but that he hadn't heard any calls from his buddy's low- +flying F-86. The squadron commander triumphantly jumped on this +point, but the accused pilot tended to refute it by admitting he was +so jumpy that he might not have been on the right channel. But when +he was asked if he had checked or changed channels after he had lost +the object and before he had finally contacted the other F-86, he +couldn't remember. + +So ended the pilot's story and his interrogation. + +The intelligence officer wrote up his report of a UFO sighting, but +at the last minute, just before sending it, he was told to hold it +back. He was a little unhappy about this turn of events, so he went +in to see why the group commander had decided to delay sending the +report to Project Blue Book. + +They talked over the possible reactions to the report. If it went +out it would cause a lot of excitement, maybe unnecessarily. Yet, if +the pilot actually had seen what he claimed, it was vitally important +to get the report in to ATIC immediately. The group commander said +that he would made his decision after a talk with his executive +officer. They decided not to send the report and ordered it destroyed. + +When I finished reading, the intelligence officer's first comment +was, "What do you think?" + +Since the evaluation of the report seemed to hinge upon conflicts +between personalities I didn't know, I could venture no opinion, +except that the incident made up the most fascinating UFO report I'd +ever seen. So I batted the intelligence officer's question back to him. + +"I know the people involved," he replied, "and I don't think the +pilot was nuts. I can't give you the report, because Colonel ------ +told me to destroy it. But I did think you should know about it." +Later he burned the report. + +The problems involved in this report are typical. There are certain +definite facts that can be gleaned from it; the pilot did see +something and he did shoot at something, but no matter how thoroughly +you investigate the incident that something can never be positively +identified. It might have been a hallucination or it might have been +some vehicle from outer space; no one will ever know. It was a UFO. + +The UFO story started soon after June 24, 1947, when newspapers all +over the United States carried the first flying saucer report. The +story told how nine very bright, disk-shaped objects were seen by +Kenneth Arnold, a Boise, Idaho, businessman, while he was flying his +private plane near Mount Rainier, in the state of Washington. With +journalistic license, reporters converted Arnold's description of the +individual motion of each of the objects--like "a saucer skipping +across water"--into "flying saucer," a name for the objects +themselves. In the eight years that have passed since Arnold's +memorable sighting, the term has become so common that it is now in +Webster's Dictionary and is known today in most languages in the world. + +For a while after the Arnold sighting the term "flying saucer" was +used to describe all disk-shaped objects that were seen flashing +through the sky at fantastic speeds. Before long, reports were made +of objects other than disks, and these were also called flying +saucers. Today the words are popularly applied to anything seen in +the sky that cannot be identified as a common, everyday object. + +Thus a flying saucer can be a formation of lights, a single light, a +sphere, or any other shape; and it can be any color. Performance-wise, +flying saucers can hover, go fast or slow, go high or low, turn 90- +degree corners, or disappear almost instantaneously. + +Obviously the term "flying saucer" is misleading when applied to +objects of every conceivable shape and performance. For this reason +the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name: +unidentified flying objects. UFO (pronounced Yoo-foe) for short. + +Officially the military uses the term "flying saucer" on only two +occasions. First in an explanatory sense, as when briefing people who +are unacquainted with the term "UFO": "UFO--you know--flying +saucers." And second in a derogatory sense, for purposes of ridicule, +as when it is observed, "He says he saw a flying saucer." + +This second form of usage is the exclusive property of those persons +who positively know that all UFO's are nonsense. Fortunately, for the +sake of good manners if for no other reason, the ranks of this +knowing category are constantly dwindling. One by one these people +drop out, starting with the instant they see their first UFO. + +Some weeks after the first UFO was seen on June 24, 1947, the Air +Force established a project to investigate and analyze all UFO +reports. The attitude toward this task varied from a state of near +panic, early in the life of the project, to that of complete contempt +for anyone who even mentioned the words "flying saucer." + +This contemptuous attitude toward "flying saucer nuts" prevailed +from mid-1949 to mid-1950. During that interval many of the people +who were, or had been, associated with the project believed that the +public was suffering from "war nerves." + +Early in 1950 the project, for all practical purposes, was closed +out; at least it rated only minimum effort. Those in power now +reasoned that if you didn't mention the words "flying saucers" the +people would forget them and the saucers would go away. But this +reasoning was false, for instead of vanishing, the UFO reports got +better and better. + +Airline pilots, military pilots, generals, scientists, and dozens of +other people were reporting UFO's, and in greater detail than in +reports of the past. Radars, which were being built for air defense, +began to pick up some very unusual targets, thus lending technical +corroboration to the unsubstantiated claims of human observers. + +As a result of the continuing accumulation of more impressive UFO +reports, official interest stirred. Early in 1951 verbal orders came +down from Major General Charles P. Cabell, then Director of +Intelligence for Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, to make a study +reviewing the UFO situation for Air Force Headquarters. + +I had been back in the Air Force about six months when this +happened. During the second world war I had been a B-29 bombardier +and radar operator. I went to India, China, and later to the Pacific, +with the original B-29 wing. I flew two DCF's, and some Air Medals' +worth of missions, got out of the Air Force after the war, and went +back to college. To keep my reserve status while I was in school, I +flew as a navigator in an Air Force Reserve Troop Carrier Wing. + +Not long after I received my degree in aeronautical engineering, the +Korean War started, and I went back on active duty. I was assigned to +the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force +Base, in Dayton, Ohio. ATIC is responsible for keeping track of all +foreign aircraft and guided missiles. ATIC also had the UFO project. + +I had just finished organizing a new intelligence group when General +Cabell's order to review past UFO reports came down. Lieutenant +Colonel Rosengarten, who received the order at ATIC, called me in and +wanted to know if I'd take the job of making the review. I accepted. + +When the review was finished, I went to the Pentagon and presented +my findings to Major General Samford, who had replaced General Cabell +as Director of Intelligence. + +ATIC soon got the word to set up a completely new project for the +investigation and analysis of UFO reports. Since I had made the +review of past UFO reports I was the expert, and I got the new job. +It was given the code name Project Blue Book, and I was in charge of +it until late in 1953. During this time members of my staff and I +traveled close to half a million miles. We investigated dozens of UFO +reports, and read and analyzed several thousand more. These included +every report ever received by the Air Force. + +For the size of the task involved Project Blue Book was always +understaffed, even though I did have ten people on my regular staff +plus many paid consultants representing every field of science. All +of us on Project Blue Book had Top Secret security clearances so that +security was no block in our investigations. Behind this organization +was a reporting network made up of every Air Force base intelligence +officer and every Air Force radar station in the world, and the Air +Defense Command's Ground Observer Corps. This reporting net sent +Project Blue Book reports on every conceivable type of UFO, by every +conceivable type of person. + +What did these people actually see when they reported that they had +observed a UFO? Putting aside truly unidentifiable flying objects for +the present, this question has several answers. + +In many instances it has been positively proved that people have +reported balloons, airplanes, stars, and many other common objects as +UFO's. The people who make such reports don't recognize these common +objects because something in their surroundings temporarily assumes +an unfamiliar appearance. + +Unusual lighting conditions are a common cause of such illusions. A +balloon will glow like a "ball of fire" just at sunset. Or an +airplane that is not visible to the naked eye suddenly starts to +reflect the sun's rays and appears to be a "silver ball." Pilots in F- +94 jet interceptors chase Venus in the daytime and fight with +balloons at night, and people in Los Angeles see weird lights. + +On October 8, 1954, many Los Angeles newspapers and newscasters +carried an item about a group of flying saucers, bright lights, +flying in a V formation. The lights had been seen from many locations +over Southern California. Pilots saw them while bringing their +airplanes into Los Angeles International Airport, Air Force pilots +flying out of Long Beach saw them, two CBS reporters in Hollywood +gave an eyewitness account, and countless people called police and +civil defense officials. All of them excitedly reported lights they +could not identify. The next day the Air Force identified the UFO's; +they were Air Force airplanes, KC-97 aerial tankers, refueling B-47 +jet bombers in flight. The reason for the weird effect that startled +so many Southern Californians was that when the refueling is taking +place a floodlight on the bottom of the tanker airplane lights up the +bomber that is being refueled. The airplanes were flying high, and +slowly, so no sound was heard; only the bright floodlights could be +seen. Since most people, even other pilots, have never seen a night +aerial refueling operation and could not identify the odd lights they +saw, the lights became UFO's. + +In other instances common everyday objects look like UFO's because +of some odd quirk in the human mind. A star or planet that has been +in the sky every day of the observer's life suddenly "takes off at +high speed on a highly erratic flight path." Or a vapor trail from a +high-flying jet--seen a hundred times before by the observer--becomes +a flying saucer. + +Some psychologists explain such aberrations as being akin to the +crowd behavior mechanism at work in the "bobby-sox craze." Teen-agers +don't know why they squeal and swoon when their current fetish sways +and croons. Yet everybody else is squealing, so they squeal too. +Maybe that great comedian, Jimmy Durante, has the answer: "Everybody +wants to get into the act." I am convinced that a certain percentage +of UFO reports come from people who see flying saucers because others +report seeing them. + +But this "will to see" may have deeper roots, almost religious +implications, for some people. Consciously or unconsciously, they +want UFO's to be real and to come from outer space. These +individuals, frightened perhaps by threats of atomic destruction, or +lesser fears--who knows what--act as if nothing that men can do can +save the earth. Instead, they seek salvation from outer space, on the +forlorn premise that flying saucer men, by their very existence, are +wiser and more advanced than we. Such people may reason that a race +of men capable of interplanetary travel have lived well into, or +through, an atomic age. They have survived and they can tell us their +secret of survival. Maybe the threat of an atomic war unified their +planet and allowed them to divert their war effort to one of social +and technical advancement. To such people a searchlight on a cloud or +a bright star is an interplanetary spaceship. + +If all the UFO reports that the Air Force has received in the past +eight years could be put in this "psychological quirk" category, +Project Blue Book would never have been organized. It is another +class of reports that causes the Air Force to remain interested in +UFO's. This class of reports are called "Unknowns." + +In determining the identity of a UFO, the project based its method +of operation on a well-known psychological premise. This premise is +that to get a reaction from one of the senses there must be a +stimulus. If you think you see a UFO you must have seen something. +Pure hallucinations are extremely rare. + +For anything flying in the air the stimulus could be anything that +is normally seen in the air. Balloons, airplanes, and astronomical +bodies are the commoner stimuli. Birds and insects are common also, +but usually are seen at such close range that they are nearly always +recognized. Infrequently observed things, such as sundogs, mirages, +huge fireballs, and a host of other unusual flying objects, are also +known stimuli. + +On Project Blue Book our problem was to identify these stimuli. We +had methods for checking the location, at any time, of every balloon +launched anywhere in the United States. To a certain degree the same +was true for airplanes. The UFO observer's estimate of where the +object was located in the sky helped us to identify astronomical +bodies. Huge files of UFO characteristics, along with up-to-the- +minute weather data, and advice from specialists, permitted us to +identify such things as sun-dogs, paper caught in updrafts, huge +meteors, etc. + +This determination of the stimuli that triggered UFO sightings, +while not an insurmountable task, was a long, tedious process. The +identification of known objects was routine, and caused no +excitement. The excitement and serious interest occurred when we +received UFO reports in which the observer was reliable and the +stimuli could not be identified. These were the reports that +challenged the project and caused me to spend hours briefing top U.S. +officials. These were the reports that we called "Unknowns." + +Of the several thousand UFO reports that the Air Force has received +since 1947, some 15 to 20 per cent fall into this category called +unknown. This means that the observer was not affected by any +determinable psychological quirks and that after exhaustive +investigation the object that was reported could not be identified. +To be classed as an unknown, a UFO report also had to be "good," +meaning that it had to come from a competent observer and had to +contain a reasonable amount of data. + +Reports are often seen in the newspapers that say: "Mrs. Henry +Jones, of 5464 South Elm, said that 10:00A.M. she was shaking her +dust mop out of the bedroom window when she saw a flying saucer"; or +"Henry Armstrong was driving between Grundy Center and Rienbeck last +night when he saw a light. Henry thinks it was a flying saucer." This +is not a good UFO report. + +This type of UFO report, if it was received by Project Blue Book, +was stamped "Insufficient Data for Evaluation" and dropped into the +dead file, where it became a mere statistic. + +Next to the "Insufficient Data" file was a file marked "C.P." This +meant crackpot. Into this file went all reports from people who had +talked with flying saucer crews, who had inspected flying saucers +that had landed in the United States, who had ridden in flying +saucers, or who were members of flying saucer crews. By Project Blue +Book standards, these were not "good" UFO reports either. + +But here is a "good" UFO report with an "unknown" conclusion: + +On July 24, 1952, two Air Force colonels, flying a B-25, took off +from Hamilton Air Force Base, near San Francisco, for Colorado +Springs, Colorado. The day was clear, not a cloud in the sky. + +The colonels had crossed the Sierra Nevada between Sacramento and +Reno and were flying east at 11,000 feet on "Green 3," the aerial +highway to Salt Lake City. At 3:40P.M. they were over the Carson Sink +area of Nevada, when one of the colonels noticed three objects ahead +of them and a little to their right. The objects looked like three F- +86's flying a tight V formation. If they were F-86's they should have +been lower, according to civil air regulations, but on a clear day +some pilots don't watch their altitude too closely. + +In a matter of seconds the three aircraft were close enough to the B- +25 to be clearly seen. They were not F-86's. They were three bright +silver, delta wing craft with no tails and no pilot's canopies. The +only thing that broke the sharply defined, clean upper surface of the +triangular wing was a definite ridge that ran from the nose to the +tail. + +In another second the three deltas made a slight left bank and shot +by the B-25 at terrific speed. The colonels estimated that the speed +was at least three times that of an F-86. They got a good look at the +three deltas as the unusual craft passed within 400 to 800 yards of +the B-25. + +When they landed at Colorado Springs, the two colonels called the +intelligence people at Air Defense Command Headquarters to make a UFO +report. The suggestion was offered that they might have seen three F- +86's. The colonels promptly replied that if the objects had been F- +86's they would have easily been recognized as such. The colonels +knew what F-86's looked like. + +Air Defense Command relayed the report to Project Blue Book. An +investigation was started at once. + +Flight Service, which clears all military aircraft flights, was +contacted and asked about the location of aircraft near the Carson +Sink area at 3:40P.M. They had no record of the presence of aircraft +in that area. + +Since the colonels had mentioned delta wing aircraft, and both the +Air Force and the Navy had a few of this type, we double-checked. The +Navy's deltas were all on the east coast, at least all of the silver +ones were. A few deltas painted the traditional navy blue were on the +west coast, but not near Carson Sink. The Air Force's one delta was +temporarily grounded. + +Since balloons once in a while can appear to have an odd shape, all +balloon flights were checked for both standard weather balloons and +the big 100-foot-diameter research balloons. Nothing was found. + +A quick check on the two colonels revealed that both of them were +command pilots and that each had several thousand hours of flying +time. They were stationed at the Pentagon. Their highly classified +assignments were such that they would be in a position to recognize +_anything_ that the United States knows to be flying anywhere in the +world. + +Both men had friends who had "seen flying saucers" at some time, but +both had openly voiced their skepticism. Now, from what the colonels +said when they were interviewed after landing at Colorado Springs, +they had changed their opinions. + +Nobody knows what the two colonels saw over Carson Sink. However, it +is always possible to speculate. Maybe they just thought they were +close enough to the three objects to see them plainly. The objects +might have been three F-86's: maybe Flight Service lost the records. +It could be that the three F-86's had taken off to fly in the local +area of their base but had decided to do some illegal sight-seeing. +Flight Service would have no record of a flight like this. Maybe both +of the colonels had hallucinations. + +There is a certain mathematical probability that any one of the +above speculative answers is correct--correct for this one case. If +you try this type of speculation on hundreds of sightings with +"unknown" answers, the probability that the speculative answers are +correct rapidly approaches zero. + +Maybe the colonels actually did see what they thought they did, a +type of craft completely foreign to them. + +Another good UFO report provides an incident in which there is +hardly room for any speculation of this type. The conclusion is more +simply, "Unknown," period. + +On January 20, 1952, at seven-twenty in the evening, two master +sergeants, both intelligence specialists, were walking down a street +on the Fairchild Air Force Base, close to Spokane, Washington. + +Suddenly both men noticed a large, bluish-white, spherical-shaped +object approaching from the east. They stopped and watched the object +carefully, because several of these UFO's had been reported by pilots +from the air base over the past few months. The sergeants had written +up the reports on these earlier sightings. + +The object was traveling at a moderately fast speed on a horizontal +path. As it passed to the north of their position and disappeared in +the west, the sergeants noted that it had a long blue tail. At no +time did they hear any sound. They noted certain landmarks that the +object had crossed and estimated the time taken in passing these +landmarks. The next day they went out and measured the angles between +these landmarks in order to include them in their report. + +When we got the report at ATIC, our first reaction was that the +master sergeants had seen a large meteor. From the evidence I had +written off, as meteors, all previous similar UFO reports from this +air base. + +The sergeants' report, however, contained one bit of information +that completely changed the previous picture. At the time of the +sighting there had been a solid 6,000-foot-thick overcast at 4,700 +feet. And meteors don't go that low. + +A few quick calculations gave a rather fantastic answer. If the +object was just at the base of the clouds it would have been 10,000 +feet from the two observers and traveling 1,400 miles per hour. + +But regardless of the speed, the story was still fantastic. The +object was no jet airplane because there was no sound. It was not a +searchlight because there were none on the air base. It was not an +automobile spotlight because a spotlight will not produce the type of +light the sergeants described. As a double check, however, both men +were questioned on this point. They stated firmly that they had seen +hundreds of searchlights and spotlights playing on clouds, and that +this was not what they saw. + +Beyond these limited possibilities the sergeants' UFO discourages +fruitful speculation. The object remains unidentified. + +The UFO reports made by the two colonels and the two master +sergeants are typical of hundreds of other good UFO reports which +carry the verdict, "Conclusion unknown." + +Some of these UFO reports have been publicized, but many have not. +Very little information pertaining to UFO's was withheld from the +press--if the press knew of the occurrence of specific sightings. Our +policy on releasing information was to answer only direct questions +from the press. If the press didn't know about a given UFO incident, +they naturally couldn't ask questions about it. Consequently such +stories were never released. In other instances, when the particulars +of a UFO sighting were released, they were only the bare facts about +what was reported. Any additional information that might have been +developed during later investigations and analyses was not released. + +There is a great deal of interest in UFO's and the interest shows no +signs of diminishing. Since the first flying saucer skipped across +the sky in the summer of 1947, thousands of words on this subject +have appeared in every newspaper and most magazines in the United +States. During a six-month period in 1952 alone 148 of the nation's +leading newspapers carried a total of over 16,000 items about flying +saucers. + +During July 1952 reports of flying saucers sighted over Washington, +D.C., cheated the Democratic National Convention out of precious +headline space. + +The subject of flying saucers, which has generated more unscientific +behavior than any other topic of modern times, has been debated at +the meetings of professional scientific societies, causing scientific +tempers to flare where unemotional objectivity is supposed to reign +supreme. + +Yet these thousands of written words and millions of spoken words-- +all attesting to the general interest--have generated more heat than +light. Out of this avalanche of print and talk, the full, factual, +true story of UFO's has emerged only on rare occasions. The general +public, for its interest in UFO's, has been paid off in misinformation. + +Many civilian groups must have sensed this, for while I was chief of +Project Blue Book I had dozens of requests to speak on the subject of +UFO's. These civilian requests had to be turned down because of +security regulations. + +I did give many official briefings, however, behind closed doors, to +certain groups associated with the government--all of them upon +request. + +The subject of UFO's was added to a regular series of intelligence +briefings given to students at the Air Force's Command and Staff +School, and to classes at the Air Force's Intelligence School. + +I gave briefings to the technical staff at the Atomic Energy +Commission's Los Alamos laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was +built. The theater where this briefing took place wouldn't hold all +of the people who tried to get in, so the briefing was recorded and +replayed many times. The same thing happened at AEC's Sandia Base, +near Albuquerque. + +Many groups in the Pentagon and the Office of Naval Research +requested UFO briefings. Civilian groups, made up of some of the +nation's top scientists and industrialists, and formed to study +special military problems, worked in a UFO briefing. Top Air Force +commanders were given periodic briefings. + +Every briefing I gave was followed by a discussion that lasted +anywhere from one to four hours. + +In addition to these, Project Blue Book published a classified +monthly report on UFO activity. Requests to be put on distribution +for this report were so numerous that the distribution had to be +restricted to major Air Force Command Headquarters. + +This interest was not caused by any revolutionary information that +was revealed in the briefings or reports. It stemmed only from a +desire to get the facts about an interesting subject. + +Many aspects of the UFO problem were covered in these official +briefings. I would give details of many of the better reports we +received, our conclusions about them, and how those conclusions were +reached. If we had identified a UFO, the audience was told how the +identification was made. If we concluded that the answer to a UFO +sighting was "Unknown," the audience learned why we were convinced it +was unknown. + +Among the better sightings that were described fully to interested +government groups were: the complete story of the Lubbock Lights, +including the possible sighting of the same V-shaped light formations +at other locations on the same night; the story of a group of +scientists who detected mysterious nuclear radiation when UFO's were +sighted; and all of the facts behind such famous cases as the Mantell +Incident, the Florida scoutmaster who was burned by a "flying +saucer," and headline-capturing sightings at Washington, D.C. + +I showed them what few photographs we had, the majority of which +everyone has seen, since they have been widely published in magazines +and newspapers. Our collection of photographs was always a +disappointment as far as positive proof was concerned because, in a +sense, if you've seen one you've seen them all. We had no clear +pictures of a saucer, just an assortment of blurs, blotches, and +streaks of light. + +The briefings included a description of how Project Blue Book +operated and a survey of the results of the many studies that were +made of the mass of UFO data we had collected. Also covered were our +interviews with a dozen North American astronomers, the story of the +unexplained green fireballs of New Mexico, and an account of how a +committee of six distinguished United States scientists spent many +hours attempting to answer the question, "Are the UFO's from outer +space?" + +Unfortunately the general public was never able to hear these +briefings. For a long time, contrary to present thinking in military +circles, I have believed that the public also is entitled to know the +details of what was covered in these briefings (less, of course, the +few items pertaining to radar that were classified "Secret," and the +names of certain people). But withholding these will not alter the +facts in any way. + +A lot has already been written on the subject of UFO's, but none of +it presents the true, complete story. Previous forays into the UFO +field have been based on inadequate information and have been warped +to fit the personal biases of the individual writers. Well meaning +though these authors may be, the degree to which their books have +misinformed the public is incalculable. + +It is high time that we let the people know. + +The following chapters present the true and complete UFO story, +based on what I learned about UFO's while I was chief of Project Blue +Book, the Air Force's project for the investigation and analysis of +UFO reports. Here is the same information that I gave to Secretary of +the Air Force, Thomas K. Finletter, to the Air Force commanders, to +scientists and industrialists. This is what the Air Force knows about +unidentified flying objects. + +You may not agree with some of the official ideas or conclusions-- +neither did a lot of people I briefed--but this is the story. + + + +CHAPTER TWO + +The Era of Confusion Begins + +On September 23, 1947, the chief of the Air Technical Intelligence +Center, one of the Air Force's most highly specialized intelligence +units, sent a letter to the Commanding General of the then Army Air +Forces. + +The letter was in answer to the Commanding General's verbal request +to make a preliminary study of the reports of unidentified flying +objects. The letter said that after a preliminary study of UFO +reports, ATIC concluded that, to quote from the letter, "the reported +phenomena were real." The letter strongly urged that a permanent +project be established at ATIC to investigate and analyze future UFO +reports. It requested a priority for the project, a registered code +name, and an over-all security classification. ATICs request was +granted and Project Sign, the forerunner of Project Grudge and +Project Blue Book, was launched. It was given a 2A priority, 1A being +the highest priority an Air Force project could have. With this the +Air Force dipped into the most prolonged and widespread controversy +it has ever, or may ever, encounter. The Air Force grabbed the +proverbial bear by the tail and to this day it hasn't been able to +let loose. + +The letter to the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces from the +chief of ATIC had used the word "phenomena." History has shown that +this was not a too well-chosen word. But on September 23, 1947, when +the letter was written, ATICs intelligence specialists were confident +that within a few months or a year they would have the answer to the +question, "What are UFO's?" The question, "Do UFO's exist?" was never +mentioned. The only problem that confronted the people at ATIC was, +"Were the UFO's of Russian or interplanetary origin?" Either case +called for a serious, secrecy-shrouded project. Only top people at +ATIC were assigned to Project Sign. + +Although a formal project for UFO investigation wasn't set up until +September 1947, the Air Force had been vitally interested in UFO +reports ever since June 24, 1947, the day Kenneth Arnold made the +original UFO report. + +As Arnold's story of what he saw that day has been handed down by +the bards of saucerism, the true facts have been warped, twisted, and +changed. Even some points in Arnold's own account of his sighting as +published in his book, _The_ _Coming_ _of_ _the_ _Saucers_, do not +jibe with what the official files say he told the Air Force in 1947. +Since this incident was the original UFO sighting, I used to get many +inquiries about it from the press and at briefings. To get the true +and accurate story of what did happen to Kenneth Arnold on June 24, +1947, I had to go back through old newspaper files, official reports, +and talk to people who had worked on Project Sign. By cross-checking +these data and talking to people who had heard Arnold tell about his +UFO sighting soon after it happened, I finally came up with what I +believe is the accurate story. + +Arnold had taken off from Chehalis, Washington, intending to fly to +Yakima, Washington. About 3:00P.M. he arrived in the vicinity of +Mount Rainier. There was a Marine Corps C-46 transport plane lost in +the Mount Rainier area, so Arnold decided to fly around awhile and +look for it. He was looking down at the ground when suddenly he +noticed a series of bright flashes off to his left. He looked for the +source of the flashes and saw a string of nine very bright disk- +shaped objects, which he estimated to be 45 to 50 feet in length. +They were traveling from north to south across the nose of his +airplane. They were flying in a reversed echelon (i.e., lead object +high with the rest stepped down), and as they flew along they weaved +in and out between the mountain peaks, once passing behind one of the +peaks. Each individual object had a skipping motion described by +Arnold as a "saucer skipping across water." + +During the time that the objects were in sight, Arnold had clocked +their speed. He had marked his position and their position on the map +and again noted the time. When he landed he sketched in the flight +path that the objects had flown and computed their speed, almost +1,700 miles per hour. He estimated that they had been 20 to 25 miles +away and had traveled 47 miles in 102 seconds. + +I found that there was a lot of speculation on this report. Two +factions at ATIC had joined up behind two lines of reasoning. One +side said that Arnold had seen plain, everyday jet airplanes flying +in formation. This side's argument was based on the physical +limitations of the human eye, visual acuity, the eye's ability to see +a small, distant object. Tests, they showed, had proved that a person +with normal vision can't "see" an object that subtends an angle of +less than 0.2 second of arc. For example, a basketball can't be seen +at a distance of several miles but if you move the basketball closer +and closer, at some point you will be able to see it. At this point +the angle between the top and bottom of the ball and your eye will be +about 0.2 of a second of arc. This was applied to Arnold's sighting. +The "Arnold-saw-airplanes" faction maintained that since Arnold said +that the objects were 45 to 50 feet long they would have had to be +much closer than he had estimated or he couldn't even have seen them +at all. Since they were much closer than he estimated, Arnold's timed +speed was all wrong and instead of going 1,700 miles per hour the +objects were traveling at a speed closer to 400 miles per hour, the +speed of a jet. There was no reason to believe they weren't jets. The +jets appeared to have a skipping motion because Arnold had looked at +them through layers of warm and cold air, like heat waves coming from +a hot pavement that cause an object to shimmer. + +The other side didn't buy this idea at all. They based their +argument on the fact that Arnold knew where the objects were when he +timed them. + +After all, he was an old mountain pilot and was as familiar with the +area around the Cascade Mountains as he was with his own living room. +To cinch this point the fact that the objects had passed _behind_ a +mountain peak was brought up. This positively established the +distance the objects were from Arnold and confirmed his calculated +1,700-miles-per-hour speed. Besides, no airplane can weave in and out +between mountain peaks in the short time that Arnold was watching +them. The visual acuity factor only strengthened the "Arnold-saw-a- +flying-saucer" faction's theory that what he'd seen was a spaceship. +If he could see the objects 20 to 25 miles away, they must have been +about 210 feet long instead of the poorly estimated 45 to 50 feet. + +In 1947 this was a fantastic story, but now it is just another UFO +report marked "Unknown." It is typical in that if the facts are +accurate, if Arnold actually did see the UFO's go _behind_ a mountain +peak, and if he knew his exact position at the time, the UFO problem +cannot be lightly sloughed off; but there are always "ifs" in UFO +reports. This is the type of report that led Major General John A. +Samford, Director of Intelligence for Headquarters, Air Force, to +make the following comment during a press conference in July 1952: +"However, there have remained a percentage of this total [of all UFO +reports received by the Air Force], about 20 per cent of the reports, +that have come from credible observers of relatively incredible +things. We keep on being concerned about them." + +In warping, twisting, and changing the Arnold incident, the writers +of saucer lore haven't been content to confine themselves to the +incident itself; they have dragged in the crashed Marine Corps' C-46. +They intimate that the same flying saucers that Arnold saw shot down +the C-46, grabbed up the bodies of the passengers and crew, and now +have them pickled at the University of Venus Medical School. As proof +they apply the same illogical reasoning that they apply to most +everything. The military never released photos of the bodies of the +dead men, therefore there were no bodies. There were photographs and +there were bodies. In consideration of the families of air crewmen +and passengers, photos of air crashes showing dead bodies are never +released. + +Arnold himself seems to be the reason for a lot of the excitement +that heralded flying saucers. Stories of odd incidents that occur in +this world are continually being reported by newspapers, but never on +the scale of the first UFO report. Occasional stories of the +"Himalayan snowmen," or the "Malayan monsters," rate only a few +inches or a column on the back pages of newspapers. Arnold's story, +if it didn't make the headlines, at least made the front page. I had +the reason for this explained to me one day when I was investigating +a series of UFO reports in California in the spring of 1952. + +I was making my headquarters at an air base where a fighter-bomber +wing was stationed. Through a mutual friend I met one of the fighter- +bomber pilots who had known Arnold. In civilian life the pilot was a +newspaper reporter and had worked on the original Arnold story. He +told me that when the story first broke all the newspaper editors in +the area were thoroughly convinced that the incident was a hoax, and +that they intended to write the story as such. The more they dug into +the facts, however, and into Arnold's reputation, the more it +appeared that he was telling the truth. Besides having an +unquestionable character, he was an excellent mountain pilot, and +mountain pilots are a breed of men who know every nook and cranny of +the mountains in their area. The most fantastic part of Arnold's +story had been the 1,700-miles-per-hour speed computed from Arnold's +timing the objects between two landmarks. "When Arnold told us how he +computed the speed," my chance acquaintance told me, "we all put a +lot of faith in his story." He went on to say that when the editors +found out that they were wrong about the hoax, they did a complete +about-face, and were very much impressed by the story. This +enthusiasm spread, and since the Air Force so quickly denied +ownership of the objects, all of the facts built up into a story so +unique that papers all over the world gave it front-page space. + +There was an old theory that maybe Arnold had seen wind whipping +snow along the mountain ridges, so I asked about this. I got a flat +"Impossible." My expert on the early Arnold era said, "I've lived in +the Pacific Northwest many years and have flown in the area for +hundreds of hours. It's impossible to get powder snow low in the +mountains in June. Personally, I believe Arnold saw some kind of +aircraft and they weren't from this earth." He went on to tell me +about two other very similar sightings that had happened the day +after Arnold saw the nine disks. He knew the people who made these +sightings and said that they weren't the kind to go off "half +cocked." He offered to get a T-6 and fly me up to Boise to talk to +them since they had never made a report to the military, but I had to +return to Dayton so I declined. + +Within a few days of Arnold's sighting, others began to come in. On +June 28 an Air Force pilot in an F-51 was flying near Lake Mead, +Nevada, when he saw a formation of five or six circular objects off +his right wing. This was about three-fifteen in the afternoon. + +That night at nine-twenty, four Air Force officers, two pilots, and +two intelligence officers from Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama, +saw a bright light traveling across the sky. It was first seen just +above the horizon, and as it traveled toward the observers it +"zigzagged," with bursts of high speed. When it was directly overhead +it made a sharp 90-degree turn and was lost from view as it traveled +south. + +Other reports came in. In Milwaukee a lady saw ten go over her house +"like blue blazes," heading south. A school bus driver in Clarion, +Iowa, saw an object streak across the sky. In a few seconds twelve +more followed the first one. White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico +chalked up the first of the many sightings that this location would +produce when several people riding in an automobile saw a pulsating +light travel from horizon to horizon in thirty seconds. A Chicago +housewife saw one "with legs." + +The week of July 4, 1947, set a record for reports that was not +broken until 1952. The center of activity was the Portland, Oregon, +area. At 11:00A.M. a carload of people driving near Redmond saw four +disk-shaped objects streaking past Mount Jefferson. At 1:05P.M. a +policeman was in the parking lot behind the Portland City Police +Headquarters when he noticed some pigeons suddenly began to flutter +around as if they were scared. He looked up and saw five large disk- +shaped objects, two going south and three going east. They were +traveling at a high rate of speed and seemed to be oscillating about +their lateral axis. Minutes later two other policemen, both ex- +pilots, reported three of the same things flying in trail. Before +long the harbor patrol called into headquarters. A crew of four +patrolmen had seen three to six of the disks, "shaped like chrome hub +caps," traveling very fast. They also oscillated as they flew. Then +the citizens of Portland began to see them. A man saw one going east +and two going north. At four-thirty a woman called in and had just +seen one that looked like "a new dime flipping around." Another man +reported two, one going southeast, one northeast. From Milwaukie, +Oregon, three were reported going northwest. In Vancouver, +Washington, sheriff's deputies saw twenty to thirty. + +The first photo was taken on July 4 in Seattle. After much publicity +it turned out to be a weather balloon. + +That night a United Airlines crew flying near Emmett, Idaho, saw +five. The pilot's report read: + +Five "somethings," which were thin and smooth on the bottom and +rough-appearing on top, were seen silhouetted against the sunset +shortly after the plane took off from Boise at 8:04P.M. We saw them +clearly. We followed them in a northeasterly direction for about 45 +miles. They finally disappeared. We were unable to tell whether they +outsped us or disintegrated. We can't say whether they were +"smearlike," oval, or anything else but whatever they were they were +not aircraft, clouds or smoke. + +Civilians did not have a corner on the market. On July 6 a staff +sergeant in Birmingham, Alabama, saw several "dim, glowing lights" +speeding across the sky and photographed one of them. Also on the +sixth the crew of an Air Force B-25 saw a bright, disk-shaped object +"low at nine o'clock." This is one of the few reports of an object +lower than the aircraft. At Fairfield-Suisun AFB in California a +pilot saw something travel three quarters of the way across the sky +in a few seconds. It, too, was oscillating on its lateral axis. + +According to the old hands at ATIC, the first sighting that really +made the Air Force take a deep interest in UFO's occurred on July 8 +at Muroc Air Base (now Edwards AFB), the supersecret Air Force test +center in the Mojave Desert of California. At 10:10A.M. a test pilot +was running up the engine of the then new XP-84 in preparation for a +test flight. He happened to look up and to the north he saw what +first appeared to be a weather balloon traveling in a westerly +direction. After watching it a few seconds, he changed his mind. He +had been briefed on the high-altitude winds, and the object he saw +was going against the wind. Had it been the size of a normal +aircraft, the test pilot estimated that it would have been at 10,000 +to 12,000 feet and traveling 200 to 225 miles per hour. He described +the object as being spherically shaped and yellowish white in color. + +Ten minutes before this several other officers and airmen had seen +three objects. They were similar except they had more of a silver +color. They were also heading in a westerly direction. + +Two hours later a crew of technicians on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent +to Muroc Air Base, observed another UFO. Their report went as follows: + +On the 8 July 1947 at 11:50 we were sitting in an observation truck +located in Area #3, Rogers Dry Lake. We were gazing upward toward a +formation of two P-82's and an A-26 aircraft flying at 20,000 feet. +They were preparing to carry out a seat-ejection experiment. We +observed a round object, white aluminum color, which at first +resembled a parachute canopy. Our first impression was that a +premature ejection of the seat and dummy had occurred but this was +not the case. The object was lower than 20,000 feet, and was falling +at three times the rate observed for the test parachute, which +ejected thirty seconds after we first saw the object. As the object +fell it drifted slightly north of due west against the prevailing +wind. The speed, horizontal motion, could not be determined, but it +appeared to be slower than the maximum velocity F-80 aircraft. + +As this object descended through a low enough level to permit +observation of its lateral silhouette, it presented a distinct oval- +shaped outline, with two projections on the upper surface which might +have been thick fins or nobs. These crossed each other at intervals, +suggesting either rotation or oscillation of slow type. + +No smoke, flames, propeller arcs, engine noise, or other plausible +or visible means of propulsion were noted. The color was silver, +resembling an aluminum-painted fabric, and did not appear as dense as +a parachute canopy. + +When the object dropped to a level such that it came into line of +vision of the mountain tops, it was lost to the vision of the +observers. + +It is estimated that the object was in sight about 90 seconds. Of +the five people sitting in the observation truck, four observed this +object. + +The following is our opinion about this object: + +It was man-made, as evidenced by the outline and functional +appearance. + +Seeing this was not a hallucination or other fancies of sense. + +Exactly four hours later the pilot of an F-51 was flying at 20,000 +feet about 40 miles south of Muroc Air Base when he sighted a "flat +object of a light-reflecting nature." He reported that it had no +vertical fin or wings. When he first saw it, the object was above him +and he tried to climb up to it, but his F-51 would not climb high +enough. All air bases in the area were contacted but they had no +aircraft in the area. + +By the end of July 1947 the UFO security lid was down tight. The few +members of the press who did inquire about what the Air Force was +doing got the same treatment that you would get today if you inquired +about the number of thermonuclear weapons stock-piled in the U.S.'s +atomic arsenal. No one, outside of a few high-ranking officers in the +Pentagon, knew what the people in the barbed-wire enclosed Quonset +huts that housed the Air Technical Intelligence Center were thinking +or doing. + +The memos and correspondence that Project Blue Book inherited from +the old UFO projects told the story of the early flying saucer era. +These memos and pieces of correspondence showed that the UFO +situation was considered to be serious; in fact, very serious. The +paper work of that period also indicated the confusion that +surrounded the investigation; confusion almost to the point of panic. +The brass wanted an answer, quickly, and people were taking off in +all directions. Everyone's theory was as good as the next and each +person with any weight at ATIC was plugging and investigating his own +theory. The ideas as to the origin of the UFO's fell into two main +categories, earthly and non-earthly. In the earthly category the +Russians led, with the U.S. Navy and their XF-5-U-1, the "Flying +Flapjack," pulling a not too close second. The desire to cover all +leads was graphically pointed up to be a personal handwritten note I +found in a file. It was from ATIC's chief to a civilian intelligence +specialist. It said, "Are you positive that the Navy junked the XF-5- +U-1 project?" The non-earthly category ran the gamut of theories, +with space animals trailing interplanetary craft about the same +distance the Navy was behind the Russians. + +This confused speculating lasted only a few weeks. Then the +investigation narrowed down to the Soviets and took off on a much +more methodical course of action. + +When World War II ended, the Germans had several radical types of +aircraft and guided missiles under development. The majority of these +projects were in the most preliminary stages but they were the only +known craft that could even approach the performance of the objects +reported by UFO observers. Like the Allies, after World War II the +Soviets had obtained complete sets of data on the latest German +developments. This, coupled with rumors that the Soviets were +frantically developing the German ideas, caused no small degree of +alarm. As more UFO's were observed near the Air Force's Muroc Test +Center, the Army's White Sands Proving Ground, and atomic bomb +plants, ATIC's efforts became more concentrated. + +Wires were sent to intelligence agents in Germany requesting that +they find out exactly how much progress had been made on the various +German projects. + +The last possibility, of course, was that the Soviets had discovered +some completely new aerodynamic concept that would give saucer +performance. + +While ATIC technical analysts were scouring the United States for +data on the German projects and the intelligence agents in Germany +were seeking out the data they had been asked for, UFO reports +continued to flood the country. The Pacific Northwest still led with +the most sightings, but every state in the Union was reporting a few +flying saucers. + +At first there was no co-ordinated effort to collect data on the UFO +reports. Leads would come from radio reports or newspaper items. +Military intelligence agencies outside of ATIC were hesitant to +investigate on their own initiative because, as is so typical of the +military, they lacked specific orders. When no orders were +forthcoming, they took this to mean that the military had no interest +in the UFO's. But before long this placid attitude changed, and +changed drastically. Classified orders came down to investigate _all_ +UFO sightings. Get every detail and send it direct to ATIC at Wright +Field. The order carried no explanation as to why the information was +wanted. This lack of an explanation and the fact that the information +was to be sent directly to a high-powered intelligence group within +Air Force Headquarters stirred the imagination of every potential +cloak-and-dagger man in the military intelligence system. +Intelligence people in the field who had previously been free with +opinions now clammed up tight. + +The era of confusion was progressing. + +Early statements to the press, which shaped the opinion of the +public, didn't reduce the confusion factor. While ATIC was grimly +expending maximum effort in a serious study, "certain high-placed +officials" were officially chuckling at the mention of UFO's. + +In July 1947 an International News Service wire story quoted the +public relations officer at Wright Field as saying, "So far we +haven't found anything to confirm that saucers exist. We don't think +they are guided missiles." He went on to say, "As things are now, +they appear to be either a phenomenon or a figment of somebody's +imagination." + +A few weeks later a lieutenant colonel who was Assistant to the +Chief of Staff of the Fourth Air Force was widely quoted as saying, +"There is no basis for belief in flying saucers in the Tacoma area +[referring to a UFO sighting in the area of Tacoma, Washington], or +any other area." + +The "experts," in their stories of saucer lore, have said that these +brush-offs of the UFO sightings were intentional smoke screens to +cover the facts by adding confusion. This is not true; it was merely +a lack of coordination. But had the Air Force tried to throw up a +screen of confusion, they couldn't have done a better job. + +When the lieutenant colonel from the Fourth Air Force made his +widely publicized denunciation of saucer believers he specifically +mentioned a UFO report from the Tacoma, Washington, area. + +The report of the investigation of this incident, the Maury Island +Mystery, was one of the most detailed reports of the early UFO era. +The report that we had in our files had been pieced together by Air +Force Intelligence and other agencies because the two intelligence +officers who started the investigation couldn't finish it. They were +dead. + +For the Air Force the story started on July 31, 1947, when +Lieutenant Frank Brown, an intelligence agent at Hamilton AFB, +California, received a long-distance phone call. The caller was a man +whom 111 call Simpson, who had met Brown when Brown investigated an +earlier UFO sighting, and he had a hot lead on another UFO incident. +He had just talked to two Tacoma Harbor patrolmen. One of them had +seen six UFO's hover over his patrol boat and spew out chunks of odd +metal. Simpson had some of the pieces of the metal. + +The story sounded good to Lieutenant Brown, so he reported it to his +chief. His chief OK'd a trip and within an hour Lieutenant Brown and +Captain Davidson were flying to Tacoma in an Air Force B-25. When +they arrived they met Simpson and an airline pilot friend of his in +Simpson's hotel room. After the usual round of introductions Simpson +told Brown and Davidson that he had received a letter from a Chicago +publisher asking him, Simpson, to investigate this case. The +publisher had paid him $200 and wanted an exclusive on the story, but +things were getting too hot, Simpson wanted the military to take over. + +Simpson went on to say that he had heard about the experience off +Maury Island but that he wanted Brown and Davidson to hear it +firsthand. He had called the two harbor patrolmen and they were on +their way to the hotel. They arrived and they told their story. + +I'll call these two men Jackson and Richards although these aren't +their real names. In June 1947, Jackson said, his crew, his son, and +the son's dog were on his patrol boat patrolling near Maury Island, +an island in Puget Sound, about 3 miles from Tacoma. It was a gray +day, with a solid cloud deck down at about 2,500 feet. Suddenly +everyone on the boat noticed six "doughnut-shaped" objects, just +under the clouds, headed toward the boat. They came closer and +closer, and when they were about 500 feet over the boat they stopped. +One of the doughnut-shaped objects seemed to be in trouble as the +other five were hovering around it. They were close, and everybody +got a good look. The UFO's were about 100 feet in diameter, with the +"hole in the doughnut" being about 25 feet in diameter. They were a +silver color and made absolutely no noise. Each object had large +portholes around the edge. + +As the five UFO's circled the sixth, Jackson recalled, one of them +came in and appeared to make contact with the disabled craft. The two +objects maintained contact for a few minutes, then began to separate. +While this was going on, Jackson was taking photos. Just as they +began to separate, there was a dull "thud" and the next second the +UFO began to spew out sheets of very light metal from the hole in the +center. As these were fluttering to the water, the UFO began to throw +out a harder, rocklike material. Some of it landed on the beach of +Maury Island. Jackson took his crew and headed toward the beach of +Maury Island, but not before the boat was damaged, his son's arm had +been injured, and the dog killed. As they reached the island they +looked up and saw that the UFO's were leaving the area at high speed. +The harbor patrolman went on to tell how he scooped up several chunks +of the metal from the beach and boarded the patrol boat. He tried to +use his radio to summon aid, but for some unusual reason the +interference was so bad he couldn't even call the three miles to his +headquarters in Tacoma. When they docked at Tacoma, Jackson got first +aid for his son and then reported to his superior officer, Richards, +who, Jackson added to his story, didn't believe the tale. He didn't +believe it until he went out to the island himself and saw the metal. + +Jackson's trouble wasn't over. The next morning a mysterious visitor +told Jackson to forget what he'd seen. + +Later that same day the photos were developed. They showed the six +objects, but the film was badly spotted and fogged, as if the film +had been exposed to some kind of radiation. + +Then Simpson told about his brush with mysterious callers. He said +that Jackson was not alone as far as mysterious callers were +concerned, the Tacoma newspapers had been getting calls from an +anonymous tipster telling exactly what was going on in Simpson's +hotel room. This was a very curious situation because no one except +Simpson, the airline pilot, and the two harbor patrolmen knew what +was taking place. The room had even been thoroughly searched for +hidden microphones. + +That is the way the story stood a few hours after Lieutenant Brown +and Captain Davidson arrived in Tacoma. + +After asking Jackson and Richards a few questions, the two +intelligence agents left, reluctant even to take any of the +fragments. As some writers who have since written about this incident +have said, Brown and Davidson seemed to be anxious to leave and +afraid to touch the fragments of the UFO, as if they knew something +more about them. The two officers went to McChord AFB, near Tacoma, +where their B-25 was parked, held a conference with the intelligence +officer at McChord, and took off for their home base, Hamilton. When +they left McChord they had a good idea as to the identity of the +UFO's. Fortunately they told the McChord intelligence officer what +they had determined from their interview. + +In a few hours the two officers were dead. The B-25 crashed near +Kelso, Washington. The crew chief and a passenger had parachuted to +safety. The newspapers hinted that the airplane was sabotaged and +that it was carrying highly classified material. Authorities at +McChord AFB confirmed this latter point, the airplane was carrying +classified material. + +In a few days the newspaper publicity on the crash died down, and +the Maury Island Mystery was never publicly solved. + +Later reports say that the two harbor patrolmen mysteriously +disappeared soon after the fatal crash. + +They should have disappeared, into Puget Sound. The whole Maury +Island Mystery was a hoax. The first, possibly the second-best, and +the dirtiest hoax in the UFO history. One passage in the detailed +official report of the Maury Island Mystery says: + +Both ------ (the two harbor patrolmen) admitted that the rock +fragments had nothing to do with flying saucers. The whole thing was +a hoax. They had sent in the rock fragments [to a magazine publisher] +as a joke. ------ One of the patrolmen wrote to ------ [the +publisher] stating that the rock could have been part of a flying +saucer. He had said the rock came from a flying saucer because that's +what ------ [the publisher] wanted him to say. + +The publisher, mentioned above, who, one of the two hoaxers said, +wanted him to say that the rock fragments had come from a flying +saucer, is the same one who paid the man I called Simpson $200 to +investigate the case. + +The report goes on to explain more details of the incident. Neither +one of the two men could ever produce the photos. They "misplaced" +them, they said. One of them, I forget which, was the mysterious +informer who called the newspapers to report the conversations that +were going on in the hotel room. Jackson's mysterious visitor didn't +exist. Neither of the men was a harbor patrolman, they merely owned a +couple of beat-up old boats that they used to salvage floating lumber +from Puget Sound. The airplane crash was one of those unfortunate +things. An engine caught on fire, burned off, and just before the two +pilots could get out, the wing and tail tore off, making it +impossible for them to escape. The two dead officers from Hamilton +AFB smelled a hoax, accounting for their short interview and +hesitancy in bothering to take the "fragments." They confirmed their +convictions when they talked to the intelligence officer at McChord. +It had already been established, through an informer, that the +fragments were what Brown and Davidson thought, slag. The classified +material on the B-25 was a file of reports the two officers offered +to take back to Hamilton and had nothing to do with the Maury Island +Mystery, or better, the Maury Island Hoax. + +Simpson and his airline pilot friend weren't told about the hoax for +one reason. As soon as it was discovered that they had been "taken," +thoroughly, and were not a party to the hoax, no one wanted to +embarrass them. + +The majority of the writers of saucer lore have played this sighting +to the hilt, pointing out as their main premise the fact that the +story must be true because the government never openly exposed or +prosecuted either of the two hoaxers. This is a logical premise, but +a false one. The reason for the thorough investigation of the Maury +Island Hoax was that the government had thought seriously of +prosecuting the men. At the last minute it was decided, after talking +to the two men, that the hoax was a harmless joke that had +mushroomed, and that the loss of two lives and a B-25 could not be +directly blamed on the two men. The story wasn't even printed because +at the time of the incident, even though in this case the press knew +about it, the facts were classed as evidence. By the time the facts +were released they were yesterday's news. And nothing is deader than +yesterday's news. + +As 1947 drew to a close, the Air Force's Project Sign had outgrown +its initial panic and had settled down to a routine operation. Every +intelligence report dealing with the Germans' World War II +aeronautical research had been studied to find out if the Russians +could have developed any of the late German designs into flying +saucers. Aerodynamicists at ATIC and at Wright Field's Aircraft +Laboratory computed the maximum performance that could be expected +from the German designs. The designers of the aircraft themselves +were contacted. "Could the Russians develop a flying saucer from +their designs?" The answer was, "No, there was no conceivable way any +aircraft could perform that would match the reported maneuvers of the +UFO's." The Air Force's Aeromedical Laboratory concurred. If the +aircraft could be built, the human body couldn't stand the violent +maneuvers that were reported. The aircraft-structures people seconded +this, no material known could stand the loads of the reported +maneuvers and heat of the high speeds. + +Still convinced that the UFO's were real objects, the people at ATIC +began to change their thinking. Those who were convinced that the +UFO's were of Soviet origin now began to eye outer space, not because +there was any evidence that the UFO's did come from outer space but +because they were convinced that UFO's existed and only some unknown +race with a highly developed state of technology could build such +vehicles. As far as the effect on the human body was concerned, why +couldn't these people, whoever they might be, stand these horrible +maneuver forces? Why judge them by earthly standards? I found a memo +to this effect was in the old Project Sign files. + +Project Sign ended 1947 with a new problem. How do you collect +interplanetary intelligence? During World War II the organization +that was ATIC's forerunner, the Air Materiel Command's secret "T-2," +had developed highly effective means of wringing out every possible +bit of information about the technical aspects of enemy aircraft. +ATIC knew these methods, but how could this be applied to spaceships? +The problem was tackled with organized confusion. + +If the confusion in the minds of Air Force people was organized the +confusion in the minds of the public was not. Publicized statements +regarding the UFO were conflicting. + +A widely printed newspaper release, quoting an unnamed Air Force +official in the Pentagon, said: + +The "flying saucers" are one of three things: + +Solar reflections on low-hanging clouds. + +Small meteors that break up, their crystals catching the rays of the +sun. + +Icing conditions could have formed large hailstones and they might +have flattened out and glided. + +A follow-up, which quoted several scientists, said in essence that +the unnamed Air Force official was crazy. Nobody even heard of +crystallized meteors, or huge, flat hailstones, and the solar- +reflection theory was absurd. + +_Life_, _Time_, _Newsweek_, and many other news magazines carried +articles about the UFO's. Some were written with tongue in cheek, +others were not. All the articles mentioned the Air Force's mass- +hysterical induced hallucinations. But a Veterans' Administration +psychiatrist publicly pooh-poohed this. "Too many people are seeing +things," he said. + +It was widely suggested that all the UFO's were meteors. Two Chicago +astronomers queered this. Dr. Gerard Kuiper, director of the +University of Chicago observatory, was quoted as flatly saying the +UFO's couldn't be meteors. "They are probably man-made," he told the +Associated Press. Dr. Oliver Lee, director of Northwestern +University's observatory, agreed with Dr. Kuiper and he threw in an +additional confusion factor that had been in the back of many +people's minds. Maybe they were our own aircraft. + +The government had been denying that UFO's belonged to the U.S. from +the first, but Dr. Vannevar Bush, the world-famous scientist, and Dr. +Merle Tuve, inventor of the proximity fuse, added their weight. +"Impossible," they said. + +All of this time unnamed Air Force officials were disclaiming +serious interest in the UFO subject. Yet every time a newspaper +reporter went out to interview a person who had seen a UFO, +intelligence agents had already been flown in, gotten the detailed +story complete with sketches of the UFO, and sped back to their base +to send the report to Project Sign. Many people had supposedly been +"warned" not to talk too much. The Air Force was mighty interested in +hallucinations. + +Thus 1947 ended with various-sized question marks in the mind of the +public. If you followed flying saucers closely the question mark was +big, if you just noted the UFO story titles in the papers it was +smaller, but it was there and it was growing. Probably none of the +people, military or civilian, who had made the public statements were +at all qualified to do so but they had done it, their comments had +been printed, and their comments had been read. Their comments formed +the question mark. + + + +CHAPTER THREE + +The Classics + +1948 was only one hour and twenty-five minutes old when a gentleman +from Abilene, Texas, made the first UFO report of the year. What he +saw, "a fan-shaped glow" in the sky, was insignificant as far as UFO +reports go, but it ushered in a year that was to bring feverish +activity to Project Sign. + +With the Soviets practically eliminated as a UFO source, the idea of +interplanetary spaceships was becoming more popular. During 1948 the +people in ATIC were openly discussing the possibility of +interplanetary visitors without others tapping their heads and +looking smug. During 1948 the novelty of UFO's had worn off for the +press and every John and Jane Doe who saw one didn't make the front +pages as in 1947. Editors were becoming hardened, only a few of the +best reports got any space. Only "The Classics" rated headlines. "The +Classics" were three historic reports that were the highlights of +1948. They are called "The Classics," a name given them by the +Project Blue Book staff, because: (1) they are classic examples of +how the true facts of a UFO report can be twisted and warped by some +writers to prove their point, (2) they are the most highly publicized +reports of this early era of the UFO's, and (3) they "proved" to +ATIC's intelligence specialists that UFO's were real. + +The apparent lack of interest in UFO reports by the press was not a +true indication of the situation. I later found out, from talking to +writers, that all during 1948 the interest in UFO's was running high. +The Air Force Press Desk in the Pentagon was continually being asked +what progress was being made in the UFO investigation. The answer +was, "Give us time. This job can't be done in a week." The press +respected this and was giving them time. But every writer worth his +salt has contacts, those "usually reliable sources" you read about, +and these contacts were talking. All during 1948 contacts in the +Pentagon were telling how UFO reports were rolling in at the rate of +several per day and how ATIC UFO investigation teams were flying out +of Dayton to investigate them. They were telling how another Air +Force investigative organization had been called in to lighten ATIC's +load and allow ATIC to concentrate on the analysis of the reports. +The writers knew this was true because they had crossed paths with +these men whom they had mistakenly identified as FBI agents. The FBI +was never officially interested in UFO sightings. The writers' +contacts in the airline industry told about the UFO talk from V.P.'s +down to the ramp boys. Dozens of good, solid, reliable, experienced +airline pilots were seeing UFO's. All of this led to one conclusion: +whatever the Air Force had to say, when it was ready to talk, would +be newsworthy. But the Air Force wasn't ready to talk. + +Project Sign personnel were just getting settled down to work after +the New Year's holiday when the "ghost rockets" came back to the +Scandinavian countries of Europe. Air attaches in Sweden, Denmark, +and Norway fired wires to ATIC telling about the reports. Wires went +back asking for more information. + +The "ghost rockets," so tagged by the newspapers, had first been +seen in the summer of 1946, a year before the first UFO sighting in +the U.S. There were many different descriptions for the reported +objects. They were usually seen in the hours of darkness and almost +always traveling at extremely high speeds. They were shaped like a +ball or projectile, were a bright green, white, red, or yellow and +sometimes made sounds. Like their American cousins, they were always +so far away that no details could be seen. For no good reason, other +than speculation and circulation, the newspapers had soon begun to +refer authoritatively to these "ghost rockets" as guided missiles, +and implied that they were from Russia. Peenemunde, the great German +missile development center and birthplace of the V-l and V-2 guided +missiles, came in for its share of suspicion since it was held by the +Russians. By the end of the summer of 1946 the reports were +widespread, coming from Denmark, Norway, Spain, Greece, French +Morocco, Portugal, and Turkey. In 1947, after no definite conclusions +as to identity of the "rockets" had been established, the reports +died out. Now in early January 1948 they broke out again. But Project +Sign personnel were too busy to worry about European UFO reports, +they were busy at home. A National Guard pilot had just been killed +chasing a UFO. + +On January 7 all of the late papers in the U.S. carried headlines +similar to those in the Louisville _Courier_: "F-51 and Capt. Mantell +Destroyed Chasing Flying Saucer." This was Volume I of "The +Classics," the Mantell Incident. + +At one-fifteen on that afternoon the control tower operators at +Godman AFB, outside Louisville, Kentucky, received a telephone call +from the Kentucky State Highway Patrol. The patrol wanted to know if +Godman Tower knew anything about any unusual aircraft in the +vicinity. Several people from Maysville, Kentucky, a small town 80 +miles east of Louisville, had reported seeing a strange aircraft. +Godman knew that they had nothing in the vicinity so they called +Flight Service at Wright-Patterson AFB. In a few minutes Flight +Service called back. Their air Traffic control board showed no +flights in the area. About twenty minutes later the state police +called again. This time people from the towns of Owensboro and +Irvington, Kentucky, west of Louisville, were reporting a strange +craft. The report from these two towns was a little more complete. +The townspeople had described the object to the state police as being +"circular, about 250 to 300 feet in diameter," and moving westward at +a "pretty good clip." Godman Tower checked Flight Service again. +Nothing. All this time the tower operators had been looking for the +reported object. They theorized that since the UFO had had to pass +north of Godman to get from Maysville to Owensboro it might come back. + +At one forty-five they saw it, or something like it. Later, in his +official report, the assistant tower operator said that he had seen +the object for several minutes before he called his chiefs attention +to it. He said that he had been reluctant to "make a flying saucer +report." As soon as the two men in the tower had assured themselves +that the UFO they saw was not an airplane or a weather balloon, they +called Flight Operations. They wanted the operations officer to see +the UFO. Before long word of the sighting had gotten around to key +personnel on the base, and several officers, besides the base +operations officer and the base intelligence officer, were in the +tower. All of them looked at the UFO through the tower's 6 x 50 +binoculars and decided they couldn't identify it. About this time +Colonel Hix, the base commander, arrived. He looked and he was +baffled. At two-thirty, they reported, they were discussing what +should be done when four F-51's came into view, approaching the base +from the south. + +The tower called the flight leader, Captain Mantell, and asked him +to take a look at the object and try to identify it. One F-51 in the +flight was running low on fuel, so he asked permission to go on to +his base. Mantell took his two remaining wing men, made a turn, and +started after the UFO. The people in Godman Tower were directing him +as none of the pilots could see the object at this time. They gave +Mantell an initial heading toward the south and the flight was last +seen heading in the general direction of the UFO. + +By the time the F-51's had climbed to 10,000 feet, the two wing men +later reported, Mantell had pulled out ahead of them and they could +just barely see him. At two forty-five Mantell called the tower and +said, "I see something above and ahead of me and I'm still climbing." +All the people in the tower heard Mantell say this and they heard one +of the wing men call back and ask, "What the hell are we looking +for?" The tower immediately called Mantell and asked him for a +description of what he saw. Odd as it may seem, no one can remember +exactly what he answered. Saucer historians have credited him with +saying, "I've sighted the thing. It looks metallic and it's +tremendous in size. . . . Now it's starting to climb." Then in a few +seconds he is supposed to have called and said, "It's above me and +I'm gaining on it. I'm going to 20,000 feet." Everyone in the tower +agreed on this one last bit of the transmission, "I'm going to 20,000 +feet," but didn't agree on the first part, about the UFO's being +metallic and tremendous. + +The two wing men were now at 15,000 feet and trying frantically to +call Mantell. He had climbed far above them by this time and was out +of sight. Since none of them had any oxygen they were worried about +Mantell. Their calls were not answered. Mantell never talked to +anyone again. The two wing men leveled off at 15,000 feet, made +another fruitless effort to call Mantell, and started to come back +down. As they passed Godman Tower on their way to their base, one of +them said something to the effect that all he had seen was a +reflection on his canopy. + +When they landed at their base, Standiford Field, just north of +Godman, one pilot had his F-51 refueled and serviced with oxygen, and +took off to search the area again. He didn't see anything. + +At three-fifty the tower lost sight of the UFO. A few minutes later +they got word that Mantell had crashed and was dead. + +Several hours later, at 7:20P.M., airfield towers all over the +Midwest sent in frantic reports of another UFO. In all about a dozen +airfield towers reported the UFO as being low on the southwestern +horizon and disappearing after about twenty minutes. The writers of +saucer lore say this UFO was what Mantell was chasing when he died; +the Air Force says _this_ UFO was Venus. + +The people on Project Sign worked fast on the Mantell Incident. +Contemplating a flood of queries from the press as soon as they heard +about the crash, they realized that they had to get a quick answer. +Venus had been the target of a chase by an Air Force F-51 several +weeks before and there were similarities between this sighting and +the Mantell Incident. So almost before the rescue crews had reached +the crash, the word "Venus" went out. This satisfied the editors, and +so it stood for about a year; Mantell had unfortunately been killed +trying to reach the planet Venus. + +To the press, the nonchalant, offhand manner with which the sighting +was written off by the Air Force public relations officer showed +great confidence in the conclusion, Venus, but behind the barbed-wire +fence that encircled ATIC the nonchalant attitude didn't exist among +the intelligence analysts. One man had already left for Louisville +and the rest were doing some tall speculating. The story about the +tower-to-air talk. "It looks metallic and it's tremendous in size," +spread fast. Rumor had it that the tower had carried on a running +conversation with the pilots and that there was more information than +was so far known. Rumor also had it that this conversation had been +recorded. Unfortunately neither of these rumors was true. + +Over a period of several weeks the file on the Mantell Incident grew +in size until it was the most thoroughly investigated sighting of +that time, at least the file was the thickest. + +About a year later the Air Force released its official report on the +incident. To use a trite term, it was a masterpiece in the art of +"weasel wording." It said that the UFO might have been Venus or it +could have been a balloon. Maybe two balloons. It probably was Venus +except that this is doubtful because Venus was too dim to be seen in +the afternoon. This jolted writers who had been following the UFO +story. Only a few weeks before, _The_ _Saturday_ _Evening_ _Post_ had +published a two-part story entitled "What You Can Believe about +Flying Saucers." The story had official sanction and had quoted the +Venus theory as a positive solution. To clear up the situation, +several writers were allowed to interview a major in the Pentagon, +who was the Air Force's Pentagon "expert" on UFO's. The major was +asked directly about the conclusion of the Mantell Incident, and he +flatly stated that it was Venus. The writers pointed out the official +Air Force analysis. The major's answer was, "They checked again and +it was Venus." He didn't know who "they" were, where they had +checked, or what they had checked, but it was Venus. The writers then +asked, "If there was a later report they had made why wasn't it used +as a conclusion?" "Was it available?" The answer to the last question +was "No," and the lid snapped back down. This interview gave the +definite impression that the Air Force was unsuccessfully trying to +cover up some very important information, using Venus as a front. +Nothing excites a newspaper or magazine writer more than to think he +has stumbled onto a big story and that someone is trying to cover it +up. Many writers thought this after the interview with the major, and +many still think it. You can't really blame them, either. + +In early 1952 I got a telephone call on ATIC's direct line to the +Pentagon. It was a colonel in the Director of Intelligence's office. +The Office of Public Information had been getting a number of queries +about all of the confusion over the Mantell Incident. What was the +answer? + +I dug out the file. In 1949 all of the original material on the +incident had been microfilmed, but something had been spilled on the +film. Many sections were so badly faded they were illegible. As I had +to do with many of the older sightings that were now history, I +collected what I could from the file, filling in the blanks by +talking to people who had been at ATIC during the early UFO era. Many +of these people were still around, "Red" Honnacker, George Towles, Al +Deyarmond, Nick Post, and many others. Most of them were civilians, +the military had been transferred out by this time. + +Some of the press clippings in the file mentioned the Pentagon major +and his concrete proof of Venus. I couldn't find this concrete proof +in the file so I asked around about the major. The major, I found, +was an officer in the Pentagon who had at one time written a short +intelligence summary about UFO's. He had never been stationed at +ATIC, nor was he especially well versed on the UFO problem. When the +word of the press conference regarding the Mantell Incident came +down, a UFO expert was needed. The major, because of his short +intelligence summary on UFO's, became the "expert." He had evidently +conjured up "they" and "their later report" to support his Venus +answer because the writers at the press conference had him in a +corner. I looked farther. + +Fortunately the man who had done the most extensive work on the +incident, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, head of the Ohio State University +Astronomy Department, could be contacted. I called Dr. Hynek and +arranged to meet him the next day. + +Dr. Hynek was one of the most impressive scientists I met while +working on the UFO project, and I met a good many. He didn't do two +things that some of them did: give you the answer before he knew the +question; or immediately begin to expound on his accomplishments in +the field of science. I arrived at Ohio State just before lunch, and +Dr. Hynek invited me to eat with him at the faculty club. He wanted +to refer to some notes he had on the Mantell Incident and they were +in his office, so we discussed UFO's in general during lunch. + +Back in his office he started to review the Mantell Incident. He had +been responsible for the weasel-worded report that the Air Force +released in late 1949, and he apologized for it. Had he known that it +was going to cause so much confusion, he said, he would have been +more specific. He thought the incident was a dead issue. The reason +that Venus had been such a strong suspect was that it was in almost +the same spot in the sky as the UFO. Dr. Hynek referred to his notes +and told me that at 3:00P.M., Venus had been south southwest of +Godman and 33 degrees above the southern horizon. At 3:00P.M. the +people in the tower estimated the UFO to be southwest of Godman and +at an elevation of about 45 degrees. Allowing for human error in +estimating directions and angles, this was close. I agreed. There was +one big flaw in the theory, however. Venus wasn't bright enough to be +seen. He had computed the brilliance of the planet, and on the day in +question it was only six times as bright as the surrounding sky. Then +he explained what this meant. Six times may sound like a lot, but it +isn't. When you start looking for a pinpoint of light only six times +as bright as the surrounding sky, it's almost impossible to find it, +even on a clear day. + +Dr. Hynek said that he didn't think that the UFO was Venus. + +I later found out that although it was a relatively clear day there +was considerable haze. + +I asked him about some of the other possibilities. He repeated the +balloon, canopy-reflection, and sundog theories but he refused to +comment on them since, as he said, he was an astrophysicist and would +care to comment only on the astrophysical aspects of the sightings. + +I drove back to Dayton convinced that the UFO wasn't Venus. Dr. +Hynek had said Venus would have been a pinpoint of light. The people +in the tower had been positive of their descriptions, their +statements brought that out. They couldn't agree on a description, +they called the UFO "a parachute," "an ice cream cone tipped with +red," "round and white," "huge and silver or metallic," "a small +white object," "one fourth the size of the full moon," but all the +descriptions plainly indicated a large object. None of the +descriptions could even vaguely be called a pinpoint of light. + +This aspect of a definite shape seemed to eliminate the sundog +theory too. Sundogs, or parhelia, as they are technically known, are +caused by ice particles reflecting a diffused light. This would not +give a sharp outline. I also recalled two instances where Air Force +pilots had chased sundogs. In both instances when the aircraft began +to climb, the sundog disappeared. This was because the angle of +reflection changed as the airplane climbed several thousand feet. +These sundog-caused UFO's also had fuzzy edges. + +I had always heard a lot of wild speculation about the condition of +Mantell's crashed F-51, so I wired for a copy of the accident report. +It arrived several days after my visit with Dr. Hynek. The report +said that the F-51 had lost a wing due to excessive speed in a dive +after Mantell had "blacked out" due to the lack of oxygen. Mantell's +body had not burned, not disintegrated, and was not full of holes; +the wreck was not radioactive, nor was it magnetized. + +One very important and pertinent question remained. Why did Mantell, +an experienced pilot, try to go to 20,000 feet when he didn't even +have an oxygen mask? If he had run out of oxygen, it would have been +different Every pilot and crewman has it pounded into him, "Do not, +under any circumstances, go above 15,000 feet without oxygen." In +high-altitude indoctrination during World War II, I made several +trips up to 30,000 feet in a pressure chamber. To demonstrate anoxia +we would leave our oxygen masks off until we became dizzy. A few of +the more hardy souls could get to 15,000 feet, but nobody ever got +over 17,000. Possibly Mantell thought he could climb up to 20,000 in +a hurry and get back down before he got anoxia and blacked out, but +this would be a foolish chance. This point was covered in the +sighting report. A long-time friend of Mantell's went on record as +saying that he'd flown with him several years and knew him +personally. He couldn't conceive of Mantell's even thinking about +disregarding his lack of oxygen. Mantell was one of the most cautious +pilots he knew. "The only thing I can think," he commented, "was that +he was after something that he believed to be more important than his +life or his family." + +My next step was to try to find out what Mantell's wing men had seen +or thought but this was a blind alley. All of this evidence was in +the ruined portion of the microfilm, even their names were missing. +The only reference I could find to them was a vague passage +indicating they hadn't seen anything. + +I concentrated on the canopy-reflection theory. It is widely +believed that many flying saucers appear to pilots who are actually +chasing a reflection on their canopy. I checked over all the reports +we had on file. I couldn't find one that had been written off for +this reason. I dug back into my own flying experience and talked to a +dozen pilots. All of us had momentarily been startled by a reflection +on the aircraft's canopy or wing, but in a second or two it had been +obvious that it was a reflection. Mantell chased the object for at +least fifteen to twenty minutes, and it is inconceivable that he +wouldn't realize in that length of time that he was chasing a +reflection. + +About the only theory left to check was that the object might have +been one of the big, 100-foot-diameter, "skyhook" balloons. I +rechecked the descriptions of the UFO made by the people in the +tower. The first man to sight the object called it a parachute; +others said ice cream cone, round, etc. All of these descriptions fit +a balloon. Buried deep in the file were two more references to +balloons that I had previously missed. Not long after the object had +disappeared from view at Godman AFB, a man from Madisonville, +Kentucky, called Flight Service in Dayton. He had seen an object +traveling southeast. He had looked at it through a telescope and it +was a balloon. At four forty-five an astronomer living north of +Nashville, Tennessee, called in. He had also seen a UFO, looked at it +through a telescope, and it was a balloon. + +In the thousands of words of testimony and evidence taken on the +Mantell Incident this was the only reference to balloons. I had +purposely not paid too much attention to this possibility because I +was sure that it had been thoroughly checked back in 1948. Now I +wasn't sure. + +I talked with one of the people who had been in on the Mantell +investigation. The possibility of a balloon's causing the sighting +had been mentioned but hadn't been followed up for two reasons. +Number one was that everybody at ATIC was convinced that the object +Mantell was after was a spaceship and that this was the only course +they had pursued. When the sighting grew older and no spaceship proof +could be found, everybody jumped on the Venus band wagon, as this +theory had "already been established." It was an easy way out. The +second reason was that a quick check had been made on weather +balloons and none were in the area. The big skyhook balloon project +was highly classified at that time, and since they were all convinced +that the object was of interplanetary origin (a minority wanted to +give the Russians credit), they didn't want to bother to buck the red +tape of security to get data on skyhook flights. + +The group who supervise the contracts for all the skyhook research +flights for the Air Force are located at Wright Field, so I called +them. They had no records on flights in 1948 but they did think that +the big balloons were being launched from Clinton County AFB in +southern Ohio at that time. They offered to get the records of the +winds on January 7 and see what flight path a balloon launched in +southwestern Ohio would have taken. In a few days they had the data +for me. + +Unfortunately the times of the first sightings, from the towns +outside Louisville, were not exact but it was possible to partially +reconstruct the sequence of events. The winds were such that a +skyhook balloon launched from Clinton County AFB could be seen from +the town east of Godman AFB, the town from which the first UFO was +reported to the Kentucky State Police. It is not unusual to be able +to see a large balloon for 50 to 60 miles. The balloon could have +traveled west for a while, climbing as it moved with the strong east +winds that were blowing that day and picking up speed as the winds +got stronger at altitude. In twenty minutes it could have been in a +position where it could be seen from Owensboro and Irvington, +Kentucky, the two towns west of Godman. The second reports to the +state police had come from these two towns. Still climbing, the +balloon would have reached a level where a strong wind was blowing in +a southerly direction. The jet-stream winds were not being plotted in +1948 but the weather chart shows strong indications of a southerly +bend in the jet stream for this day. Jet stream or not, the balloon +would have moved rapidly south, still climbing. At a point somewhere +south or southwest of Godman it would have climbed through the +southerly-moving winds to a calm belt at about 60,000 feet. At this +level it would slowly drift south or southeast. A skyhook balloon can +be seen at 60,000. + +When first seen by the people in Godman Tower, the UFO was south of +the air base. It was relatively close and looked "like a parachute," +which a balloon does. During the two hours that it was in sight, the +observers reported that it seemed to hover, yet each observer +estimated the time he looked at the object through the binoculars and +timewise the descriptions ran "huge," "small," "one fourth the size +of a full moon," "one tenth the size of a full moon." Whatever the +UFO was, it was slowly moving away. As the balloon continued to drift +in a southerly direction it would have picked up stronger winds, and +could have easily been seen by the astronomers in Madisonville, +Kentucky, and north of Nashville an hour after it disappeared from +view at Godman. + +Somewhere in the archives of the Air Force or the Navy there are +records that will show whether or not a balloon was launched from +Clinton County AFB, Ohio, on January 7, 1948. I never could find +these records. People who were working with the early skyhook +projects "remember" operating out of Clinton County AFB in 1947 but +refuse to be pinned down to a January 7 flight. Maybe, they said. + +The Mantell Incident is the same old UFO jigsaw puzzle. By assuming +the shape of one piece, a balloon launched from southwestern Ohio, +the whole picture neatly falls together. It shows a huge balloon that +Captain Thomas Mantell died trying to reach. He didn't know that he +was chasing a balloon because he had never heard of a huge, 100-foot- +diameter skyhook balloon, let alone seen one. Leave out the one piece +of the jigsaw puzzle and the picture is a UFO, "metallic and +tremendous in size." + +It _could_ have been a balloon. This is the answer I phoned back to +the Pentagon. + +During January and February of 1948 the reports of "ghost rockets" +continued to come from air attaches in foreign countries near the +Baltic Sea. People in North Jutland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and +Germany reported "balls of fire traveling slowly across the sky." The +reports were very sketchy and incomplete, most of them accounts from +newspapers. In a few days the UFO's were being seen all over Europe +and South America. Foreign reports hit a peak in the latter part of +February and U.S. newspapers began to pick up the stories. + +The Swedish Defense Staff supposedly conducted a comprehensive study +of the incidents and concluded that they were all explainable in +terms of astronomical phenomena. Since this was UFO history, I made +several attempts to get some detailed and official information on +this report and the sightings, but I was never successful. + +The ghost rockets left in March, as mysteriously as they had arrived. + +All during the spring of 1948 good reports continued to come in. +Some were just run-of-the-mill but a large percentage of them were +good, coming from people whose reliability couldn't be questioned. +For example, three scientists reported that for thirty seconds they +had watched a round object streak across the sky in a highly erratic +flight path near the Army's secret White Sands Proving Ground. And on +May 28 the crew of an Air Force C-47 had three UFO's barrel in from +"twelve o'clock high" to buzz their transport. + +On July 21 a curious report was received from the Netherlands. The +day before several persons reported seeing a UFO through high broken +clouds over The Hague. The object was rocket-shaped, with two rows of +windows along the side. It was a poor report, very sketchy and +incomplete, and it probably would have been forgotten except that +four nights later a similar UFO almost collided with an Eastern +Airlines DC-3. This near collision is Volume II of "The Classics." + +On the evening of July 24, 1948, an Eastern Airlines DC-3 took off +from Houston, Texas. It was on a scheduled trip to Atlanta, with +intermediate stops in between. The pilots were Clarence S. Chiles and +John B. Whitted. At about 2:45 A.M., when the flight was 20 miles +southwest of Montgomery, the captain, Chiles, saw a light dead ahead +and closing fast. His first reaction, he later reported to an ATIC +investigation team, was that it was a jet, but in an instant he +realized that even a jet couldn't close as fast as this light was +closing. Chiles said he reached over, gave Whitted, the other pilot, +a quick tap on the arm, and pointed. The UFO was now almost on top of +them. Chiles racked the DC-3 into a tight left turn. Just as the UFO +flashed by about 700 feet to the right, the DC-3 hit turbulent air. +Whitted looked back just as the UFO pulled up in a steep climb. + +Both the pilots had gotten a good look at the UFO and were able to +give a good description to the Air Force intelligence people. It was +a B-29 fuselage. The underside had a "deep blue glow." There were +"two rows of windows from which bright lights glowed," and a "50-foot +trail of orange-red flame" shot out the back. + +Only one passenger was looking out of the window at the time. The +ATIC investigators talked to him. He said he saw a "strange, eerie +streak of light, very intense," but that was all, no details. He said +that it all happened before he could adjust his eyes to the darkness. + +Minutes later a crew chief at Robins Air Force Base in Macon, +Georgia, reported seeing an extremely bright light pass overhead, +traveling at a high speed. A few days later another report from the +night of July 24 came in. A pilot, flying near the Virginia-North +Carolina state line, reported that he had seen a "bright shooting +star" in the direction of Montgomery, Alabama, at about the exact +time the Eastern Airlines DC-3 was "buzzed." + +According to the old timers at ATIC, this report shook them worse +than the Mantell Incident. This was the first time two reliable +sources had been really close enough to anything resembling a UFO to +get a good look and live to tell about it. A quick check on a map +showed that the UFO that nearly collided with the airliner would have +passed almost over Macon, Georgia, after passing the DC-3. It had +been turning toward Macon when last seen. The story of the crew chief +at Robins AFB, 200 miles away, seemed to confirm the sighting, not to +mention the report from near the Virginia-North Carolina state line. + +In intelligence, if you have something to say about some vital +problem you write a report that is known as an "Estimate of the +Situation." A few days after the DC-3 was buzzed, the people at ATIC +decided that the time had arrived to make an Estimate of the +Situation. The situation was the UFO's; the estimate was that they +were interplanetary! + +It was a rather thick document with a black cover and it was printed +on legal-sized paper. Stamped across the front were the words TOP +SECRET. + +It contained the Air Force's analysis of many of the incidents I +have told you about plus many similar ones. All of them had come from +scientists, pilots, and other equally credible observers, and each +one was an unknown. + +The document pointed out that the reports hadn't actually started +with the Arnold Incident. Belated reports from a weather observer in +Richmond, Virginia, who observed a "silver disk" through his +theodolite telescope; an F-47 pilot and three pilots in his formation +who saw a "silver flying wing," and the English "ghost airplanes" +that had been picked up on radar early in 1947 proved this point. +Although reports on them were not received until after the Arnold +sighting, these incidents all had taken place earlier. + +When the estimate was completed, typed, and approved, it started up +through channels to higher-command echelons. It drew considerable +comment but no one stopped it on its way up. + +A matter of days after the Estimate of the Situation was signed, +sealed, and sent on its way, the third big sighting of 1948, Volume +III of "The Classics," took place. The date was October 1, and the +place was Fargo, North Dakota; it was the famous Gorman Incident, in +which a pilot fought a "duel of death" with a UFO. + +The pilot was George F. Gorman, a twenty-five-year-old second +lieutenant in the North Dakota Air National Guard. + +It was eight-thirty in the evening and Gorman was coming into Fargo +from a cross-country flight. He flew around Fargo for a while and +about nine o'clock decided to land. He called the control tower for +landing instructions and was told that a Piper Cub was in the area. +He saw the Cub below him. All of a sudden what appeared to be the +taillight of another airplane passed him on his right. He called the +tower and complained but they assured him that no other aircraft +except the Cub were in the area. Gorman could still see the light so +he decided to find out what it was. He pushed the F-51 over into a +turn and cut in toward the light. He could plainly see the Cub +outlined against the city lights below, but he could see no outline +of a body near the mysterious light. He gave the '51 more power and +closed to within a 1,000 yards, close enough to estimate that the +light was 6 to 8 inches in diameter, was sharply outlined, and was +blinking on and off. Suddenly the light became steady as it +apparently put on power; it pulled into a sharp left bank and made a +pass at the tower. The light zoomed up with the F-51 in hot pursuit. +At 7,000 feet it made a turn. Gorman followed and tried to cut inside +the light's turn to get closer to it but he couldn't do it. The light +made another turn, and this time the '51 closed on a collision +course. The UFO appeared to try to ram the '51, and Gorman had to +dive to get out of the way. The UFO passed over the '51's canopy with +only a few feet to spare. Again both the F-51 and the object turned +and closed on each other head on, and again the pilot had to dive out +to prevent a collision. All of a sudden the light began to climb and +disappeared. + +"I had the distinct impression that its maneuvers were controlled by +thought or reason," Gorman later told ATIC investigators. + +Four other observers at Fargo partially corroborated his story, an +oculist, Dr. A. D. Cannon, the Cub's pilot, and his passenger, Einar +Neilson. They saw a light "moving fast," but did not witness all the +maneuvers that Gorman reported. Two CAA employees on the ground saw a +light move over the field once. + +Project Sign investigators rushed to Fargo. They had wired ahead to +ground the plane. They wanted to check it over before it flew again. +When they arrived, only a matter of hours after the incident, they +went over the airplane, from the prop spinner to the rudder trim tab, +with a Geiger counter. A chart in the official report shows where +every Geiger counter reading was taken. For comparison they took +readings on a similar airplane that hadn't been flown for several +days. Gorman's airplane was more radioactive. They rushed around, got +sworn statements from the tower operators and oculist, and flew back +to Dayton. + +In the file on the Gorman Incident I found an old memo reporting the +meeting that was held upon the ATIC team's return from Fargo. The +memo concluded that some weird things were taking place. + +The historians of the UFO agree. Donald Keyhoe, a retired Marine +Corps major and a professional writer, author of _The_ _Flying_ +_Saucers_ _Are_ _Real_ and _Flying_ _Saucers_ _from_ _Outer_ _Space_, +needles the Air Force about the Gorman Incident, pointing out how, +after feebly hinting that the light could have been a lighted weather +balloon, they dropped it like a hot UFO. Some person by the name of +Wilkins, in an equally authoritative book, says that the Gorman +Incident "stumped" the Air Force. Other assorted historians point out +that normally the UFO's are peaceful, Gorman and Mantell just got too +inquisitive, "they" just weren't ready to be observed closely. If the +Air Force hadn't slapped down the security lid, these writers might +not have reached this conclusion. There have been other and more +lurid "duels of death." + +On June 21, 1952, at 10:58P.M., a Ground Observer Corps spotter +reported that a slow-moving craft was nearing the AEC's Oak Ridge +Laboratory, an area so secret that it is prohibited to aircraft. The +spotter called the light into his filter center and the filter center +relayed the message to the ground control intercept radar. They had a +target. But before they could do more than confirm the GOC spotter's +report, the target faded from the radarscope. + +An F-47 aircraft on combat air patrol in the area was vectored in +visually, spotted a light, and closed on it. They "fought" from +10,000 to 27,000 feet, and several times the object made what seemed +to be ramming attacks. The light was described as white, 6 to 8 +inches in diameter, and blinking until it put on power. The pilot +could see no silhouette around the light. The similarity to the Fargo +case was striking. + +On the night of December 10, 1952, near another atomic installation, +the Hanford plant in Washington, the pilot and radar observer of a +patrolling F-94 spotted a light while flying at 26,000 feet. The crew +called their ground control station and were told that no planes were +known to be in the area. They closed on the object and saw a large, +round, white "thing" with a dim reddish light coming from two +"windows." They lost visual contact, but got a radar lock-on. They +reported that when they attempted to close on it again it would +reverse direction and dive away. Several times the plane altered +course itself because collision seemed imminent. + +In each of these instances, as well as in the case narrated next, +the sources of the stories were trained airmen with excellent +reputations. They were sincerely baffled by what they had seen. They +had no conceivable motive for falsifying or "dressing up" their +reports. + +The other dogfight occurred September 24, 1952, between a Navy pilot +of a TBM and a light over Cuba. + +The pilot had just finished making some practice passes for night +fighters when he spotted an orange light to the east of his plane. He +checked on aircraft in the area, learned that the object was +unidentified, and started after it. Here is his report, written +immediately after he landed: + +As it [the light] approached the city from the east it started a +left turn. I started to intercept. During the first part of the chase +the closest I got to the light was 8 to 10 miles. At this time it +appeared to be as large as an SNJ and had a greenish tail that looked +to be five to six times as long as the light's diameter. This tail +was seen several times in the next 10 minutes in periods of from 5 to +30 seconds each. As I reached 10,000 feet it appeared to be at 15,000 +feet and in a left turn. It took 40 degrees of bank to keep the nose +of my plane on the light. At this time I estimated the light to be in +a 10-to-15-mile orbit. + +At 12,000 feet I stopped climbing, but the light was still climbing +faster than I was. I then reversed my turn from left to right and the +light also reversed. As I was not gaining distance, I held a steady +course south trying to estimate a perpendicular between the light and +myself. The light was moving north, so I turned north. As I turned, +the light appeared to move west, then south over the base. I again +tried to intercept but the light appeared to climb rapidly at a 60- +degree angle. It climbed to 35,000 feet, then started a rapid descent. + +Prior to this, while the light was still at approximately 15,000 +feet, I deliberately placed it between the moon and myself three +times to try to identify a solid body. I and my two crewmen all had a +good view of the light as it passed the moon. We could see no solid +body. We considered the fact that it might be an aerologist's +balloon, but we did not see a silhouette. Also, we would have rapidly +caught up with and passed a balloon. + +During its descent, the light appeared to slow down at about 10,000 +feet, at which time I made three runs on it. Two were on a 90-degree +collision course, and the light traveled at tremendous speed across +my bow. On the third run I was so close that the light blanked out +the airfield below me. Suddenly it started a dive and I followed, +losing it at 1,500 feet. + +In _this_ incident the UFO _was_ a balloon. + +The following night a lighted balloon was sent up and the pilot was +ordered up to compare his experiences. He duplicated his dogfight-- +illusions and all. The Navy furnished us with a long analysis of the +affair, explaining how the pilot had been fooled. + +In the case involving the ground observer and the F-47 near the +atomic installation, we plotted the winds and calculated that a +lighted balloon was right at the spot where the pilot encountered the +light. + +In the other instance, the "white object with two windows," we found +that a skyhook balloon had been plotted at the exact site of the +"battle." + +Gorman fought a lighted balloon too. An analysis of the sighting by +the Air Weather Service sent to ATIC in a letter dated January 24, +1949, proved it. The radioactive F-51 was decontaminated by a memo +from a Wright Field laboratory explaining that a recently flown +airplane will be more radioactive than one that has been on the +ground for several days. An airplane at 20,000 to 30,000 feet picks +up more cosmic rays than one shielded by the earth's ever present haze. + +Why can't experienced pilots recognize a balloon when they see one? +If they are flying at night, odd things can happen to their vision. +There is the problem of vertigo as well as disorientation brought on +by flying without points of reference. Night fighters have told +dozens of stories of being fooled by lights. + +One night during World War II we had just dumped a load of bombs on +a target when a "night fighter" started to make a pass at us. +Everyone in the cockpit saw the fighter's red-hot exhaust stack as he +bore down on us. I cut loose with six caliber-.50 machine guns. +Fortunately I missed the "night fighter"--if I'd have shot it I'd +have fouled up the astronomers but good because the "night fighter" +was Venus. + +While the people on Project Sign were pondering over Lieutenant +Gorman's dogfight with the UFO--at the time they weren't even +considering the balloon angle--the Top Secret Estimate of the +Situation was working its way up into the higher echelons of the Air +Force. It got to the late General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then Chief of +Staff, before it was batted back down. The general wouldn't buy +interplanetary vehicles. The report lacked proof. A group from ATIC +went to the Pentagon to bolster their position but had no luck, the +Chief of Staff just couldn't be convinced. + +The estimate died a quick death. Some months later it was completely +declassified and relegated to the incinerator. A few copies, one of +which I saw, were kept as mementos of the golden days of the UFO's. + +The top Air Force command's refusal to buy the interplanetary theory +didn't have any immediate effect upon the morale of Project Sign +because the reports were getting better. + +A belated report that is more of a collectors' item than a good UFO +sighting came into ATIC in the fall of 1948. It was from Moscow. +Someone, I could never find out exactly who, reported a huge "smudge- +like" object in the sky. + +Then radar came into the picture. For months the anti-saucer +factions had been pointing their fingers at the lack of radar +reports, saying, "If they exist, why don't they show up on +radarscopes?" When they showed up on radarscopes, the UFO won some +converts. + +On October 15 an F-61, a World War II "Black Widow" night fighter, +was on patrol over Japan when it picked up an unidentified target on +its radar. The target was flying between 5,000 and 6,000 feet and +traveling about 200 miles per hour. When the F-61 tried to intercept +it would get to within 12,000 feet of the UFO only to have it +accelerate to an estimated 1,200 miles per hour, leaving the F-61 far +behind before slowing down again. The F-61 crew made six attempts to +close on the UFO. On one pass, the crew said, they did get close +enough to see its silhouette. It was 20 to 30 feet long and looked +"like a rifle bullet." + +Toward the end of November a wire came into Project Sign from +Germany. It was the first report where a UFO was seen and +simultaneously picked up on radar. This type of report, the first of +many to come, is one of the better types of UFO reports. The wire said: + + + +At 2200 hours, local time, 23 November 1948, Capt. ------ saw an +object in the air directly east of this base. It was at an unknown +altitude. It looked like a reddish star and was moving in a southerly +direction across Munich, turning slightly to the southwest then the +southeast. The speed could have been between 200 to 600 mph, the +actual speed could not be estimated, not knowing the height. Capt. --- +--- called base operations and they called the radar station. Radar +reported that they had seen nothing on their scope but would check +again. Radar then called operations to report that they did have a +target at 27,000 feet, some 30 miles south of Munich, traveling at +900 mph. Capt. ------ reported that the object that he saw was now in +that area. A few minutes later radar called again to say that the +target had climbed to 50,000 feet, and was circling 40 miles south of +Munich. + +Capt. ------ is an experienced pilot now flying F-80's and is +considered to be completely reliable. The sighting was verified by +Capt. ------ , also an F-80 pilot. + +The possibility that this was a balloon was checked but the answer +from Air Weather Service was "not a balloon." No aircraft were in the +area. Nothing we know of, except possibly experimental aircraft, +which are not in Germany, can climb 23,000 feet in a matter of +minutes and travel 900 miles per hour. + +By the end of 1948, Project Sign had received several hundred UFO +reports. Of these, 167 had been saved as good reports. About three +dozen were "Unknown." Even though the UFO reports were getting better +and more numerous, the enthusiasm over the interplanetary idea was +cooling off. The same people who had fought to go to Godman AFB to +talk to Colonel Hix and his UFO observers in January now had to be +prodded when a sighting needed investigating. More and more work was +being pushed off onto the other investigative organization that was +helping ATIC. The kickback on the Top Secret Estimate of the +Situation was beginning to dampen a lot of enthusiasms. It was +definitely a bear market for UFO's. + +A bull market was on the way, however. Early 1949 was to bring +"little lights" and green fireballs. + +The "little lights" were UFO's, but the green fireballs were real. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR + +Green Fireballs, Project Twinkle, Little Lights, and Grudge + +At exactly midnight on September 18, 1954, my telephone rang. It was +Jim Phalen, a friend of mine from the Long Beach _Press-Telegram_, +and he had a "good flying saucer report," hot off the wires. He read +it to me. The lead line was: "Thousands of people saw a huge fireball +light up dark New Mexico skies tonight." + +The story went on to tell about how a "blinding green" fireball the +size of a full moon had silently streaked southeast across Colorado +and northern New Mexico at eight-forty that night. Thousands of +people had seen the fireball. It had passed right over a crowded +football stadium at Santa Fe, New Mexico, and people in Denver said +it "turned night into day." The crew of a TWA airliner flying into +Albuquerque from Amarillo, Texas, saw it. Every police and newspaper +switchboard in the two-state area was jammed with calls. + +One of the calls was from a man inquiring if anything unusual had +happened recently. When he was informed about the mysterious fireball +he heaved an audible sigh of relief, "Thanks," he said, "I was afraid +I'd gotten some bad bourbon." And he hung up. + +Dr. Lincoln La Paz, world-famous authority on meteorites and head of +the University of New Mexico's Institute of Meteoritics, apparently +took the occurrence calmly. The wire story said he had told a +reporter that he would plot its course, try to determine where it +landed, and go out and try to find it. "But," he said, "I don't +expect to find anything." + +When Jim Phalen had read the rest of the report he asked, "What was +it?" + +"It sounds to me like the green fireballs are back," I answered. + +"What the devil are green fireballs?" + +What the devil _are_ green fireballs? I'd like to know. So would a +lot of other people. + +The green fireballs streaked into UFO history late in November 1948, +when people around Albuquerque, New Mexico, began to report seeing +mysterious "green flares" at night. The first reports mentioned only +a "green streak in the sky," low on the horizon. From the description +the Air Force Intelligence people at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque and +the Project Sign people at ATIC wrote the objects off as flares. +After all, thousands of GI's had probably been discharged with a +duffel bag full of "liberated" Very pistols and flares. + +But as days passed the reports got better. They seemed to indicate +that the "flares" were getting larger and more people were reporting +seeing them. It was doubtful if this "growth" was psychological +because there had been no publicity--so the Air Force decided to +reconsider the "flare" answer. They were in the process of doing this +on the night of December 5, 1948, a memorable night in the green +fireball chapter of UFO history. + +At 9:27P.M. on December 5, an Air Force C-47 transport was flying at +18,000 feet 10 miles east of Albuquerque. The pilot was a Captain +Goede. Suddenly the crew, Captain Goede, his co-pilot, and his +engineer were startled by a green ball of fire flashing across the +sky ahead of them. It looked something like a huge meteor except that +it was a bright green color and it didn't arch downward, as meteors +usually do. The green-colored ball of fire had started low, from near +the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains, arched upward a little, +then seemed to level out. And it was too big for a meteor, at least +it was larger than any meteor that anyone in the C-47 had ever seen +before. After a hasty discussion the crew decided that they'd better +tell somebody about it, especially since they had seen an identical +object twenty-two minutes before near Las Vegas, New Mexico. + +Captain Goede picked up his microphone and called the control tower +at Kirtland AFB and reported what he and his crew had seen. The tower +relayed the message to the local intelligence people. + +A few minutes later the captain of Pioneer Airlines Flight 63 called +Kirtland Tower. At 9:35P.M. he had also seen a green ball of fire +just east of Las Vegas, New Mexico. He was on his way to Albuquerque +and would make a full report when he landed. + +When he taxied his DC-3 up to the passenger ramp at Kirtland a few +minutes later, several intelligence officers were waiting for him. He +reported that at 9:35P.M. he was on a westerly heading, approaching +Las Vegas from the east, when he and his co-pilot saw what they first +thought was a "shooting star." It was ahead and a little above them. +But, the captain said, it took them only a split second to realize +that whatever they saw was too low and had too flat a trajectory to +be a meteor. As they watched, the object seemed to approach their +airplane head on, changing color from orange red to green. As it +became bigger and bigger, the captain said, he thought sure it was +going to collide with them so he racked the DC-3 up in a tight turn. +As the green ball of fire got abreast of them it began to fall toward +the ground, getting dimmer and dimmer until it disappeared. Just +before he swerved the DC-3, the fireball was as big, or bigger, than +a full moon. + +The intelligence officers asked a few more questions and went back +to their office. More reports, which had been phoned in from all over +northern New Mexico, were waiting for them. By morning a full-fledged +investigation was under way. + +No matter what these green fireballs were, the military was getting +a little edgy. They might be common meteorites, psychologically +enlarged flares, or true UFO's, but whatever they were they were +playing around in one of the most sensitive security areas in the +United States. Within 100 miles of Albuquerque were two installations +that were the backbone of the atomic bomb program, Los Alamos and +Sandia Base. Scattered throughout the countryside were other +installations vital to the defense of the U.S.: radar stations, +fighter-interceptor bases, and the other mysterious areas that had +been blocked off by high chain-link fences. + +Since the green fireballs bore some resemblance to meteors or +meteorites, the Kirtland intelligence officers called in Dr. Lincoln +La Paz. + +Dr. La Paz said that he would be glad to help, so the officers +explained the strange series of events to him. True, he said, the +description of the fireballs did sound as if they might be meteorites +--except for a few points. One way to be sure was to try to plot the +flight path of the green fireballs the same way he had so +successfully plotted the flight path of meteorites in the past. From +this flight path he could determine where they would have hit the +earth--if they were meteorites. They would search this area, and if +they found parts of a meteorite they would have the answer to the +green fireball riddle. + +The fireball activity on the night of December 5 was made to order +for plotting flight paths. The good reports of that night included +carefully noted locations, the directions in which the green objects +were seen, their heights above the horizon, and the times when they +were observed. So early the next morning Dr. La Paz and a crew of +intelligence officers were scouring northern New Mexico. They started +out by talking to the people who had made reports but soon found out +that dozens of other people had also seen the fireballs. By closely +checking the time of the observations, they determined that eight +separate fireballs had been seen. One was evidently more spectacular +and was seen by the most people. Everyone in northern New Mexico had +seen it going from west to east, so Dr. La Paz and his crew worked +eastward across New Mexico to the west border of Texas, talking to +dozens of people. After many sleepless hours they finally plotted +where it should have struck the earth. They searched the area but +found nothing. They went back over the area time and time again-- +nothing. As Dr. La Paz later told me, this was the first time that he +seriously doubted the green fireballs were meteorites. + +Within a few more days the fireballs were appearing almost nightly. +The intelligence officers from Kirtland decided that maybe they could +get a good look at one of them, so on the night of December 8 two +officers took off in an airplane just before dark and began to cruise +around north of Albuquerque. They had a carefully worked out plan +where each man would observe certain details if they saw one of the +green fireballs. At 6:33P.M. they saw one. This is their report: + +At 6:33P.M. while flying at an indicated altitude of 11,500 feet, a +strange phenomenon was observed. Exact position of the aircraft at +time of the observation was 20 miles east of the Las Vegas, N.M., +radio range station. The aircraft was on a compass course of 90 +degrees. Capt. ------ was pilot and I was acting as copilot. I first +observed the object and a split second later the pilot saw it. It was +2,000 feet higher than the plane, and was approaching the plane at a +rapid rate of speed from 30 degrees to the left of our course. The +object was similar in appearance to a burning green flare, the kind +that is commonly used in the Air Force. However, the light was much +more intense and the object appeared considerably larger than a +normal flare. The trajectory of the object, when first sighted, was +almost flat and parallel to the earth. The phenomenon lasted about 2 +seconds. At the end of this time the object seemed to begin to burn +out and the trajectory then dropped off rapidly. The phenomenon was +of such intensity as to be visible from the very moment it ignited. + +Back at Wright-Patterson AFB, ATIC was getting a blow-by-blow +account of the fireball activity but they were taking no direct part +in the investigation. Their main interest was to review all incoming +UFO reports and see if the green fireball reports were actually +unique to the Albuquerque area. They were. Although a good many UFO +reports were coming in from other parts of the U.S., none fit the +description of the green fireballs. + +All during December 1948 and January 1949 the green fireballs +continued to invade the New Mexico skies. Everyone, including the +intelligence officers at Kirtland AFB, Air Defense Command people, +Dr. La Paz, and some of the most distinguished scientists at Los +Alamos had seen at least one. + +In mid-February 1949 a conference was called at Los Alamos to +determine what should be done to further pursue the investigation. +The Air Force, Project Sign, the intelligence people at Kirtland, and +other interested parties had done everything they could think of and +still no answer. + +Such notable scientists as Dr. Joseph Kaplan, a world-renowned +authority on the physics of the upper atmosphere, Dr. Edward Teller, +of H-bomb fame, and of course Dr. La Paz, attended, along with a lot +of military brass and scientists from Los Alamos. + +This was one conference where there was no need to discuss whether +or not this special type of UFO, the green fireball, existed. Almost +everyone at the meeting had seen one. The purpose of the conference +was to decide whether the fireballs were natural or man-made and how +to find out more about them. + +As happens in any conference, opinions were divided. Some people +thought the green fireballs were natural fireballs. The proponents of +the natural meteor, or meteorite, theory presented facts that they +had dug out of astronomical journals. Greenish-colored meteors, +although not common, had been observed on many occasions. The flat +trajectory, which seemed to be so important in proving that the green +fireballs were extraterrestrial, was also nothing new. When viewed +from certain angles, a meteor can appear to have a flat trajectory. +The reason that so many had been seen during December of 1948 and +January of 1949 was that the weather had been unusually clear all +over the Southwest during this period. + +Dr. La Paz led the group who believed that the green fireballs were +not meteors or meteorites. His argument was derived from the facts +that he had gained after many days of research and working with Air +Force intelligence teams. He stuck to the points that (1) the +trajectory was too flat, (2) the color was too green, and (3) he +couldn't locate any fragments even though he had found the spots +where they should have hit the earth if they were meteorites. + +People who were at that meeting have told me that Dr. La Paz's +theory was very interesting and that each point was carefully +considered. But evidently it wasn't conclusive enough because when +the conference broke up, after two days, it was decided that the +green fireballs were a natural phenomenon of some kind. It was +recommended that this phase of the UFO investigation be given to the +Air Force's Cambridge Research Laboratory, since it is the function +of this group to study natural phenomena, and that Cambridge set up a +project to attempt to photograph the green fireballs and measure +their speed, altitude, and size. + +In the late summer of 1949, Cambridge established Project Twinkle to +solve the mystery. The project called for establishing three +cinetheodolite stations near White Sands, New Mexico. A +cinetheodolite is similar to a 35-mm. movie camera except when you +take a photograph of an object you also get a photograph of three +dials that show the time the photo was taken, the azimuth angle, and +the elevation angle of the camera. If two or more cameras photograph +the same object, it is possible to obtain a very accurate measurement +of the photographed object's altitude, speed, and size. + +Project Twinkle was a bust. Absolutely nothing was photographed. Of +the three cameras that were planned for the project, only one was +available. This one camera was continually being moved from place to +place. If several reports came from a certain area, the camera crew +would load up their equipment and move to that area, always arriving +too late. Any duck hunter can tell you that this is the wrong tactic; +if you want to shoot any ducks pick a good place and stay put, let +the ducks come to you. + +The people trying to operate Project Twinkle were having financial +and morale trouble. To do a good job they needed more and better +equipment and more people, but Air Force budget cuts precluded this. +Moral support was free but they didn't get this either. + +When the Korean War started, Project Twinkle silently died, along +with official interest in green fireballs. + +When I organized Project Blue Book in the summer of 1951 I'd never +heard of a green fireball. We had a few files marked "Los Alamos +Conference," "Fireballs," "Project Twinkle," etc., but I didn't pay +any attention to them. + +Then one day I was at a meeting in Los Angeles with several other +officers from ATIC, and was introduced to Dr. Joseph Kaplan. When he +found we were from ATIC, his first question was, "What ever happened +to the green fireballs?" None of us had ever heard of them, so he +quickly gave us the story. He and I ended up discussing green +fireballs. He mentioned Dr. La Paz and his opinion that the green +fireballs might be man-made, and although he respected La Paz's +professional ability, he just wasn't convinced. But he did strongly +urge me to get in touch with Dr. La Paz and hear his side of the story. + +When I returned to ATIC I spent several days digging into our +collection of green fireball reports. All of these reports covered a +period from early December 1948 to 1949. As far as Blue Book's files +were concerned, there hadn't been a green fireball report for a year +and a half. + +I read over the report on Project Twinkle and the few notes we had +on the Los Alamos Conference, and decided that the next time I went +to Albuquerque I'd contact Dr. La Paz. I did go to Albuquerque +several times but my visits were always short and I was always in a +hurry so I didn't get to see him. + +It was six or eight months later before the subject of green +fireballs came up again. I was eating lunch with a group of people at +the AEC's Los Alamos Laboratory when one of the group mentioned the +mysterious kelly-green balls of fire. The strictly unofficial bull- +session-type discussion that followed took up the entire lunch hour +and several hours of the afternoon. It was an interesting discussion +because these people, all scientists and technicians from the lab, +had a few educated guesses as to what they might be. All of them had +seen a green fireball, some of them had seen several. + +One of the men, a private pilot, had encountered a fireball one +night while he was flying his Navion north of Santa Fe and he had a +vivid way of explaining what he'd seen. "Take a soft ball and paint +it with some kind of fluorescent paint that will glow a bright green +in the dark," I remember his saying, "then have someone take the ball +out about 100 feet in front of you and about 10 feet above you. Have +him throw the ball right at your face, as hard as he can throw it. +That's what a green fireball looks like." + +The speculation about what the green fireballs were ran through the +usual spectrum of answers, a new type of natural phenomenon, a secret +U.S. development, and psychologically enlarged meteors. When the +possibility of the green fireballs' being associated with +interplanetary vehicles came up, the whole group got serious. They +had been doing a lot of thinking about this, they said, and they had +a theory. + +The green fireballs, they theorized, could be some type of unmanned +test vehicle that was being projected into our atmosphere from a +"spaceship" hovering several hundred miles above the earth. Two years +ago I would have been amazed to hear a group of reputable scientists +make such a startling statement. Now, however, I took it as a matter +of course. I'd heard the same type of statement many times before +from equally qualified groups. + +Turn the tables, they said, suppose that we are going to try to go +to a far planet. There would be three phases to the trip: out through +the earth's atmosphere, through space, and the re-entry into the +atmosphere of the planet we're planning to land on. The first two +phases would admittedly present formidable problems, but the last +phase, the re-entry phase, would be the most critical. Coming in from +outer space, the craft would, for all practical purposes, be similar +to a meteorite except that it would be powered and not free-falling. +You would have myriad problems associated with aerodynamic heating, +high aerodynamic loadings, and very probably a host of other problems +that no one can now conceive of. Certain of these problems could be +partially solved by laboratory experimentation, but nothing can +replace flight testing, and the results obtained by flight tests in +our atmosphere would not be valid in another type of atmosphere. The +most logical way to overcome this difficulty would be to build our +interplanetary vehicle, go to the planet that we were interested in +landing on, and hover several hundred miles up. From this altitude we +could send instrumented test vehicles down to the planet. If we +didn't want the inhabitants of the planet, if it were inhabited, to +know what we were doing we could put destruction devices in the test +vehicle, or arrange the test so that the test vehicles would just +plain burn up at a certain point due to aerodynamic heating. + +They continued, each man injecting his ideas. + +Maybe the green fireballs are test vehicles--somebody else's. The +regular UFO reports might be explained by the fact that the manned +vehicles were venturing down to within 100,000 or 200,000 feet of the +earth, or to the altitude at which atmosphere re-entry begins to get +critical. + +I had to go down to the airstrip to get a CARCO Airlines plane back +to Albuquerque so I didn't have time to ask a lot of questions that +came into my mind. I did get to make one comment. From the +conversations, I assumed that these people didn't think the green +fireballs were any kind of a natural phenomenon. Not exactly, they +said, but so far the evidence that said they were a natural +phenomenon was vastly outweighed by the evidence that said they +weren't. + +During the kidney-jolting trip down the valley from Los Alamos to +Albuquerque in one of the CARCO Airlines' Bonanzas, I decided that +I'd stay over an extra day and talk to Dr. La Paz. + +He knew every detail there was to know about the green fireballs. He +confirmed my findings, that the genuine green fireballs were no +longer being seen. He said that he'd received hundreds of reports, +especially after he'd written several articles about the mysterious +fireballs, but that all of the reported objects were just greenish- +colored, common, everyday meteors. + +Dr. La Paz said that some people, including Dr. Joseph Kaplan and +Dr. Edward Teller, thought that the green fireballs were natural +meteors. He didn't think so, however, for several reasons. First the +color was so much different. To illustrate his point, Dr. La Paz +opened his desk drawer and took out a well-worn chart of the color +spectrum. He checked off two shades of green; one a pale, almost +yellowish green and the other a much more distinct vivid green. He +pointed to the bright green and told me that this was the color of +the green fireballs. He'd taken this chart with him when he went out +to talk to people who had seen the green fireballs and everyone had +picked this one color. The pale green, he explained, was the color +reported in the cases of documented green meteors. + +Then there were other points of dissimilarity between a meteor and +the green fireballs. The trajectory of the fireballs was too flat. +Dr. La Paz explained that a meteor doesn't necessarily have to arch +down across the sky, its trajectory can appear to be flat, but not as +flat as that of the green fireballs. Then there was the size. Almost +always such descriptive words as "terrifying," "as big as the moon," +and "blinding" had been used to describe the fireballs. Meteors just +aren't this big and bright. + +No--Dr. La Paz didn't think that they were meteors. + +Dr. La Paz didn't believe that they were meteorites either. + +A meteorite is accompanied by sound and shock waves that break +windows and stampede cattle. Yet in every case of a green fireball +sighting the observers reported that they did not hear any sound. + +But the biggest mystery of all was the fact that no particles of a +green fireball had ever been found. If they were meteorites, Dr. La +Paz was positive that he would have found one. He'd missed very few +times in the cases of known meteorites. He pulled a map out of his +file to show me what he meant. It was a map that he had used to plot +the spot where a meteorite had hit the earth. I believe it was in +Kansas. The map had been prepared from information he had obtained +from dozens of people who had seen the meteorite come flaming toward +the earth. At each spot where an observer was standing he'd drawn in +the observer's line of sight to the meteorite. From the dozens of +observers he had obtained dozens of lines of sight. The lines all +converged to give Dr. La Paz a plot of the meteorite's downward +trajectory. Then he had been able to plot the spot where it had +struck the earth. He and his crew went to the marked area, probed the +ground with long steel poles, and found the meteorite. + +This was just one case that he showed me. He had records of many +more similar successful expeditions in his file. + +Then he showed me some other maps. The plotted lines looked +identical to the ones on the map I'd just seen. Dr. La Paz had used +the same techniques on these plots and had marked an area where he +wanted to search. He had searched the area many times but he had +never found anything. + +These were plots of the path of a green fireball. + +When Dr. La Paz had finished, I had one last question, "What do you +think they are?" + +He weighed the question for a few seconds--then he said that all he +cared to say was that he didn't think that they were a natural +phenomenon. He thought that maybe someday one would hit the earth and +the mystery would be solved. He hoped that they were a natural +phenomenon. + +After my talk with Dr. La Paz I can well understand his apparent +calmness on the night of September 18, 1954, when the newspaper +reporter called him to find out if he planned to investigate this +latest green fireball report. He was speaking from experience, not +indifference, when he said, "But I don't expect to find anything." + +If the green fireballs are back, I hope that Dr. La Paz gets an +answer this time. + +The story of the UFO now goes back to late January 1949, the time +when the Air Force was in the midst of the green fireball mystery. In +another part of the country another odd series of events was taking +place. The center of activity was a highly secret area that can't be +named, and the recipient of the UFO's, which were formations of +little lights, was the U.S. Army. + +The series of incidents started when military patrols who were +protecting the area began to report seeing formations of lights +flying through the night sky. At first the lights were reported every +three or four nights, but inside of two weeks the frequency had +stepped up. Before long they were a nightly occurrence. Some patrols +reported that they had seen three or four formations in one night. +The sightings weren't restricted to the men on patrol. One night, +just at dusk, during retreat, the entire garrison watched a formation +pass directly over the post parade ground. + +As usual with UFO reports, the descriptions of the lights varied but +the majority of the observers reported a V formation of three lights. +As the formation moved through the sky, the lights changed in color +from a bluish white to orange and back to bluish white. This color +cycle took about two seconds. The lights usually traveled from west +to east and made no sound. They didn't streak across the sky like a +meteor, but they were "going faster than a jet." The lights were "a +little bigger than the biggest star." Once in a while the GI's would +get binoculars on them but they couldn't see any more details. The +lights just looked bigger. + +From the time of the first sighting, reports of the little lights +were being sent to the Air Force through Army Intelligence channels. +The reports were getting to ATIC, but the green fireball activity was +taking top billing and no comments went back to the Army about their +little lights. According to an Army G-2 major to whom I talked in the +Pentagon, this silence was taken to mean that no action, other than +sending in reports, was necessary on the part of the Army. + +But after about two weeks of nightly sightings and no apparent +action by the Air Force, the commander of the installation decided to +take the initiative and set a trap. His staff worked out a plan in +record time. Special UFO patrols would be sent out into the security +area and they would be furnished with sighting equipment. This could +be the equipment that they normally used for fire control. Each +patrol would be sent to a specific location and would set up a +command post. Operating out of the command post, at points where the +sky could be observed, would be sighting teams. Each team had +sighting equipment to measure the elevation and azimuth angle of the +UFO. Four men were to be on each team, an instrument man, a timer, a +recorder, and a radio operator. All the UFO patrols would be assigned +special radio frequencies. + +The operating procedure would be that when one sighting team spotted +a UFO the radio operator would call out his team's location, the +location of the UFO in the sky, and the direction it was going. All +of the other teams from his patrol would thus know when to look for +the UFO and begin to sight on it. While the radio man was reporting, +the instrument man on the team would line up the UFO and begin to +call out the angles of elevation and azimuth. The timer would call +out the time; the recorder would write all of this down. The command +post, upon hearing the report of the UFO, would call the next patrol +and tell them. They too would try to pick it up. + +Here was an excellent opportunity to get some concrete data on at +least one type of UFO. It was something that should have been done +from the start. Speeds, altitudes, and sizes that are estimated just +by looking at a UFO are miserably inaccurate. But if you could +accurately establish that some type of object was traveling 30,000 +miles an hour--or even 3,000 miles an hour--through our atmosphere, +the UFO story would be the biggest story since the Creation. + +The plan seemed foolproof and had the full support of every man who +was to participate. For the first time in history every GI wanted to +get on the patrols. The plan was quickly written up as a field order, +approved, and mimeographed. Since the Air Force had the prime +responsibility for the UFO investigation, it was decided that the +plan should be quickly co-ordinated with the Air Force, so a copy was +rushed to them. Time was critical because every group of nightly +reports might be the last. Everything was ready to roll the minute +the Air Force said "Go." + +The Air Force didn't O.K. the plan. I don't know where the plan was +killed, or who killed it, but it was killed. Its death caused two +reactions. + +Many people thought that the plan was killed so that too many people +wouldn't find out the truth about UFO's. Others thought somebody was +just plain stupid. Neither was true. The answer was simply that the +official attitude toward UFO's had drastically changed in the past +few months. They didn't exist, they couldn't exist. It was the belief +at ATIC that the one last mystery, the green fireballs, had been +solved a few days before at Los Alamos. The fireballs were meteors +and Project Twinkle would prove it. Any further investigation by the +Army would be a waste of time and effort. + +This drastic change in official attitude is as difficult to explain +as it was difficult for many people who knew what was going on inside +Project Sign to believe. I use the words "official attitude" because +at this time UFO's had become as controversial a subject as they are +today. All through intelligence circles people had chosen sides and +the two UFO factions that exist today were born. + +On one side was the faction that still believed in flying saucers. +These people, come hell or high water, were hanging on to their +original ideas. Some thought that the UFO's were interplanetary +spaceships. Others weren't quite as bold and just believed that a +good deal more should be known about the UFO's before they were so +completely written off. These people weren't a bunch of nuts or +crackpots either. They ranged down through the ranks from generals +and top-grade civilians. On the outside their views were backed up by +civilian scientists. + +On the other side were those who didn't believe in flying saucers. +At one time many of them had been believers. When the UFO reports +were pouring in back in 1947 and 1948, they were just as sure that +the UFO's were real as the people they were now scoffing at. But they +had changed their minds. Some of them had changed their minds because +they had seriously studied the UFO reports and just couldn't see any +evidence that the UFO's were real. But many of them could see the "I +don't believe" band wagon pulling out in front and just jumped on. + +This change in the operating policy of the UFO project was so +pronounced that I, like so many other people, wondered if there was a +hidden reason for the change. Was it actually an attempt to go +underground--to make the project more secretive? Was it an effort to +cover up the fact that UFO's were proven to be interplanetary and +that this should be withheld from the public at all cost to prevent a +mass panic? The UFO files are full of references to the near mass +panic of October 30, 1938, when Orson Welles presented his now famous +"The War of the Worlds" broadcast. + +This period of "mind changing" bothered me. Here were people +deciding that there was nothing to this UFO business right at a time +when the reports seemed to be getting better. From what I could see, +if there was any mind changing to be done it should have been the +other way, skeptics should have been changing to believers. + +Maybe I was just playing the front man to a big cover-up. I didn't +like it because if somebody up above me knew that UFO's were really +spacecraft, I could make a big fool out of myself if the truth came +out. I checked into this thoroughly. I spent a lot of time talking to +people who had worked on Project Grudge. + +The anti-saucer faction was born because of an old psychological +trait, people don't like to be losers. To be a loser makes one feel +inferior and incompetent. On September 23, 1947, when the chief of +ATIC sent a letter to the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces +stating that UFO's were real, intelligence committed themselves. They +had to prove it. They tried for a year and a half with no success. +Officers on top began to get anxious and the press began to get +anxious. They wanted an answer. Intelligence had tried one answer, +the then Top Secret Estimate of the Situation that "proved" that +UFO's were real, but it was kicked back. The people on the UFO +project began to think maybe the brass didn't consider them too sharp +so they tried a new hypothesis: UFO's don't exist. In no time they +found that this was easier to prove and it got recognition. Before if +an especially interesting UFO report came in and the Pentagon wanted +an answer, all they'd get was an "It could be real but we can't prove +it." Now such a request got a quick, snappy "It was a balloon," and +feathers were stuck in caps from ATIC up to the Pentagon. Everybody +felt fine. + +In early 1949 the term "new look" was well known. The new look in +women's fashions was the lower hemlines, in automobiles it was longer +lines. In UFO circles the new look was cuss 'em. + +The new look in UFO's was officially acknowledged on February 11, +1949, when an order was written that changed the name of the UFO +project from Project Sign to Project Grudge. The order was supposedly +written because the classified name, Project Sign, had been +compromised. This was always my official answer to any questions +about the name change. I'd go further and say that the names of the +projects, first Sign, then Grudge, had no significance. This wasn't +true, they did have significance, a lot of it. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE + +The Dark Ages + +The order of February 11, 1949, that changed the name of Project +Sign to Project Grudge had not directed any change in the operating +policy of the project. It had, in fact, pointed out that the project +was to continue to investigate and evaluate reports of sightings of +unidentified flying objects. In doing this, standard intelligence +procedures would be used. This normally means the _unbiased_ +_evaluation_ of intelligence data. But it doesn't take a great deal +of study of the old UFO files to see that standard intelligence +procedures were no longer being used by Project Grudge. Everything +was being evaluated on the premise that UFO's couldn't exist. No +matter what you see or hear, don't believe it. + +New people took over Project Grudge. ATIC's top intelligence +specialists who had been so eager to work on Project Sign were no +longer working on Project Grudge. Some of them had drastically and +hurriedly changed their minds about UFO's when they thought that the +Pentagon was no longer sympathetic to the UFO cause. They were now +directing their talents toward more socially acceptable projects. +Other charter members of Project Sign had been "purged." These were +the people who had refused to change their original opinions about +UFO's. + +With the new name and the new personnel came the new objective, get +rid of the UFO's. It was never specified this way in writing but it +didn't take much effort to see that this was the goal of Project +Grudge. This unwritten objective was reflected in every memo, report, +and directive. + +To reach their objective Project Grudge launched into a campaign +that opened a new age in the history of the UFO. If a comparative age +in world history can be chosen, the Dark Ages would be most +appropriate. Webster's Dictionary defines the Dark Ages as a period +of "intellectual stagnation." + +To one who is intimately familiar with UFO history it is clear that +Project Grudge had a two-phase program of UFO annihilation. The first +phase consisted of explaining every UFO report. The second phase was +to tell the public how the Air Force had solved all the sightings. +This, Project Grudge reasoned, would put an end to UFO reports. + +Phase one had been started by the people of Project Sign. They +realized that a great many reports were caused by people seeing +balloons or such astronomical bodies as planets, meteors, or stars. +They also realized that before they could get to the heart of the UFO +problems they had to sift out this type of report. To do this they +had called on outside help. Air Weather Service had been asked to +screen the reports and check those that sounded like balloons against +their records of balloon flights. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, distinguished +astrophysicist and head of Ohio State University's Astronomy +Department, had been given a contract to sort out those reports that +could be blamed on stars, planets, meteors, etc. By early March the +Air Weather Service and Dr. Hynek had some positive identifications. +According to the old records, with these solutions and those that +Sign and Grudge had already found, about 50 per cent of the reported +UFO's could now be positively identified as hoaxes, balloons, +planets, sundogs, etc. It was now time to start phase two, the +publicity campaign. + +For many months reporters and writers had been trying to reach +behind the security wall and get the UFO story from the horse's +mouth, but no luck. Some of them were still trying but they were +having no success because they were making the mistake of letting it +slip that they didn't believe that airline pilots, military pilots, +scientists, and just all around solid citizens were having +"hallucinations," perpetrating "hoaxes," or being deceived by the +"misidentification of common objects." The people of Project Grudge +weren't looking for this type of writer, they wanted a writer who +would listen to them and write their story. As a public relations +officer later told me, "We had a devil of a time. All of the writers +who were after saucer stories had made their own investigations of +sightings and we couldn't convince them they were wrong." + +Before long, however, the right man came along. He was Sidney +Shallet, a writer for _The_ _Saturday_ _Evening_ _Post_. He seemed to +have the prerequisites that were desired, so his visit to ATIC was +cleared through the Pentagon. Harry Haberer, a crack Air Force public +relations man, was assigned the job of seeing that Shallet got his +story. I have heard many times, from both military personnel and +civilians, that the Air Force told Shallet exactly what to say in his +article--play down the UFO's--don't write anything that even hints +that there might be something foreign in our skies. I don't believe +that this is the case. I think that he just wrote the UFO story as it +was told to him, told to him by Project Grudge. + +Shallet's article, which appeared in two parts in the April 30 and +May 7, 1949, issues of _The_ _Saturday_ _Evening_ _Post_, is +important in the history of the UFO and in understanding the UFO +problem because it had considerable effect on public opinion. Many +people had, with varying degrees of interest, been wondering about +the UFO's for over a year and a half. Very few had any definite +opinions one way or the other. The feeling seemed to be that the Air +Force is working on the problem and when they get the answer we'll +know. There had been a few brief, ambiguous press releases from the +Air Force but these meant nothing. Consequently when Shallet's +article appeared in the _Post_ it was widely read. It contained +facts, and the facts had come from Air Force Intelligence. This was +the Air Force officially reporting on UFO's for the first time. + +The article was typical of the many flying saucer stories that were +to follow in the later years of UFO history, all written from +material obtained from the Air Force. Shallet's article casually +admitted that a few UFO sightings couldn't be explained, but the +reader didn't have much chance to think about this fact because 99 +per cent of the story was devoted to the anti-saucer side of the +problem. It was the typical negative approach. I know that the +negative approach is typical of the way that material is handed out +by the Air Force because I was continually being told to "tell them +about the sighting reports we've solved--don't mention the unknowns." +I was never ordered to tell this, but it was a strong suggestion and +in the military when higher headquarters suggests, you do. + +Shallet's article started out by psychologically conditioning the +reader by using such phrases as "the great flying saucer scare," +"rich, full-blown screwiness," "fearsome freaks," and so forth. By +the time the reader gets to the meat of the article he feels like a +rich, full-blown jerk for ever even thinking about UFO's. + +He pointed out how the "furor" about UFO reports got so great that +the Air Force was "forced" to investigate the reports reluctantly. He +didn't mention that two months after the first UFO report ATIC had +asked for Project Sign since they believed that UFO's did exist. Nor +did it mention the once Top Secret Estimate of the Situation that +also concluded that UFO's were real. In no way did the article +reflect the excitement and anxiety of the age of Project Sign when +secret conferences preceded and followed every trip to investigate a +UFO report. This was the Air Force being "forced" into reluctantly +investigating the UFO reports. + +Laced through the story were the details of several UFO sightings; +some new and some old, as far as the public was concerned. The +original UFO report by Kenneth Arnold couldn't be explained. Arnold, +however, had sold his story to _Fate_ magazine and in the same issue +of _Fate_ were stories with such titles as "Behind the Etheric Veil" +and "Invisible Beings Walk the Earth," suggesting that Arnold's story +might fall into the same category. The sightings where the Air Force +had the answer had detailed explanations. The ones that were unknowns +were mentioned, but only in passing. + +Many famous names were quoted. The late General Hoyt S. Vanden-berg, +then Chief of Staff of the Air Force, had seen a flying saucer but it +was just a reflection on the windshield of his B-17. General Lauris +Norstad's UFO was a reflection of a star on a cloud, and General +Curtis E. Le May found out that one out of six UFO's was a balloon; +Colonel McCoy, then chief of ATIC, had seen lots of UFO's. All were +reflections from distant airplanes. In other words, nobody who is +anybody in the Air Force believes in flying saucers. + +Figures in the top echelons of the military had spoken. + +A few hoaxes and crackpot reports rounded out Mr. Shallet's article. + +The reaction to the article wasn't what the Air Force and ATIC +expected. They had thought that the public would read the article and +toss it, and all thoughts of UFO's, into the trash can. But they +didn't. Within a few days the frequency of UFO reports hit an all- +time high. People, both military and civilian, evidently didn't much +care what Generals Vandenberg, Norstad, Le May, or Colonel McCoy +thought; they didn't believe what they were seeing were +hallucinations, reflections, or balloons. What they were seeing were +UFO's, whatever UFO's might be. + +I heard many times from ex-Project Grudge people that Shallet had +"crossed" them, he'd vaguely mentioned that there might be a case for +the UFO. This made him pro-saucer. + +A few days after the last installment of the _Post_ article the Air +Force gave out a long and detailed press release completely debunking +UFO's, but this had no effect. It only seemed to add to the confusion. + +The one thing that Shallet's article accomplished was to plant a +seed of doubt in many people's minds. Was the Air Force telling the +truth about UFO's? The public and a large percentage of the military +didn't know what was going on behind ATIC's barbed-wire fence but +they did know that a lot of reliable people had seen UFO's. Airline +pilots are considered responsible people--airline pilots had seen +UFO's. Experienced military pilots and ground officers are +responsible people--they'd seen UFO's. Scientists, doctors, lawyers, +merchants, and plain old Joe Doakes had seen UFO's, and their friends +knew that they were responsible people. Somehow these facts and the +tone of the _Post_ article didn't quite jibe, and when things don't +jibe, people get suspicious. + +In those people who had a good idea of what was going on behind +ATIC's barbed wire, the newspaper reporters and writers with the +"usually reliable sources," the _Post_ article planted a bigger seed +of doubt. Why the sudden change in policy they wondered? If UFO's +were so serious a few months ago, why the sudden debunking? Maybe +Shallet's story was a put-up job for the Air Force. Maybe the +security had been tightened. Their sources of information were +reporting that many people in the military did not quite buy the +Shallet article. The seed of doubt began to grow, and some of these +writers began to start "independent investigations" to get the "true" +story. Research takes time, so during the summer and fall of 1949 +there wasn't much apparent UFO activity. + +As the writers began to poke around for their own facts, Project +Grudge lapsed more and more into a period of almost complete +inactivity. Good UFO reports continued to come in at the rate of +about ten per month but they weren't being verified or investigated. +Most of them were being discarded. There are few, if any, UFO reports +for the middle and latter part of 1949 in the ATIC files. Only the +logbook, showing incoming reports, gives any idea of the activity of +this period. The meager effort that was being made was going into a +report that evaluated old UFO reports, those received prior to the +spring of 1949. Project Grudge _thought_ that they were writing a +final report on the UFO's. + +From the small bits of correspondence and memos that were in the +ATIC files, it was apparent that Project Grudge thought that the UFO +was on its way out. Any writers inquiring about UFO activity were +referred to the debunking press release given out just after the +_Post_ article had been published. There was no more to say. Project +Grudge thought they were winning the UFO battle; the writers thought +that they were covering up a terrific news story--the story that the +Air Force knew what flying saucers were and weren't telling. + +By late fall 1949 the material for several UFO stories had been +collected by writers who had been traveling all over the United +States talking to people who had seen UFO's. By early winter the +material had been worked up into UFO stories. In December the presses +began to roll. _True_ magazine "scooped" the world with their story +that UFO's were from outer space. + +The _True_ article, entitled, "The Flying Saucers Are Real," was +written by Donald Keyhoe. The article opened with a hard punch. In +the first paragraph Keyhoe concluded that after eight months of +extensive research he had found evidence that the earth was being +closely scrutinized by intelligent beings. Their vehicles were the so- +called flying saucers. Then he proceeded to prove his point. His +argument was built around the three classics: the Mantell, the Chiles- +Whitted, and the Gorman incidents. He took each sighting, detailed +the "facts," ripped the official Air Force conclusions to shreds, and +presented his own analysis. He threw in a varied assortment of +technical facts that gave the article a distinct, authoritative +flavor. This, combined with the fact that _True_ had the name for +printing the truth, hit the reading public like an 8-inch howitzer. +Hours after it appeared in subscribers' mailboxes and on the +newsstands, radio and TV commentators and newspapers were giving it a +big play. UFO's were back in business, to stay. True was in business +too. It is rumored among magazine publishers that Don Keyhoe's +article in _True_ was one of the most widely read and widely +discussed magazine articles in history. + +The Air Force had inadvertently helped Keyhoe--in fact, they made +his story a success. He and several other writers had contacted the +Air Force asking for information for their magazine articles. But, +knowing that the articles were pro-saucer, the writers were +unceremoniously sloughed off. Keyhoe carried his fight right to the +top, to General Sory Smith, Director of the Office of Public +Information, but still no dice--the Air Force wasn't divulging any +more than they had already told. Keyhoe construed this to mean tight +security, the tightest type of security. Keyhoe had one more +approach, however. He was an ex-Annapolis graduate, and among his +classmates were such people as Admiral Delmar Fahrney, then a top +figure in the Navy guided missile program and Admiral Calvin Bolster, +the Director of the Office of Naval Research. He went to see them but +they couldn't help him. He _knew_ that this meant the real UFO story +was big and that it could be only one thing--interplanetary +spaceships or earthly weapons--and his contacts denied they were +earthly weapons. He played this security angle in his _True_ article +and in a later book, and it gave the story the needed punch. + +But the Air Force wasn't trying to cover up. It was just that they +didn't want Keyhoe or any other saucer fans in their hair. They +couldn't be bothered. They didn't believe in flying saucers and +couldn't feature anybody else believing. Believing, to the people in +ATIC in 1949, meant even raising the possibility that there might be +something to the reports. + +The Air Force had a plan to counter the Keyhoe article, or any other +story that might appear. The plan originated at ATIC. It called for a +general officer to hold a short press conference, flash his stars, +and speak the magic words "hoaxes, hallucinations, and the +misidentification of known objects," _True_, Keyhoe and the rest +would go broke trying to peddle their magazines. The _True_ article +did come out, the general spoke, the public laughed, and Keyhoe and +_True_ got rich. Only the other magazines that had planned to run UFO +stories, and that were scooped by _True_, lost out. Their stories +were killed--they would have been an anti-climax to Keyhoe's potboiler. + +The Air Force's short press conference was followed by a press +release. On December 27, 1949, it was announced that Project Grudge +had been closed out and the final report on UFO's would be released +to the press in a few days. When it was released it caused widespread +interest because, supposedly, this was all that the Air Force knew +about UFO's. Once again, instead of throwing large amounts of cold +water on the UFO's, it only caused more confusion. + +The report was officially titled "Unidentified Flying Objects-- +Project Grudge," Technical Report No. 102-AC-49/15-100. But it was +widely referred to as the Grudge Report. + +The Grudge Report was a typical military report. There was the body +of the report, which contained the short discussion, conclusions, and +recommendations. Then there were several appendixes that were +supposed to substantiate the conclusions and recommendations made in +the report. + +One of the appendixes was the final report of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, +Project Grudge's contract astronomer. Dr. Hynek and his staff had +studied 237 of the best UFO reports. They had spent several months +analyzing each report. By searching through astronomical journals and +checking the location of various celestial bodies, they found that +some UFO's could be explained. Of the 237 reports he and his staff +examined, 32 per cent could be explained astronomically. + +The Air Force Air Weather Service and the Air Force Cambridge +Research Laboratory had sifted the reports for UFO's that might have +been balloons. These two organizations had data on the flights of +both the regular weather balloons and the huge, high-flying skyhooks. +They wrote off 12 per cent of the 237 UFO reports under study as +balloons. + +This left 56 per cent still unknown. By weeding out the hoaxes, the +reports that were too nebulous to evaluate, and reports that could +well be misidentified airplanes, Project Grudge disposed of another +33 per cent of the reports. This left 23 per cent that fell in the +"unknown" category. + +There were more appendixes. The Rand Corporation, one of the most +unpublicized yet highly competent contractors to the Air Force, +looked over the reports and made the statement, "We have found +nothing which would seriously controvert simple rational explanations +of the various phenomena in terms of balloons, conventional aircraft, +planets, meteors, bits of paper, optical illusions, practical jokers, +psychopathological reporters, and the like." But Rand's comment +didn't help a great deal because they didn't come up with any +solutions to any of the 23 per cent unknown. + +The Psychology Branch of the Air Force's Aeromedical Laboratory took +a pass at the psychological angles. They said, "there are sufficient +psychological explanations for the reports of unidentified objects to +provide plausible explanations for reports not otherwise +explainable." They pointed out that some people have "spots in front +of their eyes" due to minute solid particles that float about in the +fluids of the eye and cast shadows on the retina. Then they pointed +out that some people are just plain nuts. Many people who read the +Grudge Report took these two points to mean that all UFO observers +either had spots in front of their eyes or were nuts. They broke the +reports down statistically. The people who wrote the report found +that over 70 per cent of the people making sightings reported a light- +colored object. (This I doubt, but that's what the report said.) They +said a big point of these reports of light-colored objects was that +any high-flying object will appear to be dark against the sky. For +this reason the UFO's couldn't be real. + +I suggest that the next time you are outdoors and see a bomber go +over at high altitude you look at it closely. Unless it's painted a +dark color it won't look dark. + +The U.S. Weather Bureau wrote an extremely comprehensive and +interesting report on all types of lightning. It was included in the +Grudge Report but contained a note: "None of the recorded incidents +appear to have been lightning." + +There was one last appendix. It was entitled "Summary of the +Evaluation of Remaining Reports." What the title meant was, We have +23 per cent of the reports that we can't explain but we have to +explain them because we don't believe in flying saucers. This +appendix contributed greatly to the usage of the analogy to the Dark +Ages, the age of "intellectual stagnation." + +This appendix was important--it was the meat of the whole report. +Every UFO sighting had been carefully checked, and those with answers +had been sifted out. Then the ones listed in "Summary of the +Evaluation of Remaining Reports" should be the best UFO reports--the +ones with no answers. + +This was the appendix that the newsmen grabbed at when the Grudge +Report was released. It contained the big story. But if you'll check +back through old newspaper files you will hardly find a mention of +the Grudge Report. + +I was told that reporters just didn't believe it when I tried to +find out why the Grudge Report hadn't been mentioned in the +newspapers. I got the story from a newspaper correspondent in +Washington whom I came to know pretty well and who kept me filled in +on the latest UFO scuttlebutt being passed around the Washington +press circles. He was one of those humans who had a brain like a +filing cabinet; he could remember everything about everything. UFO's +were a hobby of his. He remembered when the Grudge Report came out; +in fact, he'd managed to get a copy of his own. He said the report +had been quite impressive, but only in its ambiguousness, illogical +reasoning, and very apparent effort to write off all UFO reports at +any cost. He, personally, thought that it was a poor attempt to put +out a "fake" report, full of misleading information, to cover up the +real story. Others, he told me, just plainly and simply didn't know +what to think--they were confused. + +And they had every right to be confused. + +As an example of the way that many of the better reports of the 1947- +49 period were "evaluated" let's take the report of a pilot who +tangled with a UFO near Washington, D.C., on the night of November +18, 1948. + +At about 9:45 EST I noticed a light moving generally north to south +over Andrews AFB. It appeared to be one continuous, glowing white +light. I thought it was an aircraft with only one landing light so I +moved in closer to check, as I wanted to get into the landing +pattern. I was well above landing traffic altitude at this time. As I +neared the light I noticed that it was not another airplane. Just +then it began to take violent evasive action so I tried to close on +it. I made first contact at 2,700 feet over the field. I switched my +navigation lights on and off but got no answer so I went in closer-- +but the light quickly flew up and over my airplane. I then tried to +close again but the light turned. I tried to turn inside of its turn +and, at the same time, get the light between the moon and me, but +even with my flaps lowered I couldn't turn inside the light. I never +did manage to get into a position where the light was silhouetted +against the moon. + +I chased the light up and down and around for about 10 minutes, then +as a last resort I made a pass and turned on my landing lights. Just +before the object made a final tight turn and headed for the coast I +saw that it was a dark gray oval-shaped object, smaller than my T-6. +I couldn't tell if the light was on the object or if the whole object +had been glowing. + +Two officers and a crew chief, a master sergeant, completely +corroborated the pilot's report. They had been standing on the flight +line and had witnessed the entire incident. + +The Air Weather Service, who had been called in as experts on +weather balloons, read this report. They said, "Definitely not a +balloon." Dr. Hynek said, "No astronomical explanation." It wasn't +another airplane and it wasn't a hallucination. + +But Project Grudge had an answer, it _was_ a weather balloon. There +was no explanation as to why they had so glibly reversed the decision +of the Air Weather Service. + +There was an answer for every report. + +From the 600 pages of appendixes, discussions of the appendixes, and +careful studies of UFO reports, it was concluded that: + +Evaluation of reports of unidentified flying objects constitute no +direct threat to the national security of the United States. + +Reports of unidentified flying objects are the result of: + +A mild form of mass hysteria or "war nerves." + +Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek +publicity. + +Psychopathological persons. + +Misidentification of various conventional objects. + +It was recommended that Project Grudge be "reduced in scope" and +that only "those reports clearly indicating realistic technical +applications" be sent to Grudge. There was a note below these +recommendations. It said, "It is readily apparent that further study +along present lines would only confirm the findings presented herein." + +Somebody read the note and concurred because with the completion and +approval of the Grudge Report, Project Grudge folded. People could +rant and rave, see flying saucers, pink elephants, sea serpents, or +Harvey, but it was no concern of ATIC's. + + + +CHAPTER SIX + +The Presses Roll--The Air Force Shrugs + +The Grudge Report was supposedly not for general distribution. A few +copies were sent to the Air Force Press Desk in the Pentagon and +reporters and writers could come in and read it. But a good many +copies did get into circulation. The Air Force Press Room wasn't the +best place to sit and study a 600-page report, and a quick glance at +the report showed that it required some study--if no more than to +find out what the authors were trying to prove--so several dozen +copies got into circulation. I know that these "liberated" copies of +the Grudge Report had been thoroughly studied because nearly every +writer who came to ATIC during the time that I was in charge of +Project Blue Book carried a copy. + +Since the press had some questions about the motives behind +releasing the Grudge Report, it received very little publicity while +the writers put out feelers. Consequently in early 1950 you didn't +read much about flying saucers. + +Evidently certain people in the Air Force thought this lull in +publicity meant that the UFO's had finally died because Project +Grudge was junked. All the project files, hundreds of pounds of +reports, memos, photos, sketches, and other assorted bits of paper +were unceremoniously yanked out of their filing cabinets, tied up +with string, and chucked into an old storage case. I would guess that +many reports ended up as "souvenirs" because a year later, when I +exhumed these files, there were a lot of reports missing. + +About this time the official Air Force UFO project had one last post- +death muscular spasm. The last bundle of reports had just landed on +top of the pile in the storage case when ATIC received a letter from +the Director of Intelligence of the Air Force. In official language +it said, "What gives?" There had been no order to end Project Grudge. +The answer went back that Project Grudge had not been disbanded; the +project functions had been transferred and it was no longer a +"special" project. From now on UFO reports would be processed through +normal intelligence channels along with other intelligence reports. + +To show good faith ATIC requested permission to issue a new Air +Force-wide bulletin which was duly mimeographed and disseminated. In +essence it said that Air Force Headquarters had directed ATIC to +continue to collect and evaluate reports of unidentified flying +objects. It went on to explain that most UFO reports were trash. It +pointed out the findings of the Grudge Report in such strong language +that by the time the recipient of the bulletin had finished reading +it, he would be ashamed to send in a report. To cinch the deal the +bulletins must have been disseminated only to troops in Outer +Mongolia because I never found anyone in the field who had ever +received a copy. + +As the Air Force UFO-investigating activity dropped to nil, the +press activity skyrocketed to a new peak. A dozen people took off to +dig up their own UFO stories and to draw their own conclusions. + +After a quiet January, _True_ again clobbered the reading public. +This time it was a story in the March 1950 issue and it was entitled, +"How Scientists Tracked Flying Saucers." It was written by none other +than the man who was at that time in charge of a team of Navy +scientists at the super hush-hush guided missile test and development +area, White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. He was Commander R. B. +McLaughlin, an Annapolis graduate and a Regular Navy officer. His +story had been cleared by the military and was in absolute, 180- +degree, direct contradiction to every press release that had been +made by the military in the past two years. Not only did the +commander believe that he had proved that UFO's were real but that he +knew what they were. "I am convinced," he wrote in the _True_ +article, "that it," referring to a UFO he had seen at White Sands, +"was a flying saucer, and further, that these disks are spaceships +from another planet, operated by animate, intelligent beings." + +On several occasions during 1948 and 1949, McLaughlin or his crew at +the White Sands Proving Ground had made good UFO sightings. The best +one was made on April 24, 1949, when the commander's crew of +engineers, scientists, and technicians were getting ready to launch +one of the huge 100-foot-diameter skyhook balloons. It was 10:30A.M. +on an absolutely clear Sunday morning. Prior to the launching, the +crew had sent up a small weather balloon to check the winds at lower +levels. One man was watching the balloon through a theodolite, an +instrument similar to a surveyor's transit built around a 25-power +telescope, one man was holding a stop watch, and a third had a +clipboard to record the measured data. The crew had tracked the +balloon to about 10,000 feet when one of them suddenly shouted and +pointed off to the left. The whole crew looked at the part of the sky +where the man was excitedly pointing, and there was a UFO. "It didn't +appear to be large," one of the scientists later said, "but it was +plainly visible. It was easy to see that it was elliptical in shape +and had a 'whitish-silver color.'" After taking a split second to +realize what they were looking at, one of the men swung the +theodolite around to pick up the object, and the timer reset his stop +watch. For sixty seconds they tracked the UFO as it moved toward the +east. In about fifty-five seconds it had dropped from an angle of +elevation of 45 degrees to 25 degrees, then it zoomed upward and in a +few seconds it was out of sight. The crew heard no sound and the New +Mexico desert was so calm that day that they could have heard "a +whisper a mile away." + +When they reduced the data they had collected, McLaughlin and crew +found out that the UFO had been traveling 4 degrees per second. At +one time during the observed portion of its flight, the UFO had +passed in front of a range of mountains that were visible to the +observers. Using this as a check point, they estimated the size of +the UFO to be 40 feet wide and 100 feet long, and they computed that +the UFO had been at an altitude of 296,000 feet, or _56_ miles, when +they had first seen it, and that it was traveling 7 miles per second. + +This wasn't the only UFO sighting made by White Sands scientists. On +April 5, 1948, another team watched a UFO for several minutes as it +streaked across the afternoon sky in a series of violent maneuvers. +The disk-shaped object was about a fifth the size of a full moon. + +On another occasion the crew of a C-47 that was tracking a skyhook +balloon saw two similar UFO's come loping in from just above the +horizon, circle the balloon, which was flying at just under 90,000 +feet, and rapidly leave. When the balloon was recovered it was ripped. + +I knew the two pilots of the C-47; both of them now believe in +flying saucers. And they aren't alone; so do the people of the +Aeronautical Division of General Mills who launch and track the big +skyhook balloons. These scientists and engineers all have seen UFO's +and they aren't their own balloons. I was almost tossed out of the +General Mills offices into a cold January Minneapolis snowstorm for +suggesting such a thing--but that comes later in our history of the +UFO. + +I don't know what these people saw. There has been a lot of interest +generated by these sightings because of the extremely high +qualifications and caliber of the observers. There is some legitimate +doubt as to the accuracy of the speed and altitude figures that +McLaughlin's crew arrived at from the data they measured with their +theodolite. This doesn't mean much, however. Even if they were off by +a factor of 100 per cent, the speeds and altitudes would be +fantastic, and besides they looked at the UFO through a 25-power +telescope and swore that it was a flat, oval-shaped object. Balloons, +birds, and airplanes aren't flat and oval-shaped. + +Astrophysicist Dr. Donald Menzel, in a book entitled _Flying_ +_Saucers_, says they saw a refracted image of their own balloon +caused by an atmospheric phenomenon. Maybe he is right, but the +General Mills people don't believe it. And their disagreement is +backed up by years of practical experience with the atmosphere, its +tricks and its illusions. + +When the March issue of _True_ magazine carrying Commander +McLaughlin's story about how the White Sands Scientists had tracked +UFO's reached the public, it stirred up a hornets' nest. Donald +Keyhoe's article in the January _True_ had converted many people but +there were still a few heathens. The fact that government scientists +had seen UFO's, and were admitting it, took care of a large +percentage of these heathens. More and more people were believing in +flying saucers. + +The Navy had no comment to make about the sightings, but they did +comment on McLaughlin. It seems that several months before, at the +suggestion of a group of scientists at White Sands, McLaughlin had +carefully written up the details of the sightings and forwarded them +to Washington. The report contained no personal opinions, just facts. +The comments on McLaughlin's report had been wired back to White +Sands from Washington and they were, "What are you drinking out +there?" A very intelligent answer--and it came from an admiral in the +Navy's guided missile program. + +By the time his story was published, McLaughlin was no longer at +White Sands; he was at sea on the destroyer _Bristol_. Maybe he +answered the admiral's wire. + +The Air Force had no comment to make on McLaughlin's story. People +at ATIC just shrugged and smiled as they walked by the remains of +Project Grudge, and continued to "process UFO reports through regular +intelligence channels." + +In early 1950 the UFO's moved down to Mexico. The newspapers were +full of reports. Tourists were bringing back more saucer stories than +hand-tooled, genuine leather purses. _Time_ reported that pickpockets +were doing a fabulous business working the sky-gazing crowds that +gathered when a _plativolo_ was seen. Mexico's Department of National +Defense reported that there had been some good reports but that the +stories of finding crashed saucers weren't true. + +On March 8 one of the best UFO sightings of 1950 took place right +over ATIC. + +About midmorning on this date a TWA airliner was coming in to land +at the Dayton Municipal Airport. As the pilot circled to get into the +traffic pattern, he and his copilot saw a bright light hovering off +to the southeast. The pilot called the tower operators at the airport +to tell them about the light, but before he could say anything, the +tower operators told him they were looking at it too. They had called +the operations office of the Ohio Air National Guard, which was +located at the airport, and while the tower operators were talking, +an Air Guard pilot was running toward an F-51, dragging his +parachute, helmet, and oxygen mask. + +I knew the pilot, and he later told me, "I wanted to find out once +and for all what these screwy flying saucer reports were all about." + +While the F-51 was warming up, the tower operators called ATIC and +told them about the UFO and where to look to see it. The people at +ATIC rushed out and there it was--an extremely bright light, much +brighter and larger than a star. Whatever it was, it was high because +every once in a while it would be blanked out by the thick, high, +scattered clouds that were in the area. While the group of people +were standing in front of ATIC watching the light, somebody ran in +and called the radar lab at Wright Field to see if they had any radar +"on the air." The people in the lab said that they didn't have, but +they could get operational in a hurry. They said they would search +southeast of the field with their radar and suggested that ATIC send +some people over. By the time the ATIC people arrived at the radar +lab the radar was on the air and had a target in the same position as +the light that everyone was looking at. The radar was also picking up +the Air Guard F-51 and an F-51 that had been scrambled from Wright- +Patterson. The pilots of the Air Guard '51 and the Wright-Patterson +'51 could both see the UFO, and they were going after it. The master +sergeant who was operating the radar called the F-51's on the radio, +got them together and started to vector them toward the target. As +the two airplanes climbed they kept up a continual conversation with +the radar operator to make sure they were all after the same thing. +For several minutes they could clearly see the UFO, but when they +reached about 15,000 feet, the clouds moved in and they lost it. The +pilots made a quick decision; since radar showed that they were +getting closer to the target, they decided to spread out to keep from +colliding with one another and to go up through the clouds. They went +on instruments and in a few seconds they were in the cloud. It was +much worse than they'd expected; the cloud was thick, and the +airplanes were icing up fast. An F-51 is far from being a good +instrument ship, but they stayed in their climb until radar called +and said that they were close to the target; in fact, almost on it. +The pilots had another hurried radio conference and decided that +since the weather was so bad they'd better come down. If a UFO, or +something, was in the clouds, they'd hit it before they could see it. +So they made a wise decision; they dropped the noses of their +airplanes and dove back down into the clear. They circled awhile but +the clouds didn't break. In a few minutes the master sergeant on the +radar reported that the target was fading fast. The F-51's went in +and landed. + +When the target faded on the radar, some of the people went outside +to visually look for the UFO, but it was obscured by clouds, and the +clouds stayed for an hour. When it finally did clear for a few +minutes, the UFO was gone. + +A conference was held at ATIC that afternoon. It included Roy James, +ATIC's electronics specialist and expert on radar UFO's. Roy had been +over at the radar lab and had seen the UFO on the scope but neither +the F-51 pilots nor the master sergeant who operated the radar were +at the conference. The records show that at this meeting a unanimous +decision was reached as to the identity of the UFO's. The bright +light was Venus since Venus was in the southeast during midmorning on +March 8, 1950, and the radar return was caused by the ice-laden cloud +that the F-51 pilots had encountered. Ice-laden clouds can cause a +radar return. The group of intelligence specialists at the meeting +decided that this was further proved by the fact that as the F-51's +approached the center of the cloud their radar return appeared to +approach the UFO target on the radarscope. They were near the UFO and +near ice, so the UFO must have been ice. + +The case was closed. + +I had read the report of this sighting but I hadn't paid too much +attention to it because it had been "solved." But one day almost two +years later I got a telephone call at my office at Project Blue Book. +It was a master sergeant, the master sergeant who had been operating +the radar at the lab. He'd just heard that the Air Force was again +seriously investigating UFO's and he wanted to see what had been said +about the Dayton Incident. He came over, read the report, and +violently disagreed with what had been decided upon as the answer. He +said that he'd been working with radar before World War II; he'd +helped with the operational tests on the first microwave warning +radars developed early in the war by a group headed by Dr. Luis +Alvarez. He said that what he saw on that radarscope was no ice +cloud; it was some type of aircraft. He'd seen every conceivable type +of weather target on radar, he told me; thunderstorms, ice-laden +clouds, targets caused by temperature inversions, and the works. They +all had similar characteristics--the target was "fuzzy" and varied in +intensity. But in this case the target was a good, solid return and +he was convinced that it was caused by a good, solid object. And +besides, he said, when the target began to fade on his scope he had +raised the tilt of the antenna and the target came back, indicating +that whatever it was, it was climbing. Ice-laden clouds don't climb, +he commented rather bitterly. + +Nor did the pilot of one of the F-51's agree with the ATIC analysis. +The pilot who had been leading the two-ship flight of F-51's on that +day told me that what he saw was no planet. While he and his wing man +were climbing, and before the clouds obscured it, they both got a +good look at the UFO, and it was getting bigger and more distinct all +the time. As they climbed, the light began to take on a shape; it was +definitely round. And if it had been Venus it should have been in the +same part of the sky the next day, but the pilot said that he'd +looked and it wasn't there. The ATIC report doesn't mention this point. + +I remember asking him a second time what the UFO looked like; he +said, "huge and metallic"--shades of the Mantell Incident. + +The Dayton Incident didn't get much of a play from the press because +officially it wasn't an unknown and there's nothing intriguing about +an ice cloud and Venus. There were UFO reports in the newspapers, +however. + +One story that was widely printed was about a sighting at the naval +air station at Dallas, Texas. Just before noon on March 16, Chief +Petty Officer Charles Lewis saw a disk-shaped UFO come streaking +across the sky and buzz a high-flying B-36. Lewis first saw the UFO +coming in from the north, lower than the B-36; then he saw it pull up +to the big bomber as it got closer. It hovered under the B-36 for an +instant, then it went speeding off and disappeared. When the press +inquired about the incident, Captain M. A. Nation, commander of the +air station, vouched for his chief and added that the base tower +operators had seen and reported a UFO to him about ten days before. + +This story didn't run long because the next day a bigger one broke +when the sky over the little town of Farmington, New Mexico, about +170 miles northwest of Albuquerque, was literally invaded by UFO's. +Every major newspaper carried the story. The UFO's had apparently +been congregating over the four corners area for two days because +several people had reported seeing UFO's on March 15 and 16. But the +seventeenth was the big day, every saucer this side of Polaris must +have made a successful rendezvous over Farmington, because on that +day most of the town's 3,600 citizens saw the mass fly-by. The first +reports were made at 10:15A.M.; then for an hour the air was full of +flying saucers. Estimates of the number varied from a conservative +500 to "thousands." Most all the observers said the UFO's were saucer- +shaped, traveled at almost unbelievable speeds, and didn't seem to +have any set flight path. They would dart in and out and seemed to +avoid collisions only by inches. There was no doubt that they weren't +hallucinations because the mayor, the local newspaper staff, ex- +pilots, the highway patrol, and every type of person who makes up a +community of 3,600 saw them. + +I've talked to several people who were in Farmington and saw this +now famous UFO display of St. Patrick's Day, 1950. I've heard dozens +of explanations--cotton blowing in the wind, bugs' wings reflecting +sunlight, a hoax to put Farmington on the map, and real honest-to- +goodness flying saucers. One explanation was never publicized, +however, and if there is an explanation, it is the best. Under +certain conditions of extreme cold, probably 50 to 60 degrees below +zero, the plastic bag of a skyhook balloon will get very brittle, and +will take on the characteristics of a huge light bulb. If a sudden +gust of wind or some other disturbance hits the balloon, it will +shatter into a thousand pieces. As these pieces of plastic float down +and are carried along by the wind, they could look like thousands of +flying saucers. + +On St. Patrick's Day a skyhook balloon launched from Holloman AFB, +adjacent to the White Sands Proving Ground, did burst near +Farmington, and it was cold enough at 60,000 feet to make the balloon +brittle. True, the people at Farmington never found any pieces of +plastic, but the small pieces of plastic are literally as light as +feathers and could have floated far beyond the city. + +The next day, on March 18, the Air Force, prodded by the press, +shrugged and said, "There's nothing to it," but they had no +explanation. + +_True_ magazine came through for a third time when their April +issue, which was published during the latter part of March 1950, +carried a roundup of UFO photos. They offered seven photos as proof +that UFO's existed. It didn't take a photo-interpretation expert to +tell that all seven could well be of doubtful lineage, nevertheless +the collection of photos added fuel to the already smoldering fire. +The U.S. public was hearing a lot about flying saucers and all of it +was on the pro side. For somebody who didn't believe in the things, +the public thought that the Air Force was being mighty quiet. + +The subject took on added interest on the night of March 26, when a +famous news commentator said the UFO's were from Russia. + +The next night Henry J. Taylor, in a broadcast from Dallas, Texas, +said that the UFO's were Uncle Sam's own. He couldn't tell all he +knew, but a flying saucer had been found on the beach near Galveston, +Texas. It had USAF markings. + +Two nights later a Los Angeles television station cut into a regular +program with a special news flash; later in the evening the announcer +said they would show the first photos of the real thing, our +military's flying saucer. The photos turned out to be of the Navy XF- +5-U, a World War II experimental aircraft that never flew. + +The public was now thoroughly confused. + +By now the words "flying saucer" were being batted around by every +newspaper reporter, radio and TV newscaster, comedian, and man on the +street. Some of the comments weren't complimentary, but as Theorem I +of the publicity racket goes, "It doesn't make any difference what's +said as long as the name's spelled right." + +Early in April the publication that is highly revered by so many, +_U.S._ _News_ _and_ _World_ _Report_, threw in their lot. The UFO's +belonged to the Navy. Up popped the old non-flying XF-5-U again. + +Events drifted back to normal when Edward R. Murrow made UFO's the +subject of one of his TV documentaries. He took his viewers around +the U.S., talked to Kenneth Arnold, of original UFO fame, by phone +and got the story of Captain Mantell's death from a reporter "who was +there." Sandwiched in between accounts of actual UFO sightings were +the pro and con opinions of top Washington brass, scientists, and the +man on the street. + +Even the staid New York _Times_, which had until now stayed out of +UFO controversy, broke down and ran an editorial entitled, "Those +Flying Saucers--Are They or Aren't They?" + +All of this activity did little to shock the military out of their +dogma. They admitted that the UFO investigation really hadn't been +discontinued. "Any substantial reports of any unusual aerial +phenomena would be processed through normal intelligence channels," +they told the press. + +Ever since July 4, 1947, ten days after the first flying saucer +report, airline pilots had been reporting that they had seen UFO's. +But the reports weren't frequent--maybe one every few months. In the +spring of 1950 this changed, however, and the airline pilots began to +make more and more reports--good reports. The reports went to ATIC +but they didn't receive much attention. In a few instances there was +a semblance of an investigation but it was halfhearted. The reports +reached the newspapers too, and here they received a great deal more +attention. The reports were investigated, and the stories checked and +rechecked. When airline crews began to turn in one UFO report after +another, it was difficult to believe the old "hoax, hallucination, +and misidentification of known objects" routine. In April, May, and +June of 1950 there were over thirty-five good reports from airline +crews. + +One of these was a report from a Chicago and Southern crew who were +flying a DC-3 from Memphis to Little Rock, Arkansas, on the night of +March 31. It was an exceptionally clear night, no clouds or haze, a +wonderful night to fly. At exactly nine twenty-nine by the cockpit +clock the pilot, a Jack Adams, noticed a white light off to his left. +The copilot, G. W. Anderson, was looking at the chart but out of the +corner of his eye he saw the pilot lean forward and look out the +window, so he looked out too. He saw the light just as the pilot +said, "What's that?" + +The copilot's answer was classic: "No, not one of those things." + +Both pilots had only recently voiced their opinions regarding the +flying saucers and they weren't complimentary. + +As they watched the UFO, it passed across the nose of their DC-3 and +they got a fairly good look at it. Neither the pilot nor the copilot +was positive of the object's shape because it was "shadowy" but they +assumed it was disk-shaped because of the circular arrangement of +eight or ten "portholes," each one glowing from a strong bluish-white +light that seemed to come from the inside of whatever it was that +they saw. The UFO also had a blinking white light on top, a fact that +led many people to speculate that this UFO was another airliner. But +this idea was quashed when it was announced that there were no other +airliners in the area. The crew of the DC-3, when questioned on this +possibility, were definite in their answers. If it had been another +airplane, they could have read the number, seen the passengers, and +darn near reached out and slugged the pilot for getting so close to +them. + +About a month later, over northern Indiana, TWA treated all the +passengers of one of their DC-3 nights to a view of a UFO that looked +like a "big glob of molten metal." + +The official answer for this incident is that the huge orange-red +UFO was nothing more than the light from the many northern Indiana +blast furnaces reflecting a haze layer. Could be, but the pilots say +no. + +There were similar sightings in North Korea two years later--and +FEAF Bomber Command had caused a shortage of blast furnaces in North +Korea. + +UFO sightings by airline pilots always interested me as much as any +type of sighting. Pilots in general should be competent observers +simply because they spend a large part of their lives looking around +the sky. And pilots do look; one of the first things an aviation +cadet is taught is to "Keep your head on a swivel"; in other words, +keep looking around the sky. Of all the pilots, the airline pilots +are the cream of this group of good observers. Possibly some second +lieutenant just out of flying school could be confused by some +unusual formation of ground lights, a meteor, or a star, but airline +pilots have flown thousands of hours or they wouldn't be sitting in +the left seat of an airliner, and they should be familiar with a host +of unusual sights. + +One afternoon in February 1953 I had an opportunity to further my +study of UFO sightings by airline pilots. I had been out at Air +Defense Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs and was flying back +East on a United Airlines DC-6. There weren't many passengers on the +airplane that afternoon but, as usual, the captain came strolling +back through the cabin to chat. When he got to me he sat down in the +next seat. We talked a few minutes; then I asked him what he knew +about flying saucers. He sort of laughed and said that a dozen people +a week asked that question, but when I told him who I was and why I +was interested, his attitude changed. He said that he'd never seen a +UFO but he knew a lot of pilots on United who had. One man, he told +me, had seen one several years ago. He'd reported it but he had been +sloughed off like the rest. But he was so convinced that he'd seen +something unusual that he'd gone out and bought a Leica camera with a +105-mm. telephoto lens, learned how to use it, and now he carried it +religiously during his flights. + +There was a lull in the conversation, then the captain said, "Do you +really want to get an opinion about flying saucers?" + +I said I did. + +"O.K.," I remember his saying, "how much of a layover do you have in +Chicago?" + +I had about two hours. + +"All right, as soon as we get to Chicago I'll meet you at +Caffarello's, across the street from the terminal building. I'll see +who else is in and I'll bring them along." + +I thanked him and he went back up front. + +I waited around the bar at Caffarello's for an hour. I'd just about +decided that he wasn't going to make it and that I'd better get back +to catch my flight to Dayton when he and three other pilots came in. +We got a big booth in the coffee shop because he'd called three more +off-duty pilots who lived in Chicago and they were coming over too. I +don't remember any of the men's names because I didn't make any +attempt to. This was just an informal bull session and not an +official interrogation, but I really got the scoop on what airline +pilots think about UFO's. + +First of all they didn't pull any punches about what they thought +about the Air Force and its investigation of UFO reports. One of the +men got right down to the point: "If I saw a flying saucer flying +wing-tip formation with me and could see little men waving--even if +my whole load of passengers saw it--I wouldn't report it to the Air +Force." + +Another man cut in, "Remember the thing Jack Adams said he saw down +by Memphis?" + +I said I did. + +"He reported that to the Air Force and some red-hot character met +him in Memphis on his next trip. He talked to Adams a few minutes and +then told him that he'd seen a meteor. Adams felt like a fool. Hell, +I know Jack Adams well and he's the most conservative guy I know. If +he said he saw something with glowing portholes, he saw something +with glowing portholes--and it wasn't a meteor." + +Even though I didn't remember the pilots' names I'll never forget +their comments. They didn't like the way the Air Force had handled +UFO reports and I was the Air Force's "Mr. Flying Saucer." As quickly +as one of the pilots would set me up and bat me down, the next one +grabbed me off the floor and took his turn. But I couldn't complain +too much; I'd asked for it. I think that this group of seven pilots +pretty much represented the feelings of a lot of the airline pilots. +They weren't wide-eyed space fans, but they and their fellow pilots +had seen something and whatever they'd seen weren't hallucinations, +mass hysteria, balloons, or meteors. + +Three of the men at the Caffarello conference had seen UFO's or, to +use their terminology, they had seen something they couldn't identify +as a known object. Two of these men had seen odd lights closely +following their airplanes at night. Both had checked and double- +checked with CAA, but no other aircraft was in the area. Both +admitted, however, that they hadn't seen enough to class what they'd +seen as good UFO sighting. But the third man had a lulu. + +If I recall correctly, this pilot was flying for TWA. One day in +March 1952 he, his copilot, and a third person who was either a pilot +deadheading home or another crew member, I don't recall which, were +flying a C-54 cargo airplane from Chicago to Kansas City. At about +2:30P.M. the pilot was checking in with the CAA radio at Kirksville, +Missouri, flying 500 feet on top of a solid overcast. While he was +talking he glanced out at his No. 2 engine, which had been losing +oil. Directly in line with it, and a few degrees above, he saw a +silvery, disk-shaped object. It was too far out to get a really good +look at it, yet it was close enough to be able definitely to make out +the shape. + +The UFO held its relative position with the C-54 for five or six +minutes; then the pilot decided to do a little on-the-spot +investigating himself. He started a gradual turn toward the UFO and +for about thirty seconds he was getting closer, but then the UFO +began to make a left turn. It had apparently slowed down because they +were still closing on it. + +About this time the copilot decided that the UFO was a balloon; it +just looked as if the UFO was turning. The pilot agreed halfway--and +since the company wasn't paying them to intercept balloons, they got +back on their course to Kansas City. They flew on for a few more +minutes with "the darn thing" still off to their left. If it was a +balloon, they should be leaving it behind, the pilot recalled +thinking to himself; if they made a 45-degree right turn, the +"balloon" shouldn't stay off the left wing; it should drop 'way +behind. So they made a 45-degree right turn, and although the +"balloon" dropped back a little bit, it didn't drop back far enough +to be a balloon. It seemed to put on speed to try to make a turn +outside of the C-54's turn. The pilot continued on around until he'd +made a tight 360-degree turn, and the UFO had followed, staying +outside. They could not judge its speed, not knowing how far away it +was, but to follow even a C-54 around in a 360-degree turn and to +stay outside all of the time takes a mighty speedy object. + +This shot the balloon theory right in the head. After the 360-degree +turn the UFO seemed to be gradually losing altitude because it was +getting below the level of the wings. The pilot decided to get a +better look. He asked for full power on all four engines, climbed +several thousand feet, and again turned into the UFO. He put the C-54 +in a long glide, headed directly toward it. As they closed in, the +UFO seemed to lose altitude a little faster and "sank" into the top +of the overcast. Just as the C-54 flashed across the spot where the +UFO had disappeared, the crew saw it rise up out of the overcast off +their right wing and begin to climb so fast that in several seconds +it was out of sight. + +Both the pilot and copilot wanted to stay around and look for it but +No. 2 engine had started to act up soon after they had put on full +power for the climb, and they decided that they'd better get into +Kansas City. + +I missed my Dayton flight but I heard a good UFO story. + +What had the two pilots and their passenger seen? We kicked it +around plenty that afternoon. It was no balloon. It wasn't another +airplane because when the pilot called Kirksville Radio he'd asked if +there were any airplanes in the area. It might possibly have been a +reflection of some kind except that when it "sank" into the overcast +the pilot said it looked like something sinking into an overcast--it +just didn't disappear as a reflection would. Then there was the +sudden reappearance off the right wing. These are the types of things +you just can't explain. + +What did the pilots think it was? Three were sold that the UFO's +were interplanetary spacecraft, one man was convinced that they were +some U.S. "secret weapon," and three of the men just shook their +heads. So did I. We all agreed on one thing--this pilot had seen +something and it was something highly unusual. + +The meeting broke up about 9:00P.M. I'd gotten the personal and very +candid opinion of seven airline captains, and the opinions of half a +hundred more airline pilots had been quoted. I'd learned that the +UFO's are discussed often. I'd learned that many airline pilots take +UFO sightings very seriously. I learned that some believe they are +interplanetary, some think they're a U.S. weapon, and many just don't +know. But very few are laughing off the good sightings. + +By May 1950 the flying saucer business had hit a new all-time peak. + +The Air Force didn't take any side, they just shrugged. There was no +attempt to investigate and explain the various sightings. Maybe this +was because someone was afraid the answer would be "Unknown." Or +maybe it was because a few key officers thought that the eagles or +stars on their shoulders made them leaders of all men. If they didn't +believe in flying saucers and said so, it would be like calming the +stormy Sea of Galilee. "It's all a bunch of damned nonsense," an Air +Force colonel who was controlling the UFO investigation said. +"There's no such thing as a flying saucer." He went on to say that +all people who saw flying saucers were jokers, crackpots, or +publicity hounds. Then he gave the airline pilots who'd been +reporting UFO's a reprieve. "They were just fatigued," he said. "What +they thought were spaceships were windshield reflections." + +This was the unbiased processing of UFO reports through normal +intelligence channels. + +But the U.S. public evidently had more faith in the "crackpot" +scientists who were spending millions of the public's dollars at the +White Sands Proving Grounds, in the "publicity-mad" military pilots, +and the "tired, old" airline pilots, because in a nationwide poll it +was found that only 6 per cent of the country's 150,697,361 people +agreed with the colonel and said, "There aren't such things." + +Ninety-four per cent had different ideas. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN + +The Pentagon Rumbles + +On June 25, 1950, the North Korean armies swept down across the 38th +parallel and the Korean War was on--the UFO was no longer a news +item. But the lady, or gentleman, who first said, "Out of sight is +out of mind," had never reckoned with the UFO. + +On September 8, 1950, the UFO's were back in the news. On that day +it was revealed, via a book entitled _Behind_ _the_ _Flying_ +_Saucers_, that government scientists had recovered and analyzed +three different models of flying saucers. And they were fantastic-- +just like the book. They were made of an unknown super-duper metal +and they were manned by little blue uniformed men who ate +concentrated food and drank heavy water. The author of the book, +Frank Scully, had gotten the story directly from a millionaire +oilman, Silas Newton. Newton had in turn heard the story from an +employee of his, a mysterious "Dr. Gee," one of the government +scientists who had helped analyze the crashed saucers. + +The story made news, Newton and "Dr. Gee" made fame, and Scully made +money. + +A little over two years later Newton and the man who was reportedly +the mysterious "Dr. Gee" again made the news. The Denver district +attorney's office had looked into the pair's oil business and found +that the pockets they were trying to tap didn't contain oil. +According to the December 6, 1952, issue of the _Saturday_ _Review_, +the D.A. had charged the two men with a $50,000 con game. One of +their $800,000 electronic devices for their oil explorations turned +out to be a $4.00 piece of war surplus junk. + +Another book came out in the fall of 1950 when Donald Keyhoe +expanded his original UFO story that had first appeared in the +January 1950 issue of _True_ magazine. Next to Scully's book Keyhoe's +book was tame, but it convinced more people. Keyhoe had based his +conjecture on fact, and his facts were correct, even if the +conjecture wasn't. + +Neither the seesaw advances and retreats of the United Nations +troops in Korea nor the two flying saucer books seemed to have any +effect on the number of UFO reports logged into ATIC, however. By +official count, seventy-seven came in the first half of 1950 and +seventy-five during the latter half. The actual count could have been +more because in 1950, UFO reports were about as popular as sand in +spinach, and I would guess that at least a few wound up in the +"circular file." + +In early January 1951 I was recalled to active duty and assigned to +Air Technical Intelligence Center as an intelligence officer. I had +been at ATIC only eight and a half hours when I first heard the words +"flying saucer" officially used. I had never paid a great deal of +attention to flying saucer reports but I had read a few--especially +those that had been made by pilots. I'd managed to collect some 2,000 +hours of flying time and had seen many odd things in the air, but I'd +always been able to figure out what they were in a few seconds. I was +convinced that if a pilot, or any crew member of an airplane, said +that he'd seen something that he couldn't identify he meant it--it +wasn't a hallucination. But I wasn't convinced that flying saucers +were spaceships. + +My interest in UFO's picked up in a hurry when I learned that ATIC +was the government agency that was responsible for the UFO project. +And I was really impressed when I found out that the person who sat +three desks down and one over from mine was in charge of the whole +UFO show. So when I came to work on my second morning at ATIC and +heard the words "flying saucer report" being talked about and saw a +group of people standing around the chief of the UFO project's desk I +about sprung an eardrum listening to what they had to say. It seemed +to be a big deal--except that most of them were laughing. It must be +a report of hoax or hallucination, I remember thinking to myself, but +I listened as one of the group told the others about the report. + +The night before a Mid-Continent Airlines DC-3 was taxiing out to +take off from the airport at Sioux City, Iowa, when the airport +control tower operators noticed a bright bluish-white light in the +west. The tower operators, thinking that it was another airplane, +called the pilot of the DC-3 and told him to be careful since there +was another airplane approaching the field. As the DC-3 lined up to +take off, both the pilots of the airliner and the tower operators saw +the light moving in, but since it was still some distance away the DC- +3 was given permission to take off. As it rolled down the runway +getting up speed, both the pilot and the copilot were busy, so they +didn't see the light approaching. But the tower operators did, and as +soon as the DC-3 was airborne, they called and told the pilot to be +careful. The copilot said that he saw the light and was watching it. +Just then the tower got a call from another airplane that was +requesting landing instructions and the operators looked away from +the light. + +In the DC-3 the pilot and copilot had also looked away from the +light for a few seconds. When they looked back, the bluish-white +light had apparently closed in because it was much brighter and it +was dead ahead. In a split second it closed in and flashed by their +right wing--so close that both pilots thought that they would collide +with it. When it passed the DC-3, the pilots saw more than a light-- +they saw a huge object that looked like the "fuselage of a B-29." + +When the copilot had recovered he looked out his side window to see +if he could see the UFO and there it was, flying formation with them. +He yelled at the pilot, who leaned over and looked just in time to +see the UFO disappear. + +The second look confirmed the Mid-Continent crew's first impression-- +the object looked like a B-29 without wings. They saw nothing more, +only a big "shadowy shape" and the bluish-white light--no windows, no +exhaust. + +The tower had missed the incident because they were landing the +other airplane and the pilot and the copilot didn't have time to call +them and tell them about what was going on. All the tower operators +could say was that seconds after the UFO had disappeared the light +that they had seen was gone. + +When the airliner landed in Omaha, the crew filed a report that was +forwarded to the Air Force. But this wasn't the only report that was +filed; a full colonel from military intelligence had been a passenger +on the DC-3. He'd seen the UFO too, and he was mighty impressed. + +I thought that this was an interesting report and I wondered what +the official reaction would be. The official reaction was a great +big, deep belly laugh. + +This puzzled me because I'd read that the Air Force was seriously +investigating all UFO reports. + +I continued to eavesdrop on the discussions about the report all day +since the UFO expert was about to "investigate" the incident. He sent +out a wire to Flight Service and found that there was a B-36 +somewhere in the area of Sioux City at the time of the sighting, and +from what I could gather he was trying to blame the sighting on the B- +36. When Washington called to get the results of the analysis of the +sighting, they must have gotten the B-36 treatment because the case +was closed. + +I'd only been at ATIC two days and I certainly didn't class myself +as an intelligence expert, but it didn't take an expert to see that a +B-36, even one piloted by an experienced idiot, could not do what the +UFO had done--buzz a DC-3 that was in an airport traffic pattern. + +I didn't know it at the time but a similar event had occurred the +year before. On the night of May 29, 1950, the crew of an American +Airlines DC-6 had just taken off from Washington National Airport, +and they were about seven miles west of Mount Vernon when the copilot +suddenly looked out and yelled, "Watch it--watch it." The pilot and +the engineer looked out to see a bluish-white light closing in on +them from dead ahead. The pilot racked the DC-6 up in a tight right +turn while the UFO passed by on the left "from eleven to seven +o'clock" and a little higher than the airliner. During this time the +UFO passed between the full moon and DC-6 and the crew could see the +dark silhouette of a "wingless B-29." Its length was about half the +diameter of the full moon, and it had a blue flame shooting out the +tail end. + +Seconds after the UFO had passed by the DC-6, the copilot looked out +and there it was again, apparently flying formation off their right +wing. Then in a flash of blue flame it was gone--streaking out ahead +of the airliner and making a left turn toward the coast. + +The pilot of the DC-6, who made the report, had better than 15,000 +hours' flying time. + +I didn't hear anything about UFO's, or flying saucers, as they were +then known, for several weeks but I kept them in mind and one day I +asked one of the old hands at ATIC about them--specifically I wanted +to know about the Sioux City Incident. Why had it been sloughed off +so lightly? His answer was typical of the official policy at that +time. "One of these days all of these crazy pilots will kill +themselves, the crazy people on the ground will be locked up, and +there won't be any more flying saucer reports." + +But after I knew the people at ATIC a little better, I found that +being anti-saucer wasn't a unanimous feeling. Some of the +intelligence officers took the UFO reports seriously. One man, who +had been on Project Sign since it was organized back in 1947, was +convinced that the UFO's were interplanetary spaceships. He had +questioned the people in the control tower at Godman AFB when Captain +Mantell was killed chasing the UFO, and he had spent hours talking to +the crew of the DC-3 that was buzzed near Montgomery, Alabama, by a +"cigar-shaped UFO that spouted blue flame." In essence, he knew UFO +history from _A_ _to_ _Z_ because he had "been there." + +I think that it was this controversial thinking that first aroused +my interest in the subject of UFO's and led me to try to sound out a +few more people. + +The one thing that stood out to me, being unindoctrinated in the +ways of UFO lore, was the schizophrenic approach so many people at +ATIC took. On the surface they sided with the belly-laughers on any +saucer issue, but if you were alone with them and started to ridicule +the subject, they defended it or at least took an active interest. I +learned this one day after I'd been at ATIC about a month. + +A belated UFO report had come in from Africa. One of my friends was +reading it, so I asked him if I could take a look at it when he had +finished. In a few minutes he handed it to me. + +When I finished with the report I tossed it back on my friend's +desk, with some comment about the whole world's being nuts. I got a +reaction I didn't expect; he wasn't so sure the whole world was nuts-- +maybe the nuts were at ATIC. "What's the deal?" I asked him. "Have +they really thoroughly checked out every report and found that +there's nothing to any of them?" + +He told me that he didn't think so, he'd been at ATIC a long time. +He hadn't ever worked on the UFO project, but he had seen many of +their reports and knew what they were doing. He just plain didn't buy +a lot of their explanations. "And I'm not the only one who thinks +this," he added. + +"Then why all of the big show of power against the UFO reports?" I +remember asking him. + +"The powers-that-be are anti-flying saucer," he answered about half +bitterly, "and to stay in favor it behooves one to follow suit." + +As of February 1951 this was the UFO project. + +The words "flying saucer" didn't come up again for a month or two. +I'd forgotten all about the two words and was deeply engrossed in +making an analysis of the performance of the Mig-15. The Mig had just +begun to show up in Korea, and finding out more about it was a hot +project. + +Then the words "flying saucer" drifted across the room once more. +But this time instead of belly laughter there was a note of hysteria. + +It seems that a writer from _Life_ magazine was doing some research +on UFO's and rumor had it that _Life_ was thinking about doing a +feature article. The writer had gone to the Office of Public +Information in the Pentagon and had inquired about the current status +of Project Grudge. To accommodate the writer, the OPI had sent a wire +out to ATIC: What is the status of Project Grudge? + +Back went a snappy reply: Everything is under control; each new +report is being thoroughly analyzed by our experts; our vast files of +reports are in tiptop shape; and in general things are hunky-dunky. +All UFO reports are hoaxes, hallucinations, and the misidentification +of known objects. + +Another wire from Washington: Fine, Mr. Bob Ginna of _Life_ is +leaving for Dayton. He wants to check some reports. + +Bedlam in the raw. + +Other magazines had printed UFO stories, and other reporters had +visited ATIC, but they had always stayed in the offices of the top +brass. For some reason the name _Life_, the prospects of a feature +story, and the feeling that this Bob Ginna was going to ask questions +caused sweat to flow at ATIC. + +Ginna arrived and the ATIC UFO "expert" talked to him. Ginna later +told me about the meeting. He had a long list of questions about +reports that had been made over the past four years and every time he +asked a question, the "expert" would go tearing out of the room to +try to find the file that had the answer. I remember that day people +spent a lot of time ripping open bundles of files and pawing through +them like a bunch of gophers. Many times, "I'm sorry, that's +classified," got ATIC out of a tight spot. + +Ginna, I can assure you, was not at all impressed by the +"efficiently operating UFO project." People weren't buying the hoax, +hallucination, and misidentification stories quite as readily as the +Air Force believed. + +Where it started or who started it I don't know, but about two +months after the visit from _Life's_ representative the official +interest in UFO's began to pick up. Lieutenant Jerry Cummings, who +had recently been recalled to active duty, took over the project. + +Lieutenant Cummings is the type of person who when given a job to do +does it. In a few weeks the operation of the UFO project had improved +considerably. But the project was still operating under political, +economic, and manpower difficulties. Cummings' desk was right across +from mine, so I began to get a UFO indoctrination via bull sessions. +Whenever Jerry found a good report in the pile--and all he had to +start with was a pile of papers and files--he'd toss it over for me +to read. + +Some of the reports were unimpressive, I remember. But a few were +just the opposite. Two that I remember Jerry's showing me made me +wonder how the UFO's could be sloughed off so lightly. The two +reports involved movies taken by Air Force technicians at White Sands +Proving Ground in New Mexico. + +The guided missile test range at White Sands is fully instrumented +to track high, fast-moving objects--the guided missiles. Located over +an area of many square miles there are camera stations equipped with +cinetheodolite cameras and linked together by a telephone system. + +On April 27, 1950, a guided missile had been fired, and as it roared +up into the stratosphere and fell back to earth, the camera crews had +recorded its flight. All the crews had started to unload their +cameras when one of them spotted an object streaking across the sky. +By April 1950 every person at White Sands was UFO-conscious, so one +member of the camera crew grabbed a telephone headset, alerted the +other crews, and told them to get pictures. Unfortunately only one +camera had film in it, the rest had already been unloaded, and before +they could reload, the UFO was gone. The photos from the one station +showed only a smudgy dark object. About all the film proved was that +something was in the air and whatever it was, it was moving. + +Alerted by this first chance to get a UFO to "run a measured +course," the camera crews agreed to keep a sharper lookout. They also +got the official O.K. to "shoot" a UFO if one appeared. + +Almost exactly a month later another UFO did appear, or at least at +the time the camera crews thought that it was _a_ UFO. This time the +crews were ready--when the call went out over the telephone net that +a UFO had been spotted, all of the crews scanned the sky. Two of the +crews saw it and shot several feet of film as the shiny, bright +object streaked across the sky. + +As soon as the missile tests were completed, the camera crews rushed +their film to the processing lab and then took it to the Data +Reduction Group. But once again the UFO had eluded man because there +were apparently two or more UFO's in the sky and each camera station +had photographed a separate one. The data were no good for +triangulation. + +The records at ATIC didn't contain the analysis of these films but +they did mention the Data Reduction Group at White Sands. So when I +later took over the UFO investigation I made several calls in an +effort to run down the actual film and the analysis. The files at +White Sands, like all files, evidently weren't very good, because the +original reports were gone. I did contact a major who was very co- +operative and offered to try to find the people who had worked on the +analysis of the film. His report, after talking to two men who had +done the analysis, was what I'd expected--nothing concrete except +that the UFO's were unknowns. He did say that by putting a correction +factor in the data gathered by the two cameras they were able to +arrive at a rough estimate of speed, altitude, and size. The UFO was +"higher than 40,000 feet, traveling over 2,000 miles per hour, and it +was over 300 feet in diameter." He cautioned me, however, that these +figures were only estimates, based on the possibly erroneous +correction factor; therefore they weren't proof of anything--except +that something was in the air. + +The people at White Sands continued to be on the alert for UFO's +while the camera stations were in operation because they realized +that if the flight path of a UFO could be accurately plotted and +timed it could be positively identified. But no more UFO's showed up. + +One day Lieutenant Cummings came over to my desk and dropped a stack +of reports in front of me. "All radar reports," he said, "and I'm +getting more and more of them every day." + +Radar reports, I knew, had always been a controversial point in UFO +history, and if more and more radar reports were coming in, there was +no doubt that an already controversial issue was going to be +compounded. + +To understand why there is always some disagreement whenever a +flying saucer is picked up on radar, it is necessary to know a little +bit about how radar operates. + +Basically radar is nothing but a piece of electronic equipment that +"shouts" out a radio wave and "listens" for the echo. By "knowing" +how fast the radio, or radar, wave travels and from which direction +the echo is coming, the radar tells the direction and distance of the +object that is causing the echo. Any "solid" object like an airplane, +bird, ship, or even a moisture-laden cloud can cause a radar echo. +When the echo comes back to the radar set, the radar operator doesn't +have to listen for it and time it because this is all done for him by +the radar set and he sees the "answer" on his radarscope--a kind of a +round TV screen. What the radar operator sees is a bright dot, called +a "blip" or a "return." The location of the return on the scope tells +him the location of the object that was causing the echo. As the +object moves through the sky, the radar operator sees a series of +bright dots on his scope that make a track. On some radar sets the +altitude of the target, the object causing the echo, can also be +measured. + +Under normal conditions the path that the radar waves take as they +travel through the air is known. Normal conditions are when the +temperature and relative humidity of the air decrease with an +increase in altitude. But sometimes a condition will occur where at +some level, instead of the temperature and/or relative humidity +decreasing with altitude, it will begin to increase. This layer of +warm, moist air is known as an inversion layer, and it can do all +kinds of crazy things to a radar wave. It can cause part of the radar +wave to travel in a big arc and actually pick up the ground many +miles away. Or it can cause the wave to bend down just enough to pick +up trucks, cars, houses, or anything that has a surface perpendicular +to the ground level. + +One would immediately think that since the ground or a house isn't +moving, and a car or truck is moving only 40, 50, or 60 miles an +hour, a radar operator should be able to pick these objects out from +a fast-moving target. But it isn't as simple as that. The inversion +layer shimmers and moves, and one second the radar may be picking up +the ground or a truck in one spot and the next second it may be +picking up something in a different spot. This causes a series of +returns on the scope and can give the illusion of extremely fast or +slow speeds. + +These are but a few of the effects of an inversion layer on radar. +Some of the effects are well known, but others aren't. The 3rd +Weather Group at Air Defense Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs +has done a lot of work on the effects of weather on radar, and they +have developed mathematical formulas for telling how favorable +weather conditions are for "anomalous propagation," the two-bit words +for false radar targets caused by weather. + +The first problem in analyzing reports of UFO's being picked up on +radar is to determine if the weather conditions are right to give +anomalous propagation. This can be determined by putting weather data +into a formula. If they are, then it is necessary to determine +whether the radar targets were real or caused by the weather. This is +the difficult job. In most cases the only answer is the appearance of +the target on the radar-scope. Many times a weather target will be a +fuzzy and indistinct spot on the scope while a real target, an +airplane for example, will be bright and sharp. This question of +whether a target looked real is the cause of the majority of the +arguments about radar-detected UFO's because it is up to the judgment +of the radar operator as to what the target looked like. And whenever +human judgment is involved in a decision, there is plenty of room for +an argument. + +All during the early summer of 1951 Lieutenant Cummings "fought the +syndicate" trying to make the UFO respectable. All the time I was +continuing to get my indoctrination. Then one day with the speed of a +shotgun wedding, the long-overdue respectability arrived. The date +was September 12, 1951, and the exact time was 3:04P.M. + +On this date and time a teletype machine at Wright-Patterson AFB +began to chatter out a message. Thirty-six inches of paper rolled out +of the machine before the operator ripped off the copy, stamped it +Operational Immediate, and gave it to a special messenger to deliver +to ATIC. Lieutenant Cummings got the message. The report was from the +Army Signal Corps radar center at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and it +was red-hot. + +The incident had started two days before, on September 10, at +11:10A.M., when a student operator was giving a demonstration to a +group of visiting brass at the radar school. He demonstrated the set +under manual operation for a while, picking up local air traffic, +then he announced that he would demonstrate automatic tracking, in +which the set is put on a target and follows it without help from the +operator. The set could track objects flying at jet speeds. + +The operator spotted an object about 12,000 yards southeast of the +station, flying low toward the north. He tried to switch the set to +automatic tracking. He failed, tried again, failed again. He turned +to his audience of VIPs, embarrassed. + +"It's going too fast for the set," he said. "That means it's going +faster than a jet!" + +A lot of very important eyebrows lifted. What flies faster than a jet? + +The object was in range for three minutes and the operator kept +trying, without success, to get into automatic track. The target +finally went off the scope, leaving the red-faced operator talking to +himself. The radar technicians at Fort Monmouth had checked the +weather--there wasn't the slightest indication of an inversion layer. + +Twenty-five minutes later the pilot of a T-33 jet trainer, carrying +an Air Force major as passenger and flying 20,000 feet over Point +Pleasant, New Jersey, spotted a dull silver, disklike object far +below him. He described it as 30 to 50 feet in diameter and as +descending toward Sandy Hook from an altitude of a mile or so. He +banked the T-33 over and started down after it. As he shot down, he +reported, the object stopped its descent, hovered, then sped south, +made a 120-degree turn, and vanished out to sea. + +The Fort Monmouth Incident then switched back to the radar group. At +3:15P.M. they got an excited, almost frantic call from headquarters +to pick up a target high and to the north--which was where the first +"faster-than-a-jet" object had vanished--and to pick it up in a +hurry. They got a fix on it and reported that it was traveling slowly +at 93,000 feet. They also could see it visually as a silver speck. + +What flies 18 miles above the earth? + +The next morning two radar sets picked up another target that +couldn't be tracked automatically. It would climb, level off, climb +again, go into a dive. When it climbed it went almost straight up. + +The two-day sensation ended that afternoon when the radar tracked +another unidentified slow-moving object and tracked it for several +minutes. + +A copy of the message had also gone to Washington. Before Jerry +could digest the thirty-six inches of facts, ATIC's new chief, +Colonel Frank Dunn, got a phone call. It came from the office of the +Director of Intelligence of the Air Force, Major General (now +Lieutenant General) C. P. Cabell. General Cabell wanted somebody from +ATIC to get to New Jersey--fast--and find out what was going on. As +soon as the reports had been thoroughly investigated, the general +said that he wanted a complete personal report. Nothing expedites +like a telephone call from a general officer, so in a matter of hours +Lieutenant Cummings and Lieutenant Colonel N. R. Rosengarten were on +an airliner, New Jersey-bound. + +The two officers worked around the clock interrogating the radar +operators, their instructors, and the technicians at Fort Monmouth. +The pilot who had chased the UFO in the T-33 trainer and his +passenger were flown to New York, and they talked to Cummings and +Rosengarten. All other radar stations in the area were checked, but +their radars hadn't picked up anything unusual. + +At about 4:00A.M. the second morning after they had arrived, the +investigation was completed, Cummings later told. He and Lieutenant +Colonel Rosengarten couldn't get an airliner out of New York in time +to get them to the Pentagon by 10:00A.M., the time that had been set +up for their report, so they chartered an airplane and flew to the +capital to brief the general. + +General Cabell presided over the meeting, and it was attended by his +entire staff plus Lieutenant Cummings, Lieutenant Colonel +Rosengarten, and a special representative from Republic Aircraft +Corporation. The man from Republic supposedly represented a group of +top U.S. industrialists and scientists who thought that there should +be a lot more sensible answers coming from the Air Force regarding +the UFO's. The man was at the meeting at the personal request of a +general officer. + +Every word of the two-hour meeting was recorded on a wire recorder. +The recording was so hot that it was later destroyed, but not before +I had heard it several times. I can't tell everything that was said +but, to be conservative, it didn't exactly follow the tone of the +official Air Force releases--many of the people present at the +meeting weren't as convinced that the "hoax, hallucination, and +misidentification" answer was + +The first thing the general wanted to know was, "Who in hell has +been giving me these reports that every decent flying saucer sighting +is being investigated?" + +Then others picked up the questioning. + +"What happened to those two reports that General ------ sent in from +Saudi Arabia? He saw those two flying saucers himself." + +"And who released this big report, anyway?" another person added, +picking up a copy of the Grudge Report and slamming it back down on +the table. + +Lieutenant Cummings and Lieutenant Colonel Rosengarten came back to +ATIC with orders to set up a new project and report back to General +Cabell when it was ready to go. But Cummings didn't get a chance to +do much work on the new revitalized Project Grudge--it was to keep +the old name--because in a few days he was a civilian. He'd been +released from active duty because he was needed back at Cal Tech, +where he'd been working on an important government project before his +recall to active duty. + +The day after Cummings got his separation orders, Lieutenant Colonel +Rosengarten called me into his office. The colonel was chief of the +Aircraft and Missiles branch and one of his many responsibilities was +Project Grudge. He said that he knew that I was busy as group leader +of my regular group but, if he gave me enough people, could I take +Project Grudge? All he wanted me to do was to get it straightened out +and operating; then I could go back to trying to outguess the +Russians. He threw in a few comments about the good job I'd done +straightening out other fouled-up projects. Good old "Rosy." With my +ego sufficiently inflated, I said yes. + +On many later occasions, when I'd land at home in Dayton just long +enough for a clean clothes resupply, or when the telephone would ring +at 2:00A.M. to report a new "hot" sighting and wake up the baby, Mrs. +Ruppelt and I have soundly cussed my ego. + +I had had the project only a few days when a minor flurry of good +UFO reports started. It wasn't supposed to happen because the day +after I'd taken over Project Grudge I'd met the ex-UFO "expert" in +the hall and he'd nearly doubled up with laughter as he said +something about getting stuck with Project Grudge. He predicted that +I wouldn't get a report until the newspapers began to play up flying +saucers again. "It's all mass hysteria," he said. + +The first hysterical report of the flurry came from the Air Defense +Command. On September 23, 1951, at seven fifty-five in the morning, +two F-86's on an early patrol were approaching Long Beach, +California, coming in on the west leg of the Long Beach Radio range. +All of a sudden the flight leader called his ground controller--high +at twelve o'clock he and his wing man saw an object. It was in a +gradual turn to its left, and it wasn't another airplane. The ground +controller checked his radars but they had nothing, so the ground +controller called the leader of the F-86's back and told him to go +after the object and try to identify it. The two airplanes started to +climb. + +By this time the UFO had crossed over them but it was still in a +turn and was coming back. Several times they tried to intercept, but +they could never climb up to it. Once in a while, when they'd appear +to be getting close, the UFO would lazily move out of range by +climbing slightly. All the time it kept orbiting to the left in a +big, wide circle. After about ten minutes the flight leader told the +ground controller, who had been getting a running account of the +unsuccessful intercept, that their fuel was low and that they'd have +to break off soon. They'd gotten a fairly good look at the UFO, the +flight leader told the ground controller, and it appeared to be a +silver airplane with highly swept-back wings. The controller +acknowledged the message and said that he was scrambling all his +alert airplanes from George AFB. Could the two F-86's stay in the +area a few more minutes? They stayed and in a few minutes four more F- +86's arrived. They saw the UFO immediately and took over. + +The two F-86's with nearly dry tanks went back to George AFB. + +For thirty more minutes the newly arrived F-86's worked in pairs +trying to get up to the UFO's altitude, which they estimated to be +55,000 feet, but they couldn't make it. All the time the UFO kept +slowly circling and speeding up only when the F-86's seemed to get +too close. Then they began to run out of fuel and asked for +permission to break off the intercept. + +By this time one remaining F-86 had been alerted and was airborne +toward Long Beach. He passed the four homeward-bound F-86's as he was +going in, but by the time he arrived over Long Beach the UFO was gone. + +All the pilots except one reported a "silver airplane with highly +swept-back wings." One pilot said the UFO looked round and silver to +him. + +The report ended with a comment by the local intelligence officer. +He'd called Edwards AFB, the big Air Force test base north of Los +Angeles, but they had nothing in the air. The officer concluded that +the UFO was no airplane. In 1951 nothing we had would fly higher than +the F-86. + +This was a good report and I decided to dig in. First I had some +more questions I wanted to ask the pilots. I was just in the process +of formulating this set of questions when three better reports came +in. They automatically got a higher priority than the Long Beach +Incident. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT + +The Lubbock Lights, Unabridged + +When four college professors, a geologist, a chemist, a physicist, +and a petroleum engineer, report seeing the same UFO's on fourteen +different occasions, the event can be classified as, at least, +unusual. Add the facts that hundreds of other people saw these UFO's +and that they were photographed, and the story gets even better. Add +a few more facts--that these UFO's were picked up on radar and that a +few people got a close look at one of them, and the story begins to +convince even the most ardent skeptics. + +This was the situation the day the reports of the Lubbock Lights +arrived at ATIC. Actually the Lubbock Lights, as Project Blue Book +calls them, involved many widespread reports. Some of these incidents +are known to the public, but the ones that added the emphasis and +intrigue to the case and caused hundreds of hours of time to be spent +analyzing the reports have not been told before. We collected all of +these reports under the one title because there appeared to be a tie- +in between them. + +The first word of the sightings reached ATIC late in September 1951, +when the mail girl dropped letters into my "in" basket. One of the +letters was from Albuquerque, New Mexico, one was from a small town +in Washington State, where I knew an Air Defense Command radar +station was located, and the other from Reese AFB at Lubbock, Texas. + +I opened the Albuquerque letter first. It was a report from 34th Air +Defense at Kirtland AFB. The report said that on the evening of +August 25, 1951, an employee of the Atomic Energy Commission's +supersecret Sandia Corporation and his wife had seen a UFO. About +dusk they were sitting in the back yard of their home on the +outskirts of Albuquerque. They were gazing at the night sky, +commenting on how beautiful it was, when both of them were startled +at the sight of a huge airplane flying swiftly and silently over +their home. The airplane had been in sight only a few seconds but +they had gotten a good look at it because it was so low. They +estimated 800 to 1,000 feet. It was the shape of a "flying wing" and +one and a half times the size of a B-36. The wing was sharply swept +back, almost like a V. Both the husband and wife had seen B-36's over +their home many times. They couldn't see the color of the UFO but +they did notice that there were dark bands running across the wing +from front to back. On the aft edge of the wings there were six to +eight pairs of soft, glowing, bluish lights. The aircraft had passed +over their house from north to south. + +The report went on to say that an investigation had been made +immediately. Since the object might have been a conventional +airplane, air traffic was checked. A commercial airlines +Constellation was 50 miles west of Albuquerque and an Air Force B-25 +was south of the city, but there had been nothing over Albuquerque +that evening. The man's background was checked. He had a "Q" security +clearance. This summed up his character, oddballs don't get "Q" +clearances. No one else had reported the UFO, but this could be +explained by the fact the AEC employee and his wife lived in such a +location that anything passing over their home from north to south +wouldn't pass over or near very many other houses. A sketch of the +UFO was enclosed in the report. + +I picked up the letter from Lubbock next. It was a thick report, and +from the photographs that were attached, it looked interesting. I +thumbed through it and stopped at the photos. The first thing that +struck me was the similarity between these photos and the report I'd +just read. They showed a series of lights in a V shape, very similar +to those described as being on the aft edge of the "flying wing" that +was reported from Albuquerque. This was something unique, so I read +the report in detail. + +On the night of August 25, 1951, about 9:20P.M., just twenty minutes +after the Albuquerque sighting, four college professors from Texas +Technological College at Lubbock had observed a formation of soft, +glowing, bluish-green lights pass over their home. Several hours +later they saw a similar group of lights and in the next two weeks +they saw at least ten more. On August 31 an amateur photographer had +taken five photos of the lights. Also on the thirty-first two ladies +had seen a large "aluminum-colored," "pear-shaped" object hovering +near a road north of Lubbock. The report went into the details of +these sightings and enclosed a set of the photos that had been taken. + +This report, in itself, was a good UFO report, but the similarity to +the Albuquerque sighting, both in the description of the object and +the time that it was seen, was truly amazing. + +I almost overlooked the report from the radar station because it was +fairly short. It said that early on the morning of August 26, only a +few hours after the Lubbock sighting, two different radars had shown +a target traveling 900 miles per hour at 13,000 feet on a +northwesterly heading. The target had been observed for six minutes +and an F-86 jet interceptor had been scrambled but by the time the F- +86 had climbed into the air the target was gone. The last paragraph +in the report was rather curt and to the point. It was apparently in +anticipation of the comments the report would draw. It said that the +target was not caused by weather. The officer in charge of the radar +station and several members of his crew had been operating radar for +seven years and they could recognize a weather target. This target +was real. + +I quickly took out a map of the United States and drew in a course +line between Lubbock and the radar station. A UFO flying between +these two points would be on a northwesterly heading and the times it +was seen at the two places gave it a speed of roughly 900 miles per +hour. + +This was by far the best combination of UFO reports I'd ever read +and I'd read every one in the Air Force's files. + +The first thing I did after reading the reports was to rush a set of +the Lubbock photos to the intelligence officer of the 34th Air +Division in Albuquerque. I asked him to show the photos to the AEC +employee and his wife without telling them what they were. I +requested an answer by wire. Later the next day I received my answer: +"Observers immediately said that this is what they saw on the night +of 25 August. Details by airmail." The details were a sketch the man +and his wife had made of a wing around the photo of the Lubbock +Lights. The number of lights in the photo and the number of lights +the two observers had seen on the wing didn't tally, but they +explained this by saying that they could have been wrong in their +estimate. + +The next day I flew to Lubbock to see if I could find an answer to +all of these mysterious happenings. + +I arrived in Lubbock about 5:00P.M. and contacted the intelligence +officer at Reese AFB. He knew that I was on my way and had already +set up a meeting with the four professors. Right after dinner we met +them. + +If a group had been hand-picked to observe a UFO, we couldn't have +picked a more technically qualified group of people. They were: + +Dr. W. I. Robinson, Professor of Geology. + +Dr. A. G. Oberg, Professor of Chemical Engineering. + +Professor W. L. Ducker, Head of the Petroleum Engineering Department. + +Dr. George, Professor of Physics. + +This is their story: + +On the evening of August 25 the four men were sitting in Dr. +Robinson's back yard. They were discussing micrometeorites and +drinking tea. They jokingly stressed this point. At nine-twenty a +formation of lights streaked across the sky directly over their +heads. It all happened so fast that none of them had a chance to get +a good look. One of the men mentioned that he had always admonished +his students for not being more observant; now he was in that spot. +He and his colleagues realized they could remember only a few details +of what they had seen. The lights were a weird bluish-green color and +they were in a semicircular formation. They estimated that there were +from fifteen to thirty separate lights and that they were moving from +north to south. Their one wish at this time was that the lights would +reappear. They did; about an hour later the lights went over again. +This time the professors were a little better prepared. With the +initial shock worn off, they had time to get a better look. The +details they had remembered from the first flight checked. There was +one difference; in this flight the lights were not in any orderly +formation, they were just in a group. + +The professors reasoned that if the UFO's appeared twice they might +come back. Come back they did. The next night and apparently many +times later, as the professors made twelve more observations during +the next few weeks. For these later sightings they added two more +people to their observing team. + +Being methodical, as college professors are, they made every attempt +to get a good set of data. They measured the angle through which the +objects traveled and timed them. The several flights they checked +traveled through 90 degrees of sky in three seconds, or 30 degrees +per second. The lights usually suddenly appeared 45 degrees above the +northern horizon, and abruptly went out 45 degrees above the southern +horizon. They always traveled in this north-to-south direction. +Outside of the first flight, in which the objects were in a roughly +semicircular formation, in none of the rest of the flights did they +note any regular pattern. Two or three flights were often seen in one +night. + +They had tried to measure the altitude, with no success. First they +tried to compare the lights to the height of clouds but the clouds +were never near the lights, or vice versa. Next they tried a more +elaborate scheme. They measured off a base line perpendicular to the +objects' usual flight path. Friends of the professors made up two +teams. Each of the two teams was equipped with elevation-measuring +devices, and one team was stationed at each end of the base line. The +two teams were linked together by two-way radios. If they sighted the +objects they would track and time them, thus getting the speed and +altitude. + +Unfortunately neither team ever saw the lights. But the lights never +seemed to want to run the course. The wives of some of the watchers +claimed to have seen them from their homes in the city. This later +proved to be a clue. + +The professors were not the sole observers of the mysterious lights. +For two weeks hundreds of other people for miles around Lubbock +reported that they saw the same lights. The professors checked many +of these reports against the times of the flights they had seen and +recorded, and many checked out close. They attempted to question +these observers as to the length of time they had seen the lights and +angles at which they had seen them, but the professors learned what I +already knew, people are poor observers. + +Naturally there has been much discussion among the professors and +their friends as to the nature of the lights. A few simple +mathematical calculations showed that if the lights were very high +they would be traveling very fast. The possibility that they were +some natural phenomena was, of course, discussed and seriously +considered. The professors did a lot of thinking and research and +decided that if they were natural phenomena they were something +altogether new. Dr. George, who has since died, studied the phenomena +of the night sky during his years as a professor at the University of +Alaska, and he had never seen or heard of anything like this before. + +This was the professors' story. It was early in the morning when we +returned to Reese AFB. I sat up a few more hours unsuccessfully +trying to figure out what they had seen. + +The next day I again met the intelligence officer and we went to +talk to Carl Hart, Jr., the amateur photographer who had taken the +pictures of the lights. Hart was a freshman at Texas Tech. His story +was that on the night of August 31 he was lying in his bed in an +upstairs room of the Hart home. He, like everyone else in Lubbock, +had heard about the lights but he had never seen them. It was a warm +night and his bed was pushed over next to an open window. He was +looking out at the clear night sky, and had been in bed about a half +hour, when he saw a formation of the lights appear in the north, +cross an open patch of sky, and disappear over his house. Knowing +that the lights might reappear as they had done in the past, he +grabbed his loaded Kodak 35, set the lens and shutter at f 3.5 and +one tenth of a second, and went out into the middle of the back yard. +Before long his vigil was rewarded when the lights made a second +pass. He got two pictures. A third formation went over a few minutes +later and he got three more pictures. The next morning bright and +early Hart said he took the roll of unexposed film to a friend who +ran a photo-finishing shop. He explained that he did all of his film +processing in this friend's lab. He told the friend about the +pictures and they quickly developed them. + +I stopped Hart at this point and asked why he didn't get more +excited about what could be the biggest news photos of the century. +He said that the lights had appeared to be so dim that he was sure he +didn't have anything on the negatives; had he thought that he did +have some good pictures he would have awakened his friend to develop +the negatives right away. + +When he developed the negatives and saw that they showed an image, +his friend suggested that he call the newspaper. At first the paper +wasn't interested but then they decided to run the photos. I later +found out that they had done some checking of their own. + +We went with Hart into his back yard to re-enact what had taken +place. He described the lights as being the same dull, glowing bluish- +green color as those seen by the professors. The formation was +different, however. The lights Hart saw were always flying in a +perfect V. He traced the path from where they appeared over some +trees in the north, through an open patch of sky over the back yard, +to a point where they disappeared over the house. From the flight +path he pointed out, the lights had crossed about 120 degrees of open +sky in four seconds. This 30-degree-per-second angular velocity +corresponded to the professors' measured angular velocity. + +We made arrangements to borrow Hart's negatives, thanked him for his +information, and left. + +Armed with a list of names of other observers of the mysterious +lights, the intelligence officer and I started out to try to get a +cross-section account of the other UFO sightings in the Lubbock area. +All the stories about the UFO's were the same; various types of +formations of dull bluish-green lights, generally moving north to +south. A few people had variations. One lady saw a flying Venetian +blind and another a flying double boiler. One point of interest was +that very few claimed to have seen the lights before reading the +professors' story in the paper, but this could get back to the old +question, "Do people look up if they have no reason to do so?" + +We talked to observers in nearby towns. Their stories were the same. +Two of them, tower operators at an airport, reported that they had +seen the lights on several occasions. + +It was in one of these outlying towns, Lamesa, that we talked to an +old gentleman, about eighty years old, who gave us a good lead. He +had seen the lights and he had identified them. Ever since he had +read the story in the papers he had been looking. One evening he and +his wife were in their yard looking for the lights. All of a sudden +two or three appeared. They were in view for several seconds, then +they were gone. In a few minutes the lights did a repeat performance. +The man admitted he had been scared. He broke off his story of the +lights and launched into his background as a native Texan, with range +wars, Indians, and stagecoaches under his belt. What he was trying to +point out was that despite the range wars, Indians, and stagecoaches, +he had been scared. His wife had been scared too. We had some +difficulty getting back to the lights but we finally made it. The +third time they came around, he said, one of the lights emitted a +sound. It said, "Plover." The old gentleman had immediately +identified it as a plover, a water bird about the size of a quail. +Later that night, and on several other occasions, they had seen the +same thing. After a few more hair-raising but interesting stories of +the old west Texas, we left. + +Our next stop was the federal game warden's office in Lubbock. We +got the low-down on plovers. We explained our interest and the warden +was very helpful. He had been around west Texas all of his life so he +was familiar with wildlife. The oily white breast of a plover could +easily reflect light, but plovers usually didn't travel in more than +pairs, or three at the most. He had never seen or heard of them +traveling in a flock of fifteen to thirty but, of course, this wasn't +impossible. Ducks, yes, but probably not plovers. He did say that for +some unknown reason there were more than the usual number of plovers +in the area that fall. + +I was anxious to get the negatives that Hart had lent us back to the +photo lab at Wright Field, but I had one more call to make. I wanted +to talk to the two ladies who had seen a strange object hovering near +their car, but I also wanted to write my report before I left +Lubbock. Two Air Force special investigators from Reese AFB offered +to talk to the ladies, so I stayed at the air base and finished my +report. + +That night when the investigators came back, I got the story. They +had spent the whole day talking to the ladies and doing a little +discreet checking into their backgrounds. + +The two ladies, a mother and her daughter, had left their home in +Matador, Texas, 70 miles northeast of Lubbock, about twelve-thirty +P.M. on August 31. They were driving along in their car when they +suddenly noticed "a pear-shaped" object about 150 yards ahead of +them. It was just off the side of the road, about 120 feet in the +air. It was drifting slowly to the east, "less than the speed +required to take off in a Cub airplane." They drove on down the road +about 50 more yards, stopped, and got out of the car. The object, +which they estimated to be the size of a B-29 fuselage, was still +drifting along slowly. There was no sign of any exhaust blast and +they heard no noise, but they did see a "porthole" in the side of the +object. In a few seconds the object began to pick up speed and +rapidly climb out of sight. As it climbed it seemed to have a tight +spiraling motion. + +The investigation showed that the two ladies were "solid citizens," +with absolutely no talents, or reasons, for fabricating such a story. +The daughter was fairly familiar with aircraft. Her husband was an +Air Force officer then in Korea, and she had been living near air +bases for several years. The ladies had said that the object was +"drifting" to the east, which possibly indicated that it was moving +with the wind, but on further investigation it was found that it was +moving _into_ the wind. + +The two investigators had worked all day and hadn't come up with the +slightest indication of an answer. + +This added the final section to my now voluminous report on the +Lubbock affair. + +The next morning as I rode to the airport to catch an airliner back +to Dayton I tried to put the whole puzzle together. It was hard to +believe that all Fd heard was real. Did a huge flying wing pass over +Albuquerque and travel 250 miles to Lubbock in about fifteen minutes? +This would be about 900 miles per hour. Did the radar station in +Washington pick up the same thing? I'd checked the distances on the +big wall map in flight operations just before leaving Reese AFB. It +was 1,300 miles from Lubbock to the radar site. From talking to +people, we decided that the lights were apparently still around +Lubbock at 11:20P.M. and the radar picked them up just after +midnight. They would have had to be traveling about 780 miles per +hour. This was fairly close to the 900-mile-per-hour speed clocked by +the two radars. The photos of the Lubbock Lights checked with the +description of what the AEC employee and his wife had seen in +Albuquerque. Nobody in Lubbock, however, had reported seeing a +"flying wing" with lights. All of this was swimming around in my mind +when I stepped out of the staff car at the Lubbock airport. + +My plane had already landed so I checked in at the ticket counter, +picked up a morning paper, and ran out and got into the airplane. I +sat down next to a man wearing a Stetson hat and cowboy boots. I soon +found out he was a retired rancher from Lubbock. + +On the front page of the paper was an account of a large meteor that +had flashed across New Mexico, west Texas, and Oklahoma the night +before. According to the newspaper account, it was very spectacular +and had startled a good many people in Lubbock. I was interested in +the story because I had seen this meteor. It was a spectacular sight +and I could easily understand how such things could be called UFO's. +My seat partner must have noticed that I was reading the story of the +meteor because he commented that a friend of his, the man who had +brought him to the airport, had seen it. We talked about the meteor. +This led to a discussion of other odd happenings and left a perfect +opening for him to bring up the Lubbock Lights. He asked me if I'd +heard about them. I said that I had heard a few vague stories. I +hoped that this would stave off any detailed accounts of stories I +had been saturated with during the past five days, but it didn't. I +heard all the details all over again. + +As he talked on, I settled back in my seat waiting for a certain +thing to happen. Pretty soon it came. The rancher hesitated and the +tone of his voice changed to a half-proud, half-apologetic tone. I'd +heard this transition many times in the past few months; he was going +to tell about the UFO that he had seen. He was going to tell how he +had seen the bluish-green lights. I was wrong; what he said knocked +me out of my boredom. + +The same night that the college professors had seen their formation +of lights his wife had seen something. Nobody in Lubbock knew about +the story, not even their friends. He didn't want anyone to think he +and his wife were "crazy." He was telling me only because I was a +stranger. Just after dark his wife had gone outdoors to take some +sheets off the clothesline. He was inside the house reading the +paper. Suddenly his wife had rushed into the house, as he told the +story, "as white as the sheets she was carrying." As close as he +could remember, he said, this was about ten minutes before the +professors made their first sighting. He stopped at this point to +tell me about his wife, she wasn't prone to be "flighty" and she +"never made up tales." This character qualification was also standard +for UFO storytellers. The reason his wife was so upset was that she +had seen a large object glide swiftly and silently over the house. +She said it looked like "an airplane without a body." On the back +edge of the wing were pairs of glowing bluish lights. The Albuquerque +sighting! He said he didn't have any idea what his wife had seen but +he thought that it was an interesting story. + +It _was_ an interesting story. It hit me right between the eyes. I +knew the rancher and his wife couldn't have possibly heard the +Albuquerque couple's story, only they and a few Air Force people knew +about it. The chances of two identical stories being made up were +infinitesimal, especially since neither of them fitted the standard +Lubbock Light description. I wondered how many other people in +Lubbock, Albuquerque, or anywhere in the Southwest had seen a similar +UFO during this period and hesitated to mention it. + +I tried to get a few more facts from the rancher but he'd told me +all he knew. At Dallas I boarded an airliner to Dayton and he went on +to Baton Rouge, never knowing what he'd added to the story of the +Lubbock Lights. + +On the way to Dayton I figured out a plan of attack on the thousands +of words of notes I'd taken. The best thing to do, I decided, was to +treat each sighting in the Lubbock Light series as a separate +incident. All of them seemed to be dependent upon each other for +importance. If the objects that were reported in several of the +incidents could be identified, the rest would merely become average +UFO reports. The photographs taken by Carl Hart, Jr., became number +one on the agenda. + +As soon as I reached Dayton I took Hart's negatives to the Photo +Reconnaissance Laboratory at Wright Field. This laboratory, staffed +by the Air Force's top photography experts, did all of our analysis +of photographs. They went right to work on the negatives and soon had +a report. + +There had originally been five negatives, but when we asked to +borrow them Hart could only produce four. The negatives were badly +scratched and dirty because so many people had handled them, so it +was difficult to tell the actual photographic images from the dust +spots and scratches. The first thing that the lab did was to look at +each spot on the negatives to see if it was an actual photographic +image. They found that the photos showed an inverted V formation of +lights. In each photo the individual image of a light was badly +blurred due to motion of the camera, but by careful scrutiny of each +blurred image they were able to determine that the original lights +that Hart had photographed were circular, near pinpoint sources of +light. Like a bright star, or a distant light bulb. Next they made +enlargements from the negatives and carefully plotted the position of +each light in the formation. + +In each photograph the individual lights in the formation shifted +position according to a definite pattern. + +One additional factor that was brought out in the report was that +although the photos were taken on a clear night no images of the +stars could be found in the background. This proved one thing, the +lights, which were overexposed in the photograph, were a great deal +brighter than the stars, or the lights affected the film more than +the light from the stars. + +This was all that the photos showed. It was impossible to determine +the size of each image of the group, speed, or altitude. + +The next thing was to try to duplicate what Hart said he had done. I +enlisted the aid of several friends and we tried to photograph a +moving light. When we were talking to Hart in Lubbock, he had taken +us to his back yard, where he had shot the pictures. He had traced +the flight path of fights across the sky. We had him estimate the +speed by following an imaginary flight of lights across the sky. It +came out to about four seconds. We had a camera identical to the one +that Hart had used and set up a light to move at the same speed as +the UFO's had flown. We tried to take photographs. In four seconds we +could get only two poor shots. These were badly blurred, much worse +than Hart's, due to the one-tenth-of-a-second shutter speed. We +repeated our experiment several times, each time with the same +results. This made a lot of people doubt the authenticity of Hart's +photos. + +With the completed photo lab report in my hands, I was still without +an answer. The report was interesting but didn't prove anything. All +I could do was to get opinions from as qualified sources as I could +find. A physiologist at the Aeromedical Laboratory knocked out the +timing theory immediately by saying that if Hart had been excited he +could have easily taken three photos in four seconds if we could get +two in four seconds in our experiment. Several professional +photographers, one of them a top _Life_ photographer, said that if +Hart was familiar with his camera and was familiar with panning +action shots, his photos would have shown much less blur than ours. I +recalled what I heard about Hart's having photographed sporting +events for the Lubbock newspaper. This would have called for a good +panning technique. + +The photographs didn't tally with the description of the lights that +the professors had seen; in fact, they were firmly convinced that +they were of "home manufacture." The professors had reported soft, +glowing lights yet the photos showed what should have been extremely +bright lights. Hart reported a perfect formation while the +professors, except for the first flight, reported an unorderly group. +There was no way to explain this disagreement in the arrangement of +the lights. Of course, it wasn't impossible that on the night that +Hart saw the lights they were flying in a V formation. The first time +the professors saw them they were flying in a semicircle. + +The intensity of the lights was difficult to explain. Again I went +to the people in the Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory. I asked them if +there was any possible situation that could cause this. They said +yes. An intensely bright light source which had a color far over in +the red end of the spectrum, bordering on infrared, could do it. The +eye is not sensitive to such a light, it could appear dim to the eye +yet be "bright" to the film. I asked them what kind of a light source +would cause this. There were several things, if you want to +speculate, they said, extremely high temperatures for one. But this +was as far as they would go. We have nothing in this world that flies +that appears dim to the eye yet will show bright on film, they said. + +This ended the investigation of the photographs, and the +investigation ended at a blank wall. My official conclusion, which +was later given to the press, was that "The photos were never proven +to be a hoax but neither were they proven to be genuine." There is no +definite answer. + +The emphasis of the investigation was now switched to the +professors' sighting. The meager amount of data that they had +gathered seemed to be accurate but it was inconclusive as far as +getting a definite answer was concerned. They had measured two +things, how much of the sky the objects had crossed in a certain time +and the angle from one side of the formation to the other. These +figures didn't mean a great deal, however, since the altitude at +which the formation of lights was flying was unknown. If you assumed +that the objects were flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet you could +easily compute that they were traveling about 3,600 miles per hour, +or five to six times the speed of sound. The formation would have +been about 1,750 feet wide. If each light was a separate object it +could have been in the neighborhood of 100 feet in diameter. These +figures were only a guess since nobody knew if the lights were at, +above, or below 10,000 feet. If they had been higher they would have +been going faster and have been larger. If lower than 10,000 feet, +slower and smaller. + +The only solid lead that had developed while the Reese AFB +intelligence officer and I were investigating the professors' +sightings was that the UFO's were birds reflecting the city lights; +specifically plover. The old cowboy from Lamesa had described +something identical to what the professors described and they were +plover. Secondly, whenever the professors left the vicinity of their +homes to look for the lights they didn't see them, yet their wives, +who stayed at home, did see them. If the "lights" were birds they +would be flying low and couldn't be seen from more than a few hundred +feet. While in Lubbock I'd noticed several main boulevards lighted +with the bluish mercury vapor lights. I called the intelligence +officer at Reese AFB and he airmailed me a city map of Lubbock with +the mercury-vapor-lighted streets marked. The place where the +professors had made their observations was close to one of these +streets. The big hitch in this theory was that people living miles +from a mercury-vapor-lighted boulevard had also reported the lights. +How many of these sightings were due to the power of suggestion and +how many were authentic I didn't know. If I could have found out, it +would have been possible to plot the sightings in Lubbock, and if +they were all located close to the lighted boulevards, birds would be +an answer. This, however, it was impossible to do. + +The fact that the lights didn't make any perceivable sound seemed as +if it might be a clue. Birds or light phenomena wouldn't make any +sound, but how about some object of appreciable size traveling at or +above the speed of sound? Jet airplanes don't fly as fast as the +speed of sound but they make a horrible roar. Artillery shells, which +are going much faster than aircraft, whine as they go through the +air. I knew that a great deal of the noise from a jet is due to the +heated air rushing out of the tail pipe, but I didn't know exactly +how much of the noise this caused. If a jet airplane with a silent +engine could be built, how much noise would it make? How far could it +be heard? To get the answer I contacted National Advisory Committee +for Aeronautics Laboratory at Langley AFB, a government agency which +specializes in aeronautical research. They didn't know. Neither they +nor anybody else had ever done any research on this question. Their +opinion was that such an aircraft could not be heard 5,000 or 10,000 +feet away. Aerodynamicists at Wright Field's Aircraft Laboratory +agreed. + +I called the Army's Ballistic Research Laboratories at Aberdeen +Proving Grounds, Maryland, to find out why artillery shells whine. +These people develop and test all kinds of shells so they would have +an answer if anybody did. They said that the majority of the whine of +an artillery shell is probably caused by the flat back end of the +shell. If a perfectly streamlined shell could be used it would not +have any perceivable whine. + +What I found out, or didn't find out, about the sound of an object +moving at several times the speed of sound was typical of nearly +every question that came up regarding UFO's. We were working in a +field where there were no definite answers to questions. In some +instances we were getting into fields far advanced above the then +present levels of research. In other instances we were getting into +fields where no research had been done at all. It made the problem of +UFO analysis one of getting opinions. All we could do was hope the +opinions we were getting were the best. + +My attempts to reach a definite conclusion as to what the professors +had seen met another blank wall. I had no more success than I'd had +trying to reach a conclusion on the authenticity of the photographs. + +A thorough analysis of the reports of the flying wings seen by the +retired rancher's wife in Lubbock and the AEC employee and his wife +in Albuquerque was made. The story from the two ladies who saw the +aluminum-colored pear-shaped object hovering near the road near +Matador, Texas, was studied, checked, and rechecked. Another blank +wall on all three of these sightings. + +By the time I got around to working on the report from the radar +station in Washington State, the data of the weather conditions that +existed on the night of the sighting had arrived. I turned the +incident folder over to the electronics specialists at ATIC. They +made the analysis and determined that the targets were caused by +weather, although it was a borderline case. They further surmised +that since the targets had been picked up on two radars, if I checked +I'd find out that the two targets looked different on the two +radarscopes. This is a characteristic of a weather target picked up +on radars operating on different frequencies. I did check. I called +the radar station and talked to the captain who was in charge of the +crew the night the target had been picked up. + +The target looked the same on both scopes. This was one of the +reasons it had been reported, the captain told me. If the target +hadn't been the same on both scopes, he wouldn't have made the report +since he would have thought he had a weather target. He asked me what +ATIC thought about the sighting. I said that Captain James thought it +was weather. Just before the long-distance wires between Dayton and +Washington melted, I caught some comment about people sitting in +swivel chairs miles from the closest radarscope. . . . I took it that +he didn't agree the target was caused by weather. But that's the way +it officially stands today. + +Although the case of the Lubbock Lights is officially dead, its +memory lingers on. There have never been any more reliable reports of +"flying wings" but lights somewhat similar to those seen by the +professors have been reported. In about 70 per cent of these cases +they were proved to be birds reflecting city lights. + +The known elements of the case, the professors' sightings and the +photos, have been dragged back and forth across every type of paper +upon which written material appears, from the cheapest, coarsest pulp +to the slick _Life_ pages. Saucer addicts have studied and offered +the case as all-conclusive proof, with photos, that UFO's are +interplanetary. Dr. Donald Menzel of Harvard studied the case and +ripped the sightings to shreds in _Look_, _Time_, and his book, +_Flying_ _Saucers_, with the theory that the professors were merely +looking at refracted city lights. But none of these people even had +access to the full report. This is the first time it has ever been +printed. + +The only other people outside Project Blue Book who have studied the +complete case of the Lubbock Lights were a group who, due to their +associations with the government, had complete access to our files. +And these people were not pulp writers or wide-eyed fanatics, they +were scientists--rocket experts, nuclear physicists, and intelligence +experts. They had banded together to study our UFO reports because +they were convinced that some of the UFO's that were being reported +were interplanetary spaceships and the Lubbock series was one of +these reports. The fact that the formations of lights were in +different shapes didn't bother them; in fact, it convinced them all +the more that their ideas of how a spaceship might operate were +correct. + +This group of scientists believed that the spaceships, or at least +the part of the spaceship that came relatively close to the earth, +would have to have a highly swept-back wing configuration. And they +believed that for propulsion and control the craft had a series of +small jet orifices all around its edge. Various combinations of these +small jets would be turned on to get various flight attitudes. The +lights that the various observers saw differed in arrangement because +the craft was flying in different flight attitudes. + +(Three years later the Canadian Government announced that this was +exactly the way that they had planned to control the flying saucer +that they were trying to build. They had to give up their plans for +the development of the saucer-like craft, but now the project has +been taken over by the U.S. Air Force.) + +This is the complete story of the Lubbock Lights as it is carried in +the Air Force files, one of the most interesting and most +controversial collection of UFO sightings ever to be reported to +Project Blue Book. Officially all of the sightings, except the UFO +that was picked up on radar, are unknowns. + +Personally I thought that the professors' lights might have been +some kind of birds reflecting the light from mercury-vapor street +lights, but I was wrong. They weren't birds, they weren't refracted +light, but they weren't spaceships. The lights that the professors +saw--the backbone of the Lubbock Light series--have been positively +identified as a very commonplace and easily explainable natural +phenomenon. + +It is very unfortunate that I can't divulge exactly the way the +answer was found because it is an interesting story of how a +scientist set up complete instrumentation to track down the lights +and how he spent several months testing theory after theory until he +finally hit upon the answer. Telling the story would lead to his +identity and, in exchange for his story, I promised the man complete +anonymity. But he fully convinced me that he had the answer, and +after having heard hundreds of explanations of UFO's, I don't +convince easily. + +With the most important phase of the Lubbock Lights "solved"--the +sightings by the professors--the other phases become only good UFO +reports. + + + +CHAPTER NINE + +The New Project Grudge + +While I was in Lubbock, Lieutenant Henry Metscher, who was helping +me on Project Grudge, had been sorting out the many bits and pieces +of information that Lieutenant Jerry Cummings and Lieutenant Colonel +Rosengarten had brought back from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and he +had the answers. + +The UFO that the student radar operator had assumed to be traveling +at a terrific speed because he couldn't lock on to it turned out to +be a 400-mile-an-hour conventional airplane. He'd just gotten fouled +up on his procedures for putting the radar set on automatic tracking. +The sighting by the two officers in the T-33 jet fell apart when +Metscher showed how they'd seen a balloon. + +The second radar sighting of the series also turned out to be a +balloon. The frantic phone call from headquarters requesting a +reading on the object's altitude was to settle a bet. Some officers +in headquarters had seen the balloon launched and were betting on how +high it was. + +The second day's radar sightings were caused by another balloon and +weather--both enhanced by the firm conviction that there were some +mighty queer goings on over Jersey. + +The success with the Fort Monmouth Incident had gone to our heads +and we were convinced that with a little diligent digging we'd be +knocking off saucers like an ace skeet-shooter. With all the +confidence in the world, I attacked the Long Beach Incident, which +I'd had to drop to go to Lubbock, Texas. But if saucers could laugh, +they were probably zipping through the stratosphere chuckling to +themselves, because there was no neat solution to this one. + +In the original report of how the six F-86's chased the high-flying +UFO over Long Beach, the intelligence officer who made the report had +said that he'd checked all aircraft flights, therefore this wasn't +the answer. + +The UFO could have been a balloon, so I sent a wire to the Air Force +weather detachment at the Long Beach Municipal Airport. I wanted the +track of any balloon that was in the air at 7:55A.M. on September 23, +1951. While I was waiting for the answers to my two wires, Lieutenant +Metscher and I began to sort out old UFO reports. It was a big job +because back in 1949, when the old Project Grudge had been disbanded, +the files had just been dumped into storage bins. Hank and I now had +four filing case drawers full of a heterogeneous mass of UFO reports, +letters, copies of letters, and memos. + +But I didn't get to do much sorting because the mail girl brought in +a copy of a wire that had just arrived. It was a report of a UFO +sighting at Terre Haute, Indiana. I read it and told Metscher that +I'd quickly whip out an answer and get back to helping him sort. But +it didn't prove to be that easy. + +The report from Terre Haute said that on October 9, a CAA employee +at Hulman Municipal Airport had observed a silvery UFO. Three minutes +later a pilot, flying east of Terre Haute, had seen a similar object. +The report lacked many details but a few phone calls filled me in on +the complete story. + +At 1:43P.M. on the ninth a CAA employee at the airport was walking +across the ramp in front of the administration building. He happened +to glance up at the sky--why, he didn't know--and out of the corner +of his eye he caught a flash of light on the southeastern horizon. He +stopped and looked at the sky where the flash of light had been but +he couldn't see anything. He was just about to walk on when he +noticed what he described as "a pinpoint" of light in the same spot +where he'd seen the flash. In a second or two the "pinpoint" grew +larger and it was obvious to the CAA man that something was +approaching the airport at a terrific speed. As he watched, the +object grew larger and larger until it flashed directly overhead and +disappeared to the northwest. The CAA man said it all happened so +fast and he was so amazed that he hadn't called anybody to come out +of the nearby hangar and watch the UFO. But when he'd calmed down he +remembered a few facts. The UFO had been in sight for about fifteen +seconds and during this time it had passed from horizon to horizon. +It was shaped like a "flattened tennis ball," was a bright silver +color, and when it was directly overhead it was "the size of a 50- +cent piece held at arm's length." + +But this wasn't all there was to the report. A matter of minutes +after the sighting a pilot radioed Terre Haute that he had seen a +UFO. He was flying from Greencastle, Indiana, to Paris, Illinois, +when just east of Paris he'd looked back and to his left. There, +level with his airplane and fairly close, was a large silvery object, +"like a flattened orange," hanging motionless in the sky. He looked +at it a few seconds, then hauled his plane around in a tight left +bank. He headed directly toward the UFO, but it suddenly began to +pick up speed and shot off toward the northeast. The time, by the +clock on his instrument panel, was 1:45P.M.--just two minutes after +the sighting at Terre Haute. + +When I finished calling I got an aeronautical chart out of the file +and plotted the points of the sighting. The CAA employee had seen the +UFO disappear over the northwestern horizon. The pilot had been +flying from Greencastle, Indiana, to Paris, Illinois, so he'd have +been flying on a heading of just a little less than 270 degrees, or +almost straight west. He was just east of Paris when he'd first seen +the UFO, and since he said that he'd looked back and to his left, the +spot where he saw the UFO would be right at a spot where the CAA man +had seen his UFO disappear. Both observers had checked their watches +with radio time just after the sightings, so there couldn't be more +than a few seconds' discrepancy. All I could conclude was that both +had seen the same UFO. + +I checked the path of every balloon in the Midwest. I checked the +weather--it was a clear, cloudless day; I had the two observers' +backgrounds checked and I even checked for air traffic, although I +knew the UFO wasn't an airplane. I researched the University of +Dayton library for everything on daylight meteors, but this was no +good. From the description the CAA employee gave, what he'd seen had +been a clear-cut, distinct, flattened sphere, with no smoke trail, no +sparks and no tail. A daylight meteor, so low as to be described as +"a 50-cent piece held at arm's length," would have had a smoke trail, +sparks, and would have made a roar that would have jolted the Sphinx. +This one was quiet. Besides, no daylight meteor stops long enough to +let an airplane turn into it. + +Conclusion: Unknown. + +In a few days the data from the Long Beach Incident came in and I +started to put it together. A weather balloon had been launched from +the Long Beach Airport, and it was in the vicinity where the six F- +86's had made their unsuccessful attempt to intercept a UFO. I +plotted out the path of the balloon, the reported path of the UFO, +and the flight paths of the F-86's. The paths of the balloon and the +F-86's were accurate, I knew, because the balloon was being tracked +by radio fixes and the F-86's had been tracked by radar. At only one +point did the paths of the balloon, UFO, and F-86's coincide. When +the first two F-86's made their initial visual contact with the UFO +they were looking almost directly at the balloon. But from then on, +even by altering the courses of the F-86's, I couldn't prove a thing. + +In addition, the weather observers from Long Beach said that during +the period that the intercept was taking place they had gone outside +and looked at their balloon; it was an exceptionally clear day and +they could see it at unusually high altitudes. They didn't see any F- +86's around it. And one stronger point, the balloon had burst about +ten minutes before the F-86's lost sight of the UFO. + +Lieutenant Metscher took over and, riding on his Fort Monmouth +victory, tried to show how the pilots had seen the balloon. He got +the same thing I did--nothing. + +On October 27, 1951, the new Project Grudge was officially +established. I'd written the necessary letters and had received the +necessary endorsements. I'd estimated, itemized, and justified direct +costs and manpower. I'd conferred, inferred, and referred, and now I +had the money to operate. The next step was to pile up all this paper +work as an aerial barrier, let the saucers crash into it, and fall +just outside the door. + +I was given a very flexible operating policy for Project Grudge +because no one knew the best way to track down UFO's. I had only one +restriction and that was that I wouldn't have my people spending time +doing a lot of wild speculating. Our job would be to analyze each and +every UFO report and try to find what we believed to be an honest, +unbiased answer. If we could not identify the reported object as +being a balloon, meteor, planet, or one of half a hundred other +common things that are sometimes called UFO's, we would mark the +folder "Unknown" and file it in a special file. At some later date, +when we built up enough of these "Unknown" reports, we'd study them. + +As long as I was chief of the UFO project, this was our basic rule. +If anyone became anti-flying saucer and was no longer capable of +making an unbiased evaluation of a report, out he went. Conversely +anyone who became a believer was through. We were too busy during the +initial phases of the project to speculate as to whether the unknowns +were spaceships, space monsters, Soviet weapons, or ethereal visions. + +I had to let three people go for being too pro or too con. + +By the latter part of November 1951 I knew most of what had taken +place in prior UFO projects and what I expected to do. The people in +Project Sign and the old Project Grudge had made many mistakes. I +studied these mistakes and profited by them. I could see that my +predecessors had had a rough job. Mine would be a little bit easier +because of the pioneering they had done. + +Lieutenant Metscher and I had sorted out all of the pre-1951 files, +refiled them, studied them, and outlined the future course of the new +Project Grudge. + +When Lieut. Colonel Rosengarten and Lieutenant Cummings had been at +the Pentagon briefing Major General Cabell on the Fort Monmouth +incidents, the general had told them to report back when the new +project was formed and ready to go. We were ready to go, but before +taking my ideas to the Pentagon, I thought it might be wise to try +them out on a few other people to get their reaction. Colonel Frank +Dunn, then chief of ATIC, liked this idea. We had many well-known +scientists and engineers who periodically visited ATIC as +consultants, and Colonel Dunn suggested that these people's opinions +and comments would be valuable. For the next two weeks every visitor +to ATIC who had a reputation as a scientist, engineer, or scholar got +a UFO briefing. + +Unfortunately the names of these people cannot be revealed because I +promised them complete anonymity. But the list reads like a page from +_Great_ _Men_ _of_ _Science_. + +Altogether nine people visited the project during this trial period. +Of the nine, two thought the Air Force was wasting its time, one +could be called indifferent, and six were very enthusiastic over the +project. This was a shock to me. I had expected reactions that ranged +from an extremely cold absolute zero to a mild twenty below. Instead +I found out that UFO's were being freely and seriously discussed in +scientific circles. The majority of the visitors thought that the Air +Force had goofed on previous projects and were very happy to find out +that the project was being re-established. All of the visitors, even +the two who thought we were wasting our time, had good suggestions on +what to do. All of them offered their services at any future time +when they might be needed. Several of these people became very good +friends and valuable consultants later on. + +About two weeks before Christmas, in 1951, Colonel Dunn and I went +to the Pentagon to give my report. Major General John A. Samford had +replaced Major General Cabell as Director of Intelligence, but +General Samford must have been told about the UFO situation because +he was familiar with the general aspects of the problem. He had +appointed his Assistant for Production, Brigadier General W. M. +Garland, to ride herd on the project for him. + +Colonel Dunn briefly outlined to General Samford what we planned to +do. He explained our basic policy, that of setting aside the unknowns +and not speculating on them, and he told how the scientists visiting +ATIC had liked the plans for the new Project Grudge. + +There was some discussion about the Air Force's and ATIC's +responsibility for the UFO reports. General Garland stated, and it +was later confirmed in writing, that the Air Force was solely +responsible for investigating and evaluating all UFO reports. Within +the Air Force, ATIC was the responsible agency. This in turn meant +that Project Grudge was responsible for all UFO reports made by any +branch of the military service. I started my briefing by telling +General Samford and his staff about the present UFO situation. + +The UFO reports had never stopped coming in since they had first +started in June 1947. There was some correlation between publicity +and the number of sightings, but it was not an established fact that +reports came in only when the press was playing up UFO's. Just within +the past few months the number of good reports had increased sharply +and there had been no publicity. + +UFO's were seen more frequently around areas vital to the defense of +the United States. The Los Alamos-Albuquerque area, Oak Ridge, and +White Sands Proving Ground rated high. Port areas, Strategic Air +Command bases, and industrial areas ranked next. UFO's had been +reported from every state in the Union and from every foreign +country. The U.S. did not have a monopoly. + +The frequency of the UFO reports was interesting. Every July there +was a sudden increase in the number of reports and July was always +the peak month of the year. Just before Christmas there was usually a +minor peak. + +The Grudge Report had not been the solution to the UFO problem. It +was true that a large percentage of the reports were due to the "mis- +identification of known objects"; people were seeing balloons, +airplanes, planets, but this was not the final answer. There were a +few hoaxes, hallucinations, publicity-seekers, and fatigued pilots, +but reports from these people constituted less than 1 per cent of the +total. Left over was a residue of very good and very "unexplainable" +UFO sightings that were classified as unknown. + +The quality of the reports was getting better, I told the officers; +they contained more details that could be used for analysis and the +details were more precise and accurate. But still they left much to +be desired. + +Every one of the nine scientists and engineers who had reviewed the +UFO material at ATIC had made one strong point: we should give top +priority to getting reasonably accurate measurements of the speed, +altitude, and size of reported UFO's. This would serve two purposes. +First, it would make it easy to sort out reports of common things, +such as balloons, airplanes, etc. Second, and more important, if we +could get even one fairly accurate measurement that showed that some +object was traveling through the atmosphere at high speed, and that +it wasn't a meteor, the UFO riddle would be much easier to solve. + +I had worked out a plan to get some measured data, and I presented +it to the group for their comments. + +I felt sure that before long the press would get wind of the Air +Force's renewed effort to identify UFO's. When this happened, instead +of being mysterious about the whole thing, we would freely admit the +existence of the new project, explain the situation thoroughly and +exactly as it was, and say that all UFO reports made to the Air Force +would be given careful consideration. In this way we would encourage +more people to report what they were seeing and we might get some +good data. + +To further explain my point, I drew a sketch on a blackboard. +Suppose that a UFO is reported over a fair-sized city. Now we may get +one or two reports, and these reports may be rather sketchy. This +does us no good--all we can conclude is that somebody saw something +that he couldn't identify. But suppose fifty people from all over the +city report the UFO. Then it would be profitable for us to go out and +talk to these people, find out the time they saw the UFO, and where +they saw it (the direction and height above the horizon). Then we +might be able to use these data, work out a triangulation problem, +and get a fairly accurate measurement of speed, altitude, and size. + +Radar, of course, will give an accurate measurement of speed and +altitude, I pointed out, but radar is not infallible. There is always +the problem of weather. To get accurate radar data on a UFO, it is +always necessary to prove that it wasn't weather that was causing the +target. Radar is valuable, and we wanted radar reports, I said, but +they should be considered only as a parallel effort and shouldn't +take the place of visual sightings. + +In winding up my briefing, I again stressed the point that, as of +the end of 1951--the date of this briefing--there was no positive +proof that any craft foreign to our knowledge existed. All +recommendations for the reorganization of Project Grudge were based +solely upon the fact that there were many incredible reports of UFO's +from many very reliable people. But they were still just flying +saucer reports and couldn't be considered scientific proof. + +Everyone present at the meeting agreed--each had read or had been +briefed on these incredible reports. In fact, two of the people +present had seen UFO's. + +Before the meeting adjourned, Colonel Dunn had one last question. He +knew the answer, but he wanted it confirmed. "Does the United States +have a secret weapon that is being reported as a UFO?" + +The answer was a flat "No." + +In a few days I was notified that my plan had been given the green +light. I already had the plan written up in the form of a staff study +so I sent it through channels for formal approval. + +It had been obvious right from the start of the reorganization of +Project Grudge that there would be questions that no one on my staff +was technically competent to answer. To have a fully staffed project, +I'd need an astronomer, a physicist, a chemist, a mathematician, a +psychologist, and probably a dozen other specialists. It was, of +course, impossible to have all of these people on my staff, so I +decided to do the next best thing. I would set up a contract with +some research organization who already had such people on their +staff; then I would call on them whenever their services were needed. + +I soon found a place that was interested in such a contract, and the +day after Christmas, Colonel S. H. Kirkland, of Colonel Dunn's staff, +and I left Dayton for a two-day conference with these people to +outline what we wanted. Their organization cannot be identified by +name because they are doing other highly secret work for the +government. I'll call them Project Bear. + +Project Bear is a large, well-known research organization in the +Midwest. The several hundred engineers and scientists who make up +their staff run from experts on soils to nuclear physicists. They +would make these people available to me to assist Project Grudge on +any problem that might arise from a UFO report. They did not have a +staff astronomer or psychologist, but they agreed to get them for us +on a subcontract basis. Besides providing experts in every field of +science, they would make two studies for us; a study of how much a +person can be expected to see and remember from a UFO sighting, and a +statistical study of UFO reports. The end product of the study of the +powers of observation of a UFO observer would be an interrogation form. + +Ever since the Air Force had been in the UFO business, attempts had +been made to construct a form that a person who had seen a UFO could +fill out. Many types had been tried but all of them had major +disadvantages. Project Bear, working with the psychology department +of a university, would study all of the previous questionnaires, +along with actual UFO reports, and try to come up with as near a +perfect interrogation form as possible. The idea was to make the form +simple and yet extract as much and as accurate data as possible from +the observer. + +The second study that Project Bear would undertake would be a +statistical study of all UFO reports. Since 1947 the Air Force had +collected about 650 reports, but if our plan to encourage UFO reports +worked out the way we expected this number could increase tenfold. To +handle this volume of reports, Project Bear said that they would set +up a complete UFO file on IBM punch cards. Then if we wanted any bit +of information from the files, it would be a matter of punching a few +buttons on an IBM card-sorting machine, and the files would be sorted +electronically in a few seconds. Approximately a hundred items +pertaining to a UFO report would be put on each card. These items +included everything from the time the UFO was seen to its position in +the sky and the observer's personality. The items punched on the +cards would correspond to the items on the questionnaires that +Project Bear was going to develop. + +Besides giving us a rapid method of sorting data, this IBM file +would give us a modus operandi file. Our MO file would be similar to +the MO files used by police departments to file the methods of +operations of a criminal. Thus when we received a report we could put +the characteristics of the reported UFO on an IBM punch card, put it +into the IBM machine, and compare it with the characteristics of +other sightings that had known solutions. The answer might be that +out of the one hundred items on the card, ninety-five were identical +to previous UFO reports that ducks were flying over a city at night +reflecting the city's lights. + +On the way home from the meeting Colonel Kirkland and I were both +well satisfied with the assistance we believed Project Bear could +give to Project Grudge. + +In a few days I again left ATIC, this time for Air Defense Command +Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I wanted to find out how +willing ADC was to help us and what they could do. When I arrived I +got a thorough briefing on the operations of ADC and the promise that +they would do anything they could to help solve the UFO riddle. + +All of this co-operation was something that I hadn't expected. I'd +been warned by the people who had worked on Project Sign and the old +Project Grudge that everybody hated the word UFO--I'd have to fight +for everything I asked for. But once again they were wrong. The +scientists who visited ATIC, General Samford, Project Bear, and now +Air Defense Command couldn't have been more co-operative. I was +becoming aware that there was much wider concern about UFO reports +than I'd ever realized before. + +While I traveled around the United States getting the project set +up, UFO reports continued to come in and all of them were good. One +series of reports was especially good, and they came from a group of +people who had had a great deal of experience watching things in the +sky--the people who launch the big skyhook balloons for General +Mills, Inc. The reports of what the General Mills people had seen +while they were tracking their balloons covered a period of over a +year. They had just sent them in because they had heard that Project +Grudge was being reorganized and was taking a different view on UFO +reports. They, like so many other reliable observers, had been +disgusted with the previous Air Force attitude toward UFO reports, +and they had refused to send in any reports. I decided that these +people might be a good source of information, and I wanted to get +further details on their reports, so I got orders to go to +Minneapolis. A scientist from Project Bear went with me. We arrived +on January 14, 1952, in the middle of a cold wave and a blizzard. + +The Aeronautical Division of General Mills, Inc., of Wheaties and +Betty Crocker fame, had launched and tracked every skyhook balloon +that had been launched prior to mid-1952. They knew what their +balloons looked like under all lighting conditions and they also knew +meteorology, aerodynamics, astronomy, and they knew UFO's. I talked +to these people for the better part of a full day, and every time I +tried to infer that there might be some natural explanation for the +UFO's I just about found myself in a fresh snowdrift. + +What made these people so sure that UFO's existed? In the first +place, they had seen many of them. One man told me that one tracking +crew had seen so many that the sight of a UFO no longer even +especially interested them. And the things that they saw couldn't be +explained. + +For example: On January 16, 1951, two people from General Mills and +four people from Artesia, New Mexico, were watching a skyhook balloon +from the Artesia airport. They had been watching the balloon off and +on for about an hour when one of the group saw two tiny specks on the +horizon, off to the northwest. He pointed them out to the others +because two airplanes were expected into the airport, and he thought +that these might be the airplanes. But as they watched, the two +specks began to move in fast, and within a few seconds the observers +could see that "the airplanes" were actually two round, dull white +objects flying in close formation. The two objects continued to come +in and headed straight toward the balloon. When they reached the +balloon they circled it once and flew off to the northwest, where +they disappeared over the horizon. As the two UFO's circled the +balloon, they tipped on edge and the observers saw that they were +disk-shaped. + +When the two UFO's were near the balloon, the observers also had a +chance to compare the size of the UFO's with the size of the balloon. +If the UFO's were as close to the balloon as they appeared to be they +would have been 60 feet in diameter. + +After my visit to General Mills, Inc., I couldn't help remembering a +magazine article I'd read about a year before. It said that there was +not a single reliable UFO report that couldn't be attributed to a +skyhook balloon. + +I'd been back at ATIC only a few days when I found myself packing up +to leave again. This time it was for New York. A high-priority wire +had come into ATIC describing how a Navy pilot had chased a UFO over +Mitchel AFB, on Long Island. It was a good report. + +I remember the trip to New York because my train passed through +Elizabeth, New Jersey, early in the morning, and I could see the +fires caused by an American Airlines Convair that had crashed. This +was the second of the three tragic Elizabeth, New Jersey, crashes. + +The morning before, on January 21, a Navy pilot had taken off from +Mitchel in a TBM. He was a lieutenant commander, had flown in World +War II, and was now an engineer at the Navy Special Devices Center on +Long Island. At nine-fifty he had cleared the traffic pattern and was +at about 2,500 feet, circling around the airfield. He was southeast +of the field when he first noticed an object below him and "about +three runway lengths off the end of Runway 30." The object looked +like the top of a parachute canopy, he told me; it was white and he +thought he could see the wedges or panels. He said that he thought +that it was moving across the ground a little bit too fast to be +drifting with wind, but he was sure that somebody had bailed out and +that he was looking at the top of his parachute. He was just ready to +call the tower when he suddenly realized that this "parachute" was +drifting across the wind. He had just taken off from Runway 30 and +knew which direction the wind was blowing. + +As he watched, the object, whatever it was (by now he no longer +thought that it was a parachute), began to gradually climb, so he +started to climb, he said, staying above and off to the right of the +object. When the UFO started to make a left turn, he followed and +tried to cut inside, but he overshot and passed over it. It continued +to turn and gain speed, so he dropped the nose of the TBM, put on +more power, and pulled in behind the object, which was now level with +him. In a matter of seconds the UFO made a 180-degree turn and +started to make a big swing around the northern edge of Mitchel AFB. +The pilot tried to follow, but the UFO had begun to accelerate +rapidly, and since a TBM leaves much to be desired on the speed end, +he was getting farther and farther behind. But he did try to follow +it as long as he could. As he made a wide turn around the northern +edge of the airfield he saw that the UFO was now turning south. He +racked the TBM up into a tight left turn to follow, but in a few +seconds the UFO had disappeared. When he last saw it, it had crossed +the Long Island coast line near Freeport and it was heading out to sea. + +When he finished his account of the chase, I asked the commander +some specific questions about the UFO. He said that just after he'd +decided that the UFO was not a parachute it appeared to be at an +altitude of about 200 to 300 feet over a residential section. From +the time it took it to cover a city block, he'd estimated that it was +traveling about 300 miles an hour. Even when he pulled in behind the +object and got a good look, it still looked like a parachute canopy-- +dome-shaped--white--and it had a dark undersurface. It had been in +sight two and a half minutes. + +He had called the control tower at Mitchel during the chase, he told +me, but only to ask if any balloons had been launched. He thought +that he might be seeing a balloon. The tower had told him that there +was a balloon in the area. + +Then the commander took out an aeronautical chart and drew in his +flight path and the apparent path of the UFO for me. I think that he +drew it accurately because he had been continually watching landmarks +as he'd chased the UFO and was very careful as he drew the sketches +on the map. + +I checked with the weather detachment at Mitchel and they said that +they had released a balloon. They had released it at nine-fifty and +from a point southeast of the airfield. I got a plot of its path. +Just as in the Long Beach Incident, where the six F-86's tried to +intercept the UFO, the balloon was almost exactly in line with the +spot where the UFO was first seen, but then any proof you might +attempt falls apart. If the pilot knew where he was, and had plotted +his flight path even semi-accurately, he was never over the balloon. +Yet he was over the UFO. He came within less than 2,000 feet of the +UFO when he passed over it; yet he couldn't recognize it as a balloon +even though he thought it might be a balloon since the tower had just +told him that there was one in the area. He said that he followed the +UFO around the north edge of the airfield. Yet the balloon, after it +was launched southeast of the field, continued on a southeast course +and never passed north of the airfield. + +But the biggest argument against the object's being a balloon was +the fact that the pilot pulled in behind it; it was directly off the +nose of his airplane, and although he followed it for more than a +minute, it pulled away from him. Once you line up an airplane on a +balloon and go straight toward it you will catch it in a matter of +seconds, even in the slowest airplane. There have been dogfights with +UFO's where the UFO's turned out to be balloons, but the pilots +always reported that the UFO "made a pass" at them. In other words, +they rapidly caught up with the balloon and passed it. I questioned +this pilot over and over on this one point, and he was positive that +he had followed directly behind the UFO for over a minute and all the +time it was pulling away from him. + +This is one of the most typical UFO reports we had in our files. It +is typical because no matter how you argue there isn't any definite +answer. If you want to argue that the pilot didn't know where he was +during the chase--that he was 3 or 4 miles from where he thought he +was--that he never did fly around the northern edge of the field and +get in behind the UFO--then the UFO could have been a balloon. + +But if you want to believe that the pilot knew where he was all +during the chase, and he did have several thousand hours of flying +time, then all you can conclude is that the UFO was an unknown. + +I think the pilot summed up the situation very aptly when he told me, "I +don't know what it was, but I've never seen anything like it before or +since--maybe it was a spaceship." + +I went back to Dayton stumped--maybe it was a spaceship. + + + +CHAPTER TEN + +Project Blue Book and the Big Build-Up + +Just twenty minutes after midnight on January 22, 1952, nineteen and +a half hours after the Navy lieutenant commander had chased the UFO +near Mitchel AFB, another incident involving an airplane and +something unknown was developing in Alaska. In contrast with the +unusually balmy weather in New York, the temperature in Alaska that +night, according to the detailed account of the incident we received +at ATIC, was a miserable 47 degrees below zero. The action was +unfolding at one of our northernmost radar outposts in Alaska. This +outpost was similar to those you may have seen in pictures, a +collection of low, sprawling buildings grouped around the observatory- +-like domes that house the antennae of the most modern radar in the +world. The entire collection of buildings and domes are one color, +solid white, from the plastering of ice and snow. The picture that +the outpost makes could be described as fascinating, something out of +a Walt Disney fantasy--but talk to somebody who's been there--it's +miserable. + +At 0020, twenty minutes after midnight, an airman watching one of +the outpost's radarscopes saw a target appear. It looked like an +airplane because it showed up as a bright, distinct spot. But it was +unusual because it was northeast of the radar site, and very few +airplanes ever flew over this area. Off to the northeast of the +station there was nothing but ice, snow, and maybe a few Eskimos +until you got to Russia. Occasionally a B-50 weather reconnaissance +plane ventured into the area, but a quick check of the records showed +that none was there on this night. + +By the time the radar crew had gotten three good plots of the +target, they all knew that it was something unusual--it was at 23,000 +feet and traveling 1,500 miles an hour. The duty controller, an Air +Force captain, was quickly called; he made a fast check of the +targets that had now been put on the plotting board and called to a +jet fighter-interceptor base for a scramble. + +The fighter base, located about 100 miles south of the radar site, +acknowledged the captain's call and in a matter of minutes an F-94 +jet was climbing out toward the north. + +While the F-94 was heading north, the radar crew at the outpost +watched the unidentified target. The bright dots that marked its path +had moved straight across the radarscope, passing within about 50 +miles of the site. It was still traveling about 1,500 miles an hour. +The radar had also picked up the F-94 and was directing it toward its +target when suddenly the unidentified target slowed down, stopped, +and reversed its course. Now it was heading directly toward the radar +station. When it was within about 30 miles of the station, the radar +operator switched his set to a shorter range and lost both the F-94 +and the unidentified target. + +While the radar operator was trying to pick up the target again, the +F-94 arrived in the area. The ground controller told the pilot that +they had lost the target and asked him to cruise around the area to +see if he and his radar operator could pick up anything on the F-94's +radar. The pilot said he would but that he was having a little +difficulty, was low on fuel, and would have to get back to his base +soon. The ground controller acknowledged the pilot's message, and +called back to the air base telling them to scramble a second F-94. + +The first F-94 continued to search the area while the ground radar +tried to pick up the target but neither could find it. + +About this time the second F-94 was coming in, so the ground radar +switched back to long range. In a minute they had both of the F-94's +and the unidentified target on their scope. The ground controller +called the second F-94 and began to vector him into the target. + +The first F-94 returned to its base. + +As both the second F-94 and the target approached the radar site, +the operator again switched to short range and again he lost the jet +and the target. He switched back to long range, but by now they were +too close to the radar site and he couldn't pick up either one. + +The pilot continued on toward where the unidentified target should +have been. Suddenly the F-94 radar operator reported a weak target +off to the right at 28,000 feet. They climbed into it but it faded +before they could make contact. + +The pilot swung the F-94 around for another pass, and this time the +radar operator reported a strong return. As they closed in, the F- +94's radar showed that the target was now almost stationary, just +barely moving. The F-94 continued on, but the target seemed to make a +sudden dive and they lost it. The pilot of the jet interceptor +continued to search the area but couldn't find anything. As the F-94 +moved away from the radar station, it was again picked up on the +ground radar, but the unidentified target was gone. + +A third F-94 had been scrambled, and in the meantime its crew took +over the search. They flew around for about ten minutes without +detecting any targets on their radar. They were making one last pass +almost directly over the radar station when the radar operator in the +back seat of the F-94 yelled over the interphone that he had a target +on his scope. The pilot called ground radar, but by this time both +the F-94 and the unidentified target were again too close to the +radar station and they couldn't be picked up. The F-94 closed in +until it was within 200 yards of the target; then the pilot pulled +up, afraid he might collide with whatever was out in the night sky +ahead of him. He made another pass, and another, but each time the +bright spot on the radar operator's scope just stayed in one spot as +if something were defiantly sitting out in front of the F-94 daring +the pilot to close in. The pilot didn't take the dare. On each pass +he broke off at 200 yards. + +The F-94 crew made a fourth pass and got a weak return, but it was +soon lost as the target seemed to speed away. Ground radar also got a +brief return, but in a matter of seconds they too lost the target as +it streaked out of range on a westerly heading. + +As usual, the first thing I did when I read this report was to check +the weather. But there was no weather report for this area that was +detailed enough to tell whether a weather inversion could have caused +the radar targets. + +But I took the report over to Captain Roy James, anyway, in hopes +that he might be able to find a clue that would identify the UFO. + +Captain James was the chief of the radar section at ATIC. He and his +people analyzed all our reports where radar picked up UFO's. Roy had +been familiar with radar for many years, having set up one of the +first stations in Florida during World War II, and later he took the +first aircraft control and warning squadron to Saipan. Besides +worrying about keeping his radar operating, he had to worry about the +Japs' shooting holes in his antennae. + +Captain James decided that this Alaskan sighting I'd just shown him +was caused by some kind of freak weather. He based his analysis on +the fact that the unknown target had disappeared each time the ground +radar had been switched to short range. This, he pointed out, is an +indication that the radar was picking up some kind of a target that +was caused by weather. The same weather that caused the ground radar +to act up must have caused false targets on the F-94's radar too, he +continued. After all, they had closed to within 200 yards of what +they were supposedly picking up; it was a clear moonlight night, yet +the crews of the F-94's hadn't seen a thing. + +Taking a clue from the law profession, he quoted a precedent. About +a year before over Oak Ridge, Tennessee, an F-82 interceptor had +nearly flown into the ground three times as the pilot attempted to +follow a target that his radar operator was picking up. There was a +strong inversion that night, and although the target appeared as if +it were flying in the air, it was actually a ground target. + +Since Captain James was the chief of the radar section and he had +said "Weather," weather was the official conclusion on the report. +But reports of UFO's' being picked up on radar are controversial, and +some of the people didn't agree with James's conclusion. + +A month or two after we'd received the report, I was out in Colorado +Springs at Air Defense Command Headquarters. I was eating lunch in +the officers' club when I saw an officer from the radar operations +section at ADC. He asked me to stop by his office when I had a spare +minute, and I said that I would. He said that it was important. + +It was the middle of the afternoon before I saw him and found out +what he wanted. He had been in Alaska on TDY when the UFO had been +picked up at the outpost radar site. In fact, he had made a trip to +both the radar site and the interceptor base just two days after the +sighting, and he had talked about the sighting with the people who +had seen the UFO on the radar. He wanted to know what we thought +about it. + +When I told him that the sighting had been written off as weather, I +remember that he got a funny look on his face and said, "Weather! +What are you guys trying to pull, anyway?" + +It was obvious that he didn't agree with our conclusion. I was +interested in learning what this man thought because I knew that he +was one of ADC's ace radar trouble shooters and that he traveled all +over the world, on loan from ADC, to work out problems with radars. + +"From the description of what the targets looked like on the +radarscopes, good, strong, bright images, I can't believe that they +were caused by weather," he told me. + +Then he went on to back up his argument by pointing out that when +the ground radar was switched to short range both the F-94 and the +unknown target disappeared. If just the unknown target had +disappeared, then it could have been weather. But since both +disappeared, very probably the radar set wasn't working on short +ranges for some reason. Next he pointed out that if there was a +temperature inversion, which is highly unlikely in northern Alaska, +the same inversion that would affect the ground radar wouldn't be +present at 25,000 feet or above. + +I told him about the report from Oak Ridge that Captain James had +used as an example, but he didn't buy this comparison. At Oak Ridge, +he pointed out, that F-82 was at only 4,000 feet. He didn't know how +the F-94's could get to within 200 yards of an object without seeing +it, unless the object was painted a dull black. + +"No," he said, "I can't believe that those radar targets were caused +by weather. I'd be much more inclined to believe that they were +something real, something that we just don't know about." + +During the early spring of 1952 reports of radar sightings increased +rapidly. Most of them came from the Air Defense Command, but a few +came from other agencies. One day, soon after the Alaskan Incident, I +got a telephone call from the chief of one of the sections of a +civilian experimental radar laboratory in New York State. The people +in this lab were working on the development of the latest types of +radar. Several times recently, while testing radars, they had +detected unidentified targets. To quote my caller, "Some damn odd +things are happening that are beginning to worry me." He went on to +tell how the people in his lab had checked their radars, the weather, +and everything else they could think of, but they could find +absolutely nothing to account for the targets; they could only +conclude that they were real. I promised him that his information +would get to the right people if he'd put it in a letter and send it +to ATIC. In about a week the letter arrived--hand-carried by no less +than a general. The general, who was from Headquarters, Air Materiel +Command, had been in New York at the radar laboratory, and he had +heard about the UFO reports. He had personally checked into them +because he knew that the people at the lab were some of the sharpest +radar engineers in the world. When he found out that these people had +already contacted us and had prepared a report for us, he offered to +hand-carry it to Wright-Patterson. + +I can't divulge how high these targets were flying or how fast they +were going because it would give an indication of the performance of +our latest radar, which is classified Secret. I can say, however, +that they were flying mighty high and mighty fast. + +I turned the letter over to ATIC's electronics branch, and they +promised to take immediate action. They did, and really fouled it up. +The person who received the report in the electronics branch was one +of the old veterans of Projects Sign and Grudge. He knew all about +UFO's. He got on the phone, called the radar lab, and told the chief +(a man who possibly wrote all of the textbooks this person had used +in college) all about how a weather inversion can cause false targets +on weather. He was gracious enough to tell the chief of the radar lab +to call if he had any more "trouble." + +We never heard from them again. Maybe they found out what their +targets were. Or maybe they joined ranks with the airline pilot who +told me that if a flying saucer flew wing tip to wing tip formation +with him, he'd never tell the Air Force. + +In early February I made another trip to Air Defense Command +Headquarters in Colorado Springs. This time it was to present a +definite plan of how ADC could assist ATIC in getting better data on +UFO's. I briefed General Benjamin W. Chidlaw, then the Commanding +General of the Air Defense Command, and his staff, telling them about +our plan. They agreed with it in principle and suggested that I work +out the details with the Director of Intelligence for ADC, Brigadier +General W. M. Burgess. General Burgess designated Major Verne +Sadowski of his staff to be the ADC liaison officer with Project +Grudge. + +This briefing started a long period of close co-operation between +Project Grudge and ADC, and it was a pleasure to work with these +people. In all of my travels around the government, visiting and +conferring with dozens of agencies, I never had the pleasure of +working with or seeing a more smoothly operating and efficient +organization than the Air Defense Command. General Chidlaw and +General Burgess, along with the rest of the staff at ADC, were truly +great officers. None of them were believers in flying saucers, but +they recognized the fact that UFO reports were a problem that must be +considered. With technological progress what it is today, you can't +afford to have _anything_ in the air that you can't identify, be it +balloons, meteors, planets or flying saucers. + +The plan that ADC agreed to was very simple. They agreed to issue a +directive to all of their units explaining the UFO situation and +telling specifically what to do in case one was detected. All radar +units equipped with radarscope cameras would be required to take +scope photos of targets that fell into the UFO category--targets that +were not airplanes or known weather phenomena. These photos, along +with a completed technical questionnaire that would be made up at +ATIC by Captain Roy James, would be forwarded to Project Grudge. + +The Air Defense Command UFO directive would also clarify the +scrambling of fighters to intercept a UFO. Since it is the policy of +the Air Defense Command to establish the identity of any unidentified +target, there were no _special_ orders issued for scrambling fighters +to try to identify reported UFO's. A UFO was something unknown and +automatically called for a scramble. However, there had been some +hesitancy on the part of controllers to send airplanes up whenever +radar picked up a target that obviously was not an airplane. The +directive merely pointed out to the controllers that it was within +the scope of existing regulations to scramble on radar targets that +were plotted as traveling too fast or too slow to be conventional +airplanes. The decision to scramble fighters was still up to the +individual controller, however, and scrambling on UFO's would be a +second or third priority. + +The Air Defense Command UFO directive did not mention shooting at a +UFO. This question came up during our planning meeting at Colorado +Springs, but, like the authority to scramble, the authority to shoot +at anything in the air had been established long ago. Every ADC pilot +knows the rules for engagement, the rules that tell him when he can +shoot the loaded guns that he always carries. If anything in the air +over the United States commits any act that is covered by the rules +for engagement, the pilot has the authority to open fire. + +The third thing that ADC would do would be to integrate the Ground +Observer Corps into the UFO reporting net. As a second priority, the +GOC would report UFO's--first priority would still be reporting +aircraft. + +Ever since the new Project Grudge had been organized, we hadn't had +to deal with any large-scale publicity about UFO's. Occasionally +someone would bring in a local item from some newspaper about a UFO +sighting, but the sightings never rated more than an inch or two +column space. But on February 19, 1952, the calm was broken by the +story of how a huge ball of fire paced two B-29's in Korea. The story +didn't start a rash of reports as the story of the first UFO sighting +did in June 1947, but it was significant in that it started a slow +build-up of publicity that was far to surpass anything in the past. + +This Korean sighting also added to the growing official interest in +Washington. Almost every day I was getting one or two telephone calls +from some branch of the government, and I was going to Washington at +least once every two weeks. I was beginning to spend as much time +telling people what was going on as I was doing anything about it. +The answer was to get somebody in the Directorate of Intelligence in +the Pentagon to act as a liaison officer. I could keep this person +informed and he could handle the "branch office" in Washington. +Colonel Dunn bought this idea, and Major Dewey J. Fournet got the +additional duty of manager of the Pentagon branch. In the future all +Pentagon inquiries went to Major Fournet, and if he couldn't answer +them he would call me. The arrangement was excellent because Major +Fournet took a very serious interest in UFO's and could always be +counted on to do a good job. + +Sometime in February 1952 I had a visit from two Royal Canadian Air +Force officers. For some time, I learned, Canada had been getting her +share of UFO reports. One of the latest ones, and the one that +prompted the visit by the RCAF officers, occurred at North Bay, +Ontario, about 250 miles north of Buffalo, New York. On two occasions +an orange-red disk had been seen from a new jet fighter base in the +area. + +The Canadians wanted to know how we operated. I gave them the +details of how we were currently operating and how we hoped to +operate in the future, as soon as the procedures that were now in the +planning stages could be put into operation. We agreed to try to set +up channels so that we could exchange information and tie in the +project they planned to establish with Project Grudge. + +Our plans for continuing liaison didn't materialize, but through +other RCAF intelligence officers I found out that their plans for an +RCAF-sponsored project failed. A quasi-official UFO project was set +up soon after this, however, and its objective was to use instruments +to detect objects coming into the earth's atmosphere. In 1954 the +project was closed down because during the two years of operation +they hadn't officially detected any UFO's. My sources of information +stressed the word "officially." + +During the time that I was chief of the UFO project, the visitors +who passed through my office closely resembled the international +brigade. Most of the visits were unofficial in the sense that the +officers came to ATIC on other business, but in many instances the +other business was just an excuse to come out to Dayton to get filled +in on the UFO story. Two RAF intelligence officers who were in the +U.S. on a classified mission brought six single-spaced typed pages of +questions they and their friends wanted answered. On many occasions +Air Force intelligence officers who were stationed in England, +France, and Germany, and who returned to the U.S. on business, took +back stacks of unclassified flying saucer stories. One civilian +intelligence agent who frequently traveled between the U.S. and +Europe also acted as the unofficial courier for a German group-- +transporting hot newspaper and magazine articles about UFO's that I'd +collected. In return I received the latest information on European +sightings--sightings that never were released and that we never +received at ATIC through official channels. + +Ever since the fateful day when Lieutenant Jerry Cummings dropped +his horn-rimmed glasses down on his nose, tipped his head forward, +peered at Major General Cabell over his glasses and, acting not at +all like a first lieutenant, said that the UFO investigation was all +fouled up, Project Grudge had been gaining prestige. Lieutenant +Colonel Rosengarten's promise that I'd be on the project for only a +few months went the way of all military promises. By March 1952, +Project Grudge was no longer just a project within a group; we had +become a separate organization, with the formal title of the Aerial +Phenomena Group. Soon after this step-up in the chain of command the +project code name was changed to Blue Book. The word "Grudge" was no +longer applicable. For those people who like to try to read a hidden +meaning into a name, I'll say that the code name Blue Book was +derived from the title given to college tests. Both the tests and the +project had an abundance of equally confusing questions. + +Project Blue Book had been made a separate group because of the +steadily increasing number of reports we were receiving. The average +had jumped from about ten a month to twenty a month since December +1951. In March of 1952 the reports slacked off a little, but April +was a big month. In April we received ninety-nine reports. + +On April 1, Colonel S. H. Kirkland and I went to Los Angeles on +business. Before we left ATIC we had made arrangements to attend a +meeting of the Civilian Saucer Investigators, a now defunct +organization that was very active in 1952. + +They turned out to be a well-meaning but Don Quixote-type group of +individuals. As soon as they outlined their plans for attempting to +solve the UFO riddle, it was obvious that they would fail. Project +Blue Book had the entire Air Force, money, and enthusiasm behind it +and we weren't getting any answers yet. All this group had was the +enthusiasm. + +The highlight of the evening wasn't the Civilian Saucer +Investigators, however; it was getting a chance to read Ginna's UFO +article in an advance copy of _Life_ magazine that the organization +had obtained--the article written from the material Bob Ginna had +been researching for over a year. Colonel Kirkwood took one long look +at the article, sidled up to me, and said, "We'd better get back to +Dayton quick; you're going to be busy." The next morning at dawn I +was sound asleep on a United Airlines DC-6, Dayton-bound. + +The _Life_ article undoubtedly threw a harder punch at the American +public than any other UFO article ever written. The title alone, +"Have We Visitors from Outer Space?" was enough. Other very reputable +magazines, such as True, had said it before, but coming from _Life_, +it was different. _Life_ didn't say that the UFO's were from outer +space; it just said maybe. But to back up this "maybe," it had quotes +from some famous people. Dr. Walther Riedel, who played an important +part in the development of the German V-2 missile and is presently +the director of rocket engine research for North American Aviation +Corporation, said he believed that the UFO's were from outer space. +Dr. Maurice Biot, one of the world's leading aerodynamicists, backed +him up. + +But the most important thing about the _Life_ article was the +question in the minds of so many readers: "Why was it written?" +_Life_ doesn't go blasting off on flights of space fancy without a +good reason. Some of the readers saw a clue in the author's comments +that the hierarchy of the Air Force was now taking a serious look at +UFO reports. "Did the Air Force prompt _Life_ to write the article?" +was the question that many people asked themselves. + +When I arrived at Dayton, newspapermen were beating down the door. +The official answer to the _Life_ article was released through the +Office of Public Information in the Pentagon: "The article is +factual, but _Life's_ conclusions are their own." In answer to any +questions about the article's being Air Force-inspired, my weasel- +worded answer was that we had furnished _Life_ with some raw data on +specific sightings. + +My answer was purposely weasel-worded because I knew that the Air +Force had unofficially inspired the _Life_ article. The "maybe +they're interplanetary" with the "maybe" bordering on "they are" was +the personal opinion of several very high-ranking officers in the +Pentagon--so high that their personal opinion was almost policy. I +knew the men and I knew that one of them, a general, had passed his +opinions on to Bob Ginna. + +Oddly enough, the _Life_ article did not cause a flood of reports. +The day after the article appeared we got nine sightings, which was +unusual, but the next day they dropped off again. + +The number of reports did take a sharp rise a few days later, +however. The cause was the distribution of an order that completed +the transformation of the UFO from a bastard son to the family heir. +The piece of paper that made Project Blue Book legitimate was Air +Force Letter 200-5, Subject: Unidentified Flying Objects. The letter, +which was duly signed and sealed by the Secretary of the Air Force, +in essence stated that UFO's were not a joke, that the Air Force was +making a serious study of the problem, and that Project Blue Book was +responsible for the study. The letter stated that the commander of +every Air Force installation was responsible for forwarding all UFO +reports to ATIC by wire, with a copy to the Pentagon. Then a more +detailed report would be sent by airmail. Most important of all, it +gave Project Blue Book the authority to directly contact any Air +Force unit in the United States without going through any chain of +command. This was almost unheard of in the Air Force and gave our +project a lot of prestige. + +The new reporting procedures established by the Air Force letter +greatly aided our investigation because it allowed us to start +investigating the better reports before they cooled off. But it also +had its disadvantages. It authorized the sender to use whatever +priority he thought the message warranted. Some things are slow in +the military, but a priority message is not one of them. When it +comes into the message center, it is delivered to the addressee +immediately, and for some reason, all messages reporting UFO's seemed +to arrive between midnight and 4:00A.M. I was considered the +addressee on all UFO reports. To complicate matters, the messages +were usually classified and I would have to go out to the air base +and personally sign for them. + +One such message came in about 4:30A.M. on May 8, 1952. It was from +a CAA radio station in Jacksonville, Florida, and had been forwarded +over the Flight Service teletype net. I received the usual telephone +call from the teletype room at Wright-Patterson, I think I got +dressed, and I went out and picked up the message. As I signed for it +I remember the night man in the teletype room said, "This is a lulu, +Captain." + +It was a lulu. About one o'clock that morning a Pan-American +airlines DC-4 was flying south toward Puerto Rico. A few hours after +it had left New York City it was out over the Atlantic Ocean, about +600 miles off Jacksonville, Florida, flying at 8,000 feet. It was a +pitch-black night; a high overcast even cut out the glow from the +stars. The pilot and copilot were awake but really weren't +concentrating on looking for other aircraft because they had just +passed into the San Juan Oceanic Control Area and they had been +advised by radio that there were no other airplanes in the area. The +copilot was turning around to look at number four engine when he +noticed a light up ahead. It looked like the taillight of another +airplane. He watched it closely for a few seconds since no other +airplanes were supposed to be in the area. He glanced out at number +four engine for a few seconds, looked back, and he saw that the light +was in about the same position as when he'd first seen it. Then he +looked down at the prop controls, synchronized the engines, and +looked up again. In the few seconds that he had glanced away from the +light, it had moved to the right so that it was now directly ahead of +the DC-4, and it had increased in size. The copilot reached over and +slapped the pilot on the shoulder and pointed. Just at that instant +the light began to get bigger and bigger until it was "ten times the +size of a landing light of an airplane." It continued to close in and +with a flash it streaked by the DC-4's left wing. Before the crew +could react and say anything, two more smaller balls of fire flashed +by. Both pilots later said that they sat in their seats for several +seconds with sweat trickling down their backs. + +It was one of these two pilots who later said, "Were you ever +traveling along the highway about 70 miles an hour at night, have the +car that you were meeting suddenly swerve over into your lane and +then cut back so that you just miss it by inches? You know the sort +of sick, empty feeling you get when it's all over? That's just the +way we felt." + +As soon as the crew recovered from the shock, the pilot picked up +his mike, called Jacksonville Radio, and told them about the +incident. Minutes later we had the report. The next afternoon +Lieutenant Kerry Rothstien, who had replaced Lieutenant Metscher on +the project, was on his way to New York to meet the pilots when they +returned from Puerto Rico. + +When Kerry talked to the two pilots, they couldn't add a great deal +to their original story. Their final comment was the one we all had +heard so many times, "I always thought these people who reported +flying saucers were crazy, but now I don't know." + +When Lieutenant Rothstien returned to Dayton he triple-checked with +the CAA for aircraft in the area--but there were none. Could there +have been airplanes in the area that CAA didn't know about? The +answer was almost a flat "No." No one would fly 600 miles off the +coast without filing a flight plan; if he got into trouble or went +down, the Coast Guard or Air Rescue Service would have no idea where +to look. + +Kerry was given the same negative answer when he checked on surface +shipping. + +The last possibility was that the UFO's were meteors, but several +points in the pilots' story ruled these out. First, there was a solid +overcast at about 18,000 feet. No meteor cruises along straight and +level below 18,000 feet. Second, on only rare occasions have meteors +been seen traveling three in trail. The chances of seeing such a +phenomenon are well over one in a billion. + +Some people have guessed that some kind of an atmospheric phenomenon +can form a "wall of air" ahead of an airplane that will act as a +mirror and that lights seen at night by pilots are nothing more than +the reflection of the airplane's own lights. This could be true in +some cases, but to have a reflection you must have a light to +reflect. There are no lights on an airplane that even approach being +"ten times the size of a landing light." + +What was it? I know a colonel who says it was the same thing that +the two Eastern Airlines' pilots, Clarence Chiles and John Whitted, +saw near Montgomery, Alabama, on July 24, 1948, and he thinks that +Chiles and Whitted saw a spaceship. + +Reports for the month of April set an all-time high. These were all +reports that came from military installations. In addition, we +received possibly two hundred letters reporting UFO's, but we were so +busy all we could do was file them for future reference. + +In May 1952 I'd been out to George AFB in California investigating a +series of sightings and was on my way home. I remember the flight to +Dayton because the weather was bad all the way. I didn't want to miss +my connecting flight in Chicago, or get grounded, because I had +faithfully promised my wife that we would go out to dinner the night +that I returned to Dayton. I'd called her from Los Angeles to tell +her that I was coming in, and she had found a baby sitter and had +dinner reservations. I hadn't been home more than about two days a +week for the past three months, and she was looking forward to going +out for the evening. + +I reached Dayton about midmorning and went right out to the base. +When I arrived at the office, my secretary was gone but there was a +big note on my desk: "Call Colonel Dunn as soon as you get in." + +I called Colonel Dunn; then I called my wife and told her to cancel +the baby sitter, cancel the dinner reservations, and pack my other +bag. I had to go to Washington. + +While I'd been in California, Colonel Dunn had received a call from +General Samford's office. It seems that a few nights before, one of +the top people in the Central Intelligence Agency was having a lawn +party at his home just outside Alexandria, Virginia. A number of +notable personages were in attendance and they had seen a flying +saucer. The report had been passed down to Air Force intelligence, +and due to the quality of the brass involved, it was "suggested" that +I get to Washington on the double and talk to the host of the party. +I was at his office before 5:00P.M. and got his report. + +About ten o'clock in the evening he and two other people were +standing near the edge of his yard talking; he happened to be facing +south, looking off across the countryside. He digressed a bit from +his story to explain that his home is on a hilltop in the country, +and when looking south, he had a view of the entire countryside. +While he was talking to the two other people he noticed a light +approaching from the west. He had assumed it was an airplane and had +casually watched it, but when the light got fairly close, the CIA man +said that he suddenly realized there wasn't any sound associated with +it. If it were an airplane it would have been close enough for him to +hear even above the hum of the guests' conversations. He had actually +quit talking and was looking at the light when it stopped for an +instant and began to climb almost vertically. He said something to +the other guests, and they looked up just in time to see the light +finish its climb, stop, and level out. They all watched it travel +level for a few seconds, then go into a nearly vertical dive, level +out, and streak off to the east. + +Most everyone at the party had seen the light before it disappeared, +and within minutes several friendly arguments as to what it was had +developed, I was told. One person thought it was a lighted balloon, +and a retired general thought it was an airplane. To settle the +arguments, they had made a few telephone calls. I might add that +these people were such that the mention of their names on a telephone +got quick results. Radar in the Washington area said that there had +been no airplanes flying west to east south of Alexandria in the past +hour. The weather station at Bolling AFB said that there were no +balloons in the area, but as a double check the weather people looked +at their records of high-altitude winds. It couldn't have been a +balloon because none of the winds up to 65,000 feet were blowing from +west to east--and to be able to see a light on a balloon, it has to +be well below 65,000 feet; the man from CIA told me that they had +even considered the possibility that the UFO was a meteor and that +the "jump" had been due to some kind of an atmospheric distortion. +But the light had been in sight too long to be a meteor. He added +that an army chaplain and two teetotaler guests had also seen the +light jump. + +There wasn't much left for me to do when I finished talking to the +man. He and his guests had already made all of the checks that I'd +have made. All I could do was go back to Dayton, write up his report, +and stamp it "Unknown." + +Back in March, when it had become apparent that the press was +reviving its interest in UFO's, I had suggested that Project Blue +Book subscribe to a newspaper clipping service. Such a service could +provide several things. First, it would show us exactly how much +publicity the UFO's were getting and what was being said, and it +would give us the feel of the situation. Then it would also provide a +lot of data for our files. In many cases the newspapers got reports +that didn't go to the Air Force. Newspaper reporters rival any +intelligence officer when it comes to digging up facts, and there was +always the possibility that they would uncover and print something +we'd missed. This was especially true in the few cases of hoaxes that +always accompany UFO publicity. Last, it would provide us with +material on which to base a study of the effect of newspaper +publicity upon the number and type of UFO reports. + +Colonel Dunn liked the idea of the clipping service, and it went +into effect soon after the first publicity had appeared. Every three +or four days we would get an envelope full of clippings. In March the +clipping service was sending the clippings to us in letter-sized +envelopes. The envelopes were thin--maybe there would be a dozen or +so clippings in each one. Then they began to get thicker and thicker, +until the people who were doing the clipping switched to using manila +envelopes. Then the manila envelopes began to get thicker and +thicker. By May we were up to old shoe boxes. The majority of the +newspaper stories in the shoe boxes were based on material that had +come from ATIC. + +All of these inquiries from the press were adding to Blue Book's +work load and to my problems. Normally a military unit such as ATIC +has its own public information officer, but we had none so I was it. +I was being quoted quite freely in the press and was repeatedly being +snarled at by someone in the Pentagon. It was almost a daily +occurrence to have people from the "puzzle palace" call and +indignantly ask, "Why did you tell them that?" They usually referred +to some bit of information that somebody didn't think should have +been released. I finally gave up and complained to Colonel Dunn. I +suggested that any contacts with the press be made through the Office +of Public Information in the Pentagon. These people were trained and +paid to do this job; I wasn't. Colonel Dunn heartily agreed because +every time I got chewed out he at least got a dirty look. + +Colonel Dunn called General Samford's office and they brought in +General Sory Smith of the Department of Defense, Office of Public +Information. General Smith appointed a civilian on the Air Force +Press Desk, Al Chop, to handle all inquiries from the press. The plan +was that Al would try to get his answers from Major Dewey Fournet, +Blue Book's liaison officer in the Pentagon, and if Dewey didn't have +the answer, Al had permission to call me. + +This arrangement worked out fine because Al Chop had been through +previous UFO publicity battles when he was in the Office of Public +Information at Wright Field. + +The interest in the UFO's that was shown by the press in May was +surpassed only by the interest of the Pentagon. Starting in May, I +gave on the average of one briefing in Washington every two weeks, +and there was always a full house. From the tone of the official +comments to the public about UFO's, it would indicate that there +wasn't a great deal of interest, but nothing could be further from +the truth. People say a lot of things behind a door bearing a sign +that reads "Secret Briefing in Progress." + +After one of the briefings a colonel (who is now a brigadier +general) presented a plan that called for using several flights of F- +94C jet interceptors for the specific purpose of trying to get some +good photographs of UFO's. The flight that he proposed would be an +operational unit with six aircraft--two would be on constant alert. +The F-94C's, then the hottest operational jet we had, would be +stripped of all combat gear to give them peak performance, and they +would carry a special camera in the nose. The squadrons would be +located at places in the United States where UFO's were most +frequently seen. + +The plan progressed to the point of estimating how soon enough +airplanes for two flights could be stripped, how soon special cameras +could be built, and whether or not two specific Air Force bases in +the U.S. could support the units. + +Finally the colonel's plan was shelved, but not because he was +considered to be crazy. After considerable study and debate at high +command level, it was decided that twelve F-94C's couldn't be spared +for the job and it would have been ineffective to use fewer airplanes. + +The consideration that the colonel's plan received was an indication +of how some of the military people felt about the importance of +finding out exactly what the UFO's really were. And in the +discussions the words "interplanetary craft" came up more than once. + +Requests for briefings came even from the highest figure in the Air +Force, Thomas K. Finletter, then the Secretary for Air. On May 8, +1952, Lieutenant Colonel R. J. Taylor of Colonel Dunn's staff and I +presented an hour-long briefing to Secretary Finletter and his staff. +He listened intently and asked several questions about specific +sightings when the briefing was finished. If he was at all worried +about the UFO's he certainly didn't show it. His only comment was, +"You're doing a fine job, Captain. It must be interesting. Thank you." + +Then he made the following statement for the press: + +"No concrete evidence has yet reached us either to prove or disprove +the existence of the so-called flying saucers. There remain, however, +a number of sightings that the Air Force investigators have been +unable to explain. As long as this is true, the Air Force will +continue to study flying saucer reports." + +In May 1952, Project Blue Book received seventy-nine UFO reports +compared to ninety-nine in April. It looked as if we'd passed the +peak and were now on the downhill side. The 178 reports of the past +two months, not counting the thousand or so letters that we'd +received directly from the public, had piled up a sizable backlog +since we'd had time to investigate and analyze only the better +reports. During June we planned to clear out the backlog, and then we +could relax. + +But never underestimate the power of a UFO. In June the big flap hit +--they began to deliver clippings in big cardboard cartons. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN + +The Big Flap + +In early June 1952, Project Blue Book was operating according to the +operational plan that had been set up in January 1952. It had taken +six months to put the plan into effect, and to a person who has never +been indoctrinated into the ways of the military, this may seem like +a long time. But consult your nearest government worker and you'll +find that it was about par for the red tape course. + +We had learned early in the project that about 60 per cent of the +reported UFO's were actually balloons, airplanes, or astronomical +bodies viewed under unusual conditions, so our operational plan was +set up to quickly weed out this type of report. This would give us +more time to concentrate on the unknown cases. + +To weed out reports in which balloons, airplanes, and astronomical +bodies were reported as UFO's, we utilized a flow of data that +continually poured into Project Blue Book. We received position +reports on all flights of the big skyhook balloons and, by merely +picking up the telephone, we could get the details about the flight +of any other research balloon or regularly scheduled weather balloon +in the United States. The location of aircraft in an area where a UFO +had been reported was usually checked by the intelligence officer who +made the report, but we double-checked his findings by requesting the +location of flights from CAA and military air bases. Astronomical +almanacs and journals, star charts, and data that we got from +observatories furnished us with clues to UFO's that might be +astronomical bodies. All of our investigations in this category of +report were double-checked by Project Bear's astronomer. + +Then we had our newspaper clipping file, which gave us many clues. +Hydrographic bulletins and Notams (notices to airmen), published by +the government, sometimes gave us other clues. Every six hours we +received a complete set of weather data. A dozen or more other +sources of data that might shed some light on a reported UFO were +continually being studied. + +To get all this information on balloons, aircraft, astronomical +bodies, and what have you, I had to co-ordinate Project Blue Book's +operational plan with the Air Force's Air Weather Service, Flight +Service, Research and Development Command, and Air Defense Command +with the Navy's Office of Naval Research, and the aerology branch of +the Bureau of Aeronautics; and with the Civil Aeronautics +Administration, Bureau of Standards, several astronomical +observatories, and our own Project Bear. Our entire operational plan +was similar to a Model A Ford I had while I was in high school--just +about the time you would get one part working, another part would +break down. + +When a report came through our screening process and still had the +"Unknown" tag on it, it went to the MO file, where we checked its +characteristics against other reports. For example, on May 25 we had +a report from Randolph AFB, Texas. It went through the screening +process and came out "Unknown"; it wasn't a balloon, airplane, or +astronomical body. So then it went to the MO file. It was a flock of +ducks reflecting the city lights. We knew that the Texas UFO's were +ducks because our MO file showed that we had an identical report from +Moorhead, Minnesota, and the UFO's at Moorhead were ducks. + +Radar reports that came into Blue Book went to the radar specialists +of ATIC's electronics branch. + +Sifting through reams of data in search of the answers to the many +reports that were pouring in each week required many hours of +overtime work, but when a report came out with the final conclusion, +"Unknown," we were sure that it was unknown. + +To operate Project Blue Book, I had four officers, two airmen, and +two civilians on my permanent staff. In addition, there were three +scientists employed full time on Project Bear, along with several +others who worked part time. In the Pentagon, Major Fournet, who had +taken on the Blue Book liaison job as an extra duty, was now spending +full time on it. If you add to this the number of intelligence +officers all over the world who were making preliminary +investigations and interviewing UFO observers, Project Blue Book was +a sizable effort. + +Only the best reports we received could be personally investigated +in the field by Project Blue Book personnel. The vast majority of the +reports had to be evaluated on the basis of what the intelligence +officer who had written the report had been able to uncover, or what +data we could get by telephone or by mailing out a questionnaire. Our +instructions for "what to do before the Blue Book man arrives," which +had been printed in many service publications, were beginning to pay +off and the reports were continually getting more detailed. + +The questionnaire we were using in June 1952 was the one that had +recently been developed by Project Bear. Project Bear, along with +psychologists from a midwestern university, had worked on it for five +months. Many test models had been tried before it reached its final +form--the standard questionnaire that Blue Book is using today. + +It ran eight pages and had sixty-eight questions which were booby- +trapped in a couple of places to give us a cross check on the +reliability of the reporter as an observer. We received quite a few +questionnaires answered in such a way that it was obvious that the +observer was drawing heavily on his imagination. + +From this standard questionnaire the project worked up two more +specialized types. One dealt with radar sightings of UFO's, the other +with sightings made from airplanes. + +In Air Force terminology a "flap" is a condition, or situation, or +state of being of a group of people characterized by an advanced +degree of confusion that has not quite yet reached panic proportions. +It can be brought on by any number of things, including the +unexpected visit of an inspecting general, a major administrative +reorganization, the arrival of a hot piece of intelligence +information, or the dramatic entrance of a well-stacked female into +an officers' club bar. + +In early June 1952 the Air Force was unknowingly in the initial +stages of a flap--a flying saucer flap--_the_ flying saucer flap of +1952. The situation had never been duplicated before, and it hasn't +been duplicated since. All records for the number of UFO reports were +not just broken, they were disintegrated. In 1948, 167 UFO reports +had come into ATIC; this was considered a big year. In June 1952 we +received 149. During the four years the Air Force had been in the UFO +business, 615 reports had been collected. During the "Big Flap" our +incoming-message log showed 717 reports. + +To anyone who had anything to do with flying saucers, the summer of +1952 was just one big swirl of UFO reports, hurried trips, midnight +telephone calls, reports to the Pentagon, press interviews, and very +little sleep. + +If you can pin down a date that the Big Flap started, it would +probably be about June 1. + +It was also on June 1 that we received a good report of a UFO that +had been picked up on radar. June 1 was a Sunday, but I'd been at the +office all day getting ready to go to Los Alamos the next day. About +5:00P.M. the telephone rang and the operator told me that I had a +long-distance call from California. My caller was the chief of a +radar test section for Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, and he +was very excited about a UFO he had to report. + +That morning he and his test crew had been checking out a new late- +model radar to get it ready for some tests they planned to run early +Monday morning. To see if their set was functioning properly, they +had been tracking jets in the Los Angeles area. About midmorning, the +Hughes test engineer told me, the jet traffic had begun to drop off, +and they were about ready to close down their operation when one of +the crew picked up a slow-moving target coming across the San Gabriel +Mountains north of Los Angeles. He tracked the target for a few +minutes and, from the speed and altitude, decided that it was a DC-3. +It was at 11,000 feet and traveling about 180 miles an hour toward +Santa Monica. The operator was about ready to yell at the other crew +members to shut off the set when he noticed something mighty odd-- +there was a big gap between the last and the rest of the regularly +spaced bright spots on the radarscope. The man on the scope called +the rest of the crew in because DC-3's just don't triple their speed. +They watched the target as it made a turn and started to climb over +Los Angeles. They plotted one, two, three, and then four points +during the target's climb; then one of the crew grabbed a slide rule. +Whatever it was, it was climbing 35,000 feet per minute and traveling +about 550 miles an hour in the process. Then as they watched the +scope, the target leveled out for a few seconds, went into a high- +speed dive, and again leveled out at 55,000 feet. When they lost the +target, it was heading southeast somewhere near Riverside, California. + +During the sighting my caller told me that when the UFO was only +about ten miles from the radar site two of the crew had gone outside +but they couldn't see anything. But, he explained, even the high- +flying jets that they had been tracking hadn't been leaving vapor +trails. + +The first thing I asked when the Hughes test engineer finished his +story was if the radar set had been working properly. He said that as +soon as the UFO had left the scope they had run every possible check +on the radar and it was O.K. + +I was just about to ask my caller if the target might not have been +some experimental airplane from Edwards AFB when he second-guessed +me. He said that after sitting around looking at each other for about +a minute, someone suggested that they call Edwards. They did, and +Edwards' flight operations told them that they had nothing in the area. + +I asked him about the weather. The target didn't look like a weather +target was the answer, but just to be sure, the test crew had +checked. One of his men was an electronics-weather specialist whom he +had hired because of his knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of radar +under certain weather conditions. This man had looked into the +weather angle. He had gotten the latest weather data and checked it, +but there wasn't the slightest indication of an inversion or any +other weather that would cause a false target. + +Just before I hung up I asked the man what he thought he and his +crew had picked up, and once again I got the same old answer: +"Yesterday at this time any of us would have argued for hours that +flying saucers were a bunch of nonsense but now, regardless of what +you'll say about what we saw, it was something damned real." + +I thanked the man for calling and hung up. We couldn't make any more +of an analysis of this report than had already been made, it was +another unknown. + +I went over to the MO file and pulled out the stack of cards behind +the tab "High-Speed Climb." There must have been at least a hundred +cards, each one representing a UFO report in which the reported +object made a high-speed climb. But this was the first time radar had +tracked a UFO during a climb. + +During the early part of June, Project Blue Book took another jump +up on the organizational chart. A year before the UFO project had +consisted of one officer. It had risen from the one-man operation to +a project within a group, then to a group, and now it was a section. +Neither Project Sign nor the old Project Grudge had been higher than +the project-within-a-group level. The chief of a group normally calls +for a lieutenant colonel, and since I was just a captain this caused +some consternation in the ranks. There was some talk about putting +Lieutenant Colonel Ray Taylor of Colonel Dunn's staff in charge. +Colonel Taylor was very much interested in UFO's; he had handled some +of the press contacts prior to turning this function over to the +Pentagon and had gone along with me on briefings, so he knew +something about the project. But in the end Colonel Donald Bower, who +was my division chief, decided rank be damned, and I stayed on as +chief of Project Blue Book. + +The location within the organizational chart is always indicative of +the importance placed on a project. In June 1952 the Air Force was +taking the UFO problem seriously. One of the reasons was that there +were a lot of good UFO reports coming in from Korea. Fighter pilots +reported seeing silver-colored spheres or disks on several occasions, +and radar in Japan, Okinawa, and in Korea had tracked unidentified +targets. + +In June our situation map, on which we kept a plot of all of our +sightings, began to show an ever so slight trend toward reports +beginning to bunch up on the east coast. We discussed this build-up, +but we couldn't seem to find any explainable reason for it so we +decided that we'd better pay special attention to reports coming from +the eastern states. + +I had this build-up of reports in mind one Sunday night, June 15 to +be exact, when the OD at ATIC called me at home and said that we were +getting a lot of reports from Virginia. Each report by itself wasn't +too good, the OD told me, but together they seemed to mean something. +He suggested that I come out and take a look at them--so I did. + +Individually they weren't too good, but when I lined them up +chronologically and plotted them on a map they took the form of a hot +report. + +At 3:40P.M. a woman at Unionville, Virginia, had reported a "very +shiny object" at high altitude. + +At 4:20P.M. the operators of the CAA radio facility at Gordonsville, +Virginia, had reported that they saw a "round, shiny object." It was +southeast of their station, or directly south of Unionville. + +At 4:25P.M. the crew of an airliner northwest of Richmond, Virginia, +reported a "silver sphere at eleven o'clock high." + +At 4:43P.M. a Marine pilot in a jet tried to intercept a "round +shiny sphere" south of Gordonsville. + +At 5:43P.M. an Air Force T-33 jet tried to intercept a "shiny +sphere" south of Gordonsville. He got above 35,000 feet and the UFO +was still far above him. + +At 7:35P.M. many people in Blackstone, Virginia, about 80 miles +south of Gordonsville, reported it. It was a "round, shiny object +with a golden glow" moving from north to south. By this time radio +commentators in central Virginia were giving a running account of the +UFO's progress. + +At 7:59P.M. the people in the CAA radio facility at Blackstone saw it. + +At 8:00P.M. jets arrived from Langley AFB to attempt to intercept +it, but at 8:05P.M. it disappeared. + +This was a good report because it was the first time we ever +received a series of reports on the same object, and there was no +doubt that all these people had reported the same object. Whatever it +was, it wasn't moving too fast, because it had traveled only about 90 +miles in four hours and twenty-five minutes. I was about ready to +give up until morning and go home when my wife called. The local +Associated Press man had called our home and she assumed that it was +about this sighting. She had just said that I was out so he might not +call the base. I decided that I'd better keep working so I'd have the +answer in time to keep the story out of the papers. A report like +this could cause some excitement. + +The UFO obviously wasn't a planet because it was moving from north +to south, and it was too slow to be an airplane. I called the balloon- +plotting center at Lowry AFB, where the tracks of the big skyhook +balloons are plotted, but the only big balloons in the air were in +the western United States, and they were all accounted for. + +It might have been a weather balloon. The wind charts showed that +the high-altitude winds were blowing in different directions at +different altitudes above 35,000 feet, so there was no one flow of +air that could have brought a balloon in from a certain area, and I +knew that the UFO had to be higher than 35,000 feet because the T-33 +jet had been this high and the UFO was still above it. The only thing +to do was to check with all of the weather stations in the area. I +called Richmond, Roanoke, several places in the vicinity of +Washington, D.C., and four or five other weather stations, but all of +their balloons were accounted for and none had been anywhere close to +the central part of Virginia. + +A balloon can travel only so far, so there was no sense in checking +stations too far away from where the people had seen the UFO, but I +took a chance and called Norfolk; Charleston, West Virginia; Altoona, +Pennsylvania; and other stations within a 150-mile radius of +Gordonsville and Blackstone. Nothing. + +I still thought it might be a balloon, so I started to call more +stations. At Pittsburgh I hit a lead. Their radiosonde balloon had +gone up to about 60,000 feet and evidently had sprung a slow leak +because it had leveled off at that altitude. Normally balloons go up +till they burst at 80,000 or 90,000 feet. The weather forecaster at +Pittsburgh said that their records showed they had lost contact with +the balloon when it was about 60 miles southeast of their station. He +said that the winds at 60,000 feet were constant, so it shouldn't be +too difficult to figure out where the balloon went after they had +lost it. Things must be dull in Pittsburgh at 2:00 a.m. on Monday +mornings, because he offered to plot the course that the balloon +probably took and call me back. + +In about twenty minutes I got my call. It probably was their +balloon, the forecaster said. Above 50,000 feet there was a strong +flow of air southeast from Pittsburgh, and this fed into a stronger +southerly flow that was paralleling the Atlantic coast just east of +the Appalachian Mountains. The balloon would have floated along in +this flow of air like a log floating down a river. As close as he +could estimate, he said, the balloon would arrive in the Gordonsville- +Blackstone area in the late afternoon or early evening. This was just +about the time the UFO had arrived. + +"Probably a balloon" was a good enough answer for me. + +The next morning at 8:00A.M., Al Chop called from the Pentagon to +tell me that people were crawling all over his desk wanting to know +about a sighting in Virginia. + +The reports continued to come in. At Walnut Lake, Michigan, a group +of people with binoculars watched a "soft white light" go back and +forth across the western sky for nearly an hour. A UFO "paced" an Air +Force B-25 for thirty minutes in California. Both of these happened +on June 18, and although we checked and rechecked them, they came out +as unknowns. + +On June 19 radar at Goose AFB in Newfoundland picked up some odd +targets. The targets came across the scope, suddenly enlarged, and +then became smaller again. One unofficial comment was that the object +was flat or disk-shaped, and that the radar target had gotten bigger +because the disk had banked in flight to present a greater reflecting +surface. ATIC's official comment was weather. + +Goose AFB was famous for unusual reports. In early UFO history +someone had taken a very unusual colored photo of a "split cloud." +The photographer had seen a huge ball of fire streak down through the +sky and pass through a high layer of stratus clouds. As the fireball +passed through the cloud it cut out a perfect swath. The conclusion +was that the fireball was a meteor, but the case is still one of the +most interesting in the file because of the photograph. + +Then in early 1952 there was another good report from this area. It +was an unknown. + +The incident started when the pilot of an Air Force C-54 transport +radioed Goose AFB and said that at 10:42P.M. a large fireball had +buzzed his airplane. It had come in from behind the C-54, and nobody +had seen it until it was just off the left wing. The fireball was so +big that the pilot said it looked as if it was only a few hundred +feet away. The C-54 was 200 miles southwest, coming into Goose AFB +from Westover AFB, Massachusetts, when the incident occurred. The +base officer-of-the-day, who was also a pilot, happened to be in the +flight operations office at Goose when the message came in and he +overheard the report. He stepped outside, walked over to his command +car, and told his driver about the radio message, so the driver got +out and both of them looked toward the south. They searched the +horizon for a few seconds; then suddenly they saw a light closing in +from the southwest. Within a second, it was near the airfield. It had +increased in size till it was as big as a "golf ball at arm's +length," and it looked like a big ball of fire. It was so low that +both the OD and his driver dove under the command car because they +were sure it was going to hit the airfield. When they turned and +looked up they saw the fireball make a 90-degree turn over the +airfield and disappear into the northwest. The time was 10:47P.M. + +The control tower operators saw the fireball too, but didn't agree +with the OD and his driver on how low it was. They did think that it +had made a 90-degree turn and they didn't think that it was a meteor. +In the years they'd been in towers they'd seen hundreds of meteors, +but they'd never seen anything like this, they reported. + +And reports continued to pour into Project Blue Book. It was now not +uncommon to get ten or eleven wires in one day. If the letters +reporting UFO sightings were counted, the total would rise to twenty +or thirty a day. The majority of the reports that came in by wire +could be classified as being good. They were reports made by reliable +people and they were full of details. Some were reports of balloons, +airplanes, etc., but the percentage of unknowns hovered right around +22 per cent. + +To describe and analyze each report, or even the unknowns, would +require a book the size of an unabridged dictionary, so I am covering +only the best and most representative cases. + +One day in mid-June, Colonel Dunn called me. He was leaving for +Washington and he wanted me to come in the next day to give a +briefing at a meeting. By this time I was taking these briefings as a +matter of course. We usually gave the briefings to General Garland +and a general from the Research and Development Board, who passed the +information on to General Samford, the Director of Intelligence. But +this time General Samford, some of the members of his staff, two Navy +captains from the Office of Naval Intelligence, and some people I +can't name were at the briefing. + +When I arrived in Washington, Major Fournet told me that the purpose of +the meetings, and my briefing, was to try to find out if there was any +significance to the almost alarming increase in UFO reports over the +past few weeks. By the time that everyone had finished signing into the +briefing room in the restricted area of the fourth-floor "B" ring of the +Pentagon, it was about 9:15A.M. I started my briefing as soon as +everyone was seated. + +I reviewed the last month's UFO activities; then I briefly went over +the more outstanding "Unknown" UFO reports and pointed out how they +were increasing in number--breaking all previous records. I also +pointed out that even though the UFO subject was getting a lot of +publicity, it wasn't the scare-type publicity that had accompanied +the earlier flaps--in fact, much of the present publicity was anti- +saucer. + +Then I went on to say that even though the reports we were getting +were detailed and contained a great deal of good data, we still had +no proof the UFO's were anything real. We could, I said, prove that +all UFO reports were merely the misinterpretation of known objects +_if_ we made a few assumptions. + +At this point one of the colonels on General Samford's staff stopped +me. "Isn't it true," he asked, "that if you make a few positive +assumptions instead of negative assumptions you can just as easily +prove that the UFO's are interplanetary spaceships? Why, when you +have to make an assumption to get an answer to a report, do you +always pick the assumption that proves the UFO's don't exist?" + +You could almost hear the colonel add, "O.K., so now I've said it." + +For several months the belief that Project Blue Book was taking a +negative attitude and the fact that the UFO's could be interplanetary +spaceships had been growing in the Pentagon, but these ideas were +usually discussed only in the privacy of offices with doors that +would close tight. + +No one said anything, so the colonel who had broken the ice plunged +in. He used the sighting from Goose AFB, where the fireball had +buzzed the C-54 and sent the OD and his driver belly-whopping under +the command car as an example. The colonel pointed out that even +though we had labeled the report "Unknown" it wasn't accepted as +proof. He wanted to know why. + +I said that our philosophy was that the fireball could have been two +meteors: one that buzzed the C-54 and another that streaked across +the airfield at Goose AFB. Granted a meteor doesn't come within feet +of an airplane or make a 90-degree turn, but these could have been +optical illusions of some kind. The crew of the C-54, the OD, his +driver, and the tower operators didn't recognize the UFO's as meteors +because they were used to seeing the normal "shooting stars" that are +most commonly seen. + +But the colonel had some more questions. "What are the chances of +having two extremely spectacular meteors in the same area, traveling +the same direction, only five minutes apart?" + +I didn't know the exact mathematical probability, but it was rather +small, I had to admit. + +Then he asked, "What kind of an optical illusion would cause a +meteor to appear to make a 90-degree turn?" + +I had asked our Project Bear astronomer this same question, and he +couldn't answer it either. So the only answer I could give the +colonel was, "I don't know." I felt as if I were on a witness stand +being cross-examined, and that is exactly where I was, because the +colonel cut loose. + +"Why not assume a point that is more easily proved?" he asked. "Why +not assume that the C-54 crew, the OD, his driver, and the tower +operators did know what they were talking about? Maybe they had seen +spectacular meteors during the hundreds of hours that they had flown +at night and the many nights that they had been on duty in the tower. +Maybe the ball of fire had made a 90-degree turn. Maybe it was some +kind of an intelligently controlled craft that had streaked northeast +across the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Quebec Province at 2,400 miles an +hour. + +"Why not just simply believe that most people know what they saw?" +the colonel said with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. + +This last comment started a lively discussion, and I was able to +retreat. The colonel had been right in a sense--we were being +conservative, but maybe this was the right way to be. In any +scientific investigation you always assume that you don't have enough +proof until you get a positive answer. I don't think that we had a +positive answer--yet. + +The colonel's comments split the group, and a hot exchange of ideas, +pros and cons, and insinuations that some people were imitating +ostriches to keep from facing the truth followed. + +The outcome of the meeting was a directive to take further steps to +obtain positive identification of the UFO's. Our original idea of +attempting to get several separate reports from one sighting so we +could use triangulation to measure speed, altitude, and size wasn't +working out. We had given the idea enough publicity, but reports +where triangulation could be used were few and far between. Mr. or +Mrs. Average Citizen just doesn't look up at the sky unless he or she +sees a flash of light or hears a sound. Then even if he or she does +look up and sees a UFO, it is very seldom that the report ever gets +to Project Blue Book. I think that it would be safe to say that Blue +Book only heard about 10 per cent of the UFO's that were seen in the +United States. + +After the meeting I went back to ATIC, and the next day Colonel Don +Bower and I left for the west coast to talk to some people about how +to get better UFO data. We brought back the idea of using an +extremely long focal-length camera equipped with a diffraction grating. + +The cameras would be placed at various locations throughout the +United States where UFO's were most frequently seen. We hoped that +photos of the UFO's taken through the diffraction gratings would give +us some proof one way or the other. + +The diffraction gratings we planned to use over the lenses of the +cameras were the same thing as prisms; they would split up the light +from the UFO into its component parts so that we could study it and +determine whether it was a meteor, an airplane, or balloon reflecting +sunlight, etc. Or we might be able to prove that the photographed UFO +was a craft completely foreign to our knowledge. + +A red-hot, A-l priority was placed on the camera project, and a +section at ATIC that developed special equipment took over the job of +obtaining the cameras, or, if necessary, having them designed and +built. + +But the UFO's weren't waiting around till they could be +photographed. Every day the tempo and confusion were increasing a +little more. + +By the end of June it was very noticeable that most of the better +reports were coming from the eastern United States. In Massachusetts, +New Jersey, and Maryland jet fighters had been scrambled almost +nightly for a week. On three occasions radar-equipped F-94's had +locked on aerial targets only to have the lock-on broken by the +apparent violent maneuvers of the target. + +By the end of June there was also a lull in the newspaper publicity +about the UFO's. The forthcoming political conventions had wiped out +any mention of flying saucers. But on July 1 there was a sudden +outbreak of good reports. The first one came from Boston; then they +worked down the coast. + +About seven twenty-five on the morning of July 1 two F-94's were +scrambled to intercept a UFO that a Ground Observer Corps spotter +reported was traveling southwest across Boston. Radar couldn't pick +it up so the two airplanes were just vectored into the general area. +The F-94's searched the area but couldn't see anything. We got the +report at ATIC and would have tossed it out if it hadn't been for +other reports from the Boston area at that same time. + +One of these reports came from a man and his wife at Lynn, +Massachusetts, nine miles northeast of Boston. At seven-thirty they +had noticed the two vapor trails from the climbing jet interceptors. +They looked around the sky to find out if they could see what the +jets were after and off to the west they saw a bright silver "cigar- +shaped object about six times as long as it was wide" traveling +southwest across Boston. It appeared to be traveling just a little +faster than the two jets. As they watched they saw that an identical +UFO was following the first one some distance back. The UFO's weren't +leaving vapor trails but, as the man mentioned in his report, this +didn't mean anything because you can get above the vapor trail level. +And the two UFO's appeared to be at a very high altitude. The two +observers watched as the two F-94's searched back and forth far below +the UFO's. + +Then there was another report, also made at seven-thirty. An Air +Force captain was just leaving his home in Bedford, about 15 miles +northwest of Boston and straight west of Lynn, when he saw the two +jets. In his report he said that he, too, had looked around the sky +to see if he could see what they were trying to intercept when off to +the east he saw a "silvery cigar-shaped object" traveling south. His +description of what he observed was almost identical to what the +couple in Lynn reported except that he saw only one UFO. + +When we received the report, I wanted to send someone up to Boston +immediately in the hope of getting more data from the civilian couple +and the Air Force captain; this seemed to be a tailor-made case for +triangulation. But by July 1 we were completely snowed under with +reports, and there just wasn't anybody to send. Then, to complicate +matters, other reports came in later in the day. + +Just two hours after the sighting in the Boston area Fort Monmouth, +New Jersey, popped back into UFO history. At nine-thirty in the +morning twelve student radar operators and three instructors were +tracking nine jets on an SCR 584 radar set when two UFO targets +appeared on the scope. The two targets came in from the northeast at +a slow speed, much slower than the jets that were being tracked, +hovered near Fort Monmouth at 50,000 feet for about five minutes, and +then took off in a "terrific burst of speed" to the southwest. + +When the targets first appeared, some of the class went outside with +an instructor, and after searching the sky for about a minute, they +saw two shiny objects in the same location as the radar showed the +two unidentified targets to be. They watched the two UFO's for +several minutes and saw them go zipping off to the southwest at +exactly the same time that the two radar targets moved off the scope +in that direction. + +We had plotted these reports, the ones from Boston and the one from +Fort Monmouth, on a map, and without injecting any imagination or +wild assumptions, it looked as if two "somethings" had come down +across Boston on a southwesterly heading, crossed Long Island, +hovered for a few minutes over the Army's secret laboratories at Fort +Monmouth, then proceeded toward Washington. In a way we half expected +to get a report from Washington. Our expectations were rewarded +because in a few hours a report arrived from that city. + +A physics professor at George Washington University reported a +"dull, gray, smoky-colored" object which hovered north northwest of +Washington for about eight minutes. Every once in a while, the +professor reported, it would move through an arc of about 15 degrees +to the right or left, but it always returned to its original +position. While he was watching the UFO he took a 25-cent piece out +of his pocket and held it at arm's length so that he could compare +its size to that of the UFO. The UFO was about half the diameter of +the quarter. When he first saw the UFO, it was about 30 to 40 degrees +above the horizon, but during the eight minutes it was in sight it +steadily dropped lower and lower until buildings in downtown +Washington blocked off the view. + +Besides being an "Unknown," this report was exceptionally +interesting to us because the sighting was made from the center of +downtown Washington, D.C. The professor reported that he had noticed +the UFO when he saw people all along the street looking up in the air +and pointing. He estimated that at least 500 people were looking at +it, yet his was the only report we received. This seemed to +substantiate our theory that people are very hesitant to report UFO's +to the Air Force. But they evidently do tell the newspapers because +later on we picked up a short account of the sighting in the +Washington papers. It merely said that hundreds of calls had been +received from people reporting a UFO. + +When reports were pouring in at the rate of twenty or thirty a day, +we were glad that people were hesitant to report UFO's, but when we +were trying to find the answer to a really knotty sighting we always +wished that more people had reported it. The old adage of having your +cake and eating it, too, held even for the UFO. + +Technically no one in Washington, besides, of course, Major General +Samford and his superiors, had anything to do with making policy +decisions about the operation of Project Blue Book or the handling of +the UFO situation in general. Nevertheless, everyone was trying to +get into the act. The split in opinions on what to do about the +rising tide of UFO reports, the split that first came out in the open +at General Samford's briefing, was widening every day. One group was +getting dead-serious about the situation. They thought we now had +plenty of evidence to back up an official statement that the UFO's +were something real and, to be specific, not something from this +earth. This group wanted Project Blue Book to quit spending time +investigating reports from the standpoint of trying to determine if +the observer of a UFO had actually seen something foreign to our +knowledge and start assuming that he or she had. They wanted me to +aim my investigation at trying to find out more about the UFO. Along +with this switch in operating policy, they wanted to clamp down on +the release of information. They thought that the security +classification of the project should go up to Top Secret until we had +all of the answers, then the information should be released to the +public. The investigation of UFO's along these lines should be a +maximum effort, they thought, and their plans called for lining up +many top scientists to devote their full time to the project. Someone +once said that enthusiasm is infectious, and he was right. The +enthusiasm of this group took a firm hold in the Pentagon, at Air +Defense Command Headquarters, on the Research and Development Board, +and many other agencies throughout the government. But General +Samford was still giving the orders, and he said to continue to +operate just as we had--keeping an open mind to any ideas. + +After the minor flurry of reports on July 1 we had a short breathing +spell and found time to clean up a sizable backlog of reports. People +were still seeing UFO's but the frequency of the sighting curve was +dropping steadily. During the first few days of July we were getting +only two or three good reports a day. + +On July 5 the crew of a non-scheduled airliner made page two of many +newspapers by reporting a UFO over the AEC's supersecret Hanford, +Washington, installation. It was a skyhook balloon. On the twelfth a +huge meteor sliced across Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri +that netted us twenty or thirty reports. Even before they had stopped +coming in, we had confirmation from our astronomer that the UFO was a +meteor. + +But forty-two minutes later there was a sighting in Chicago that +wasn't so easily explained. + +According to our weather records, on the night of July 12 it was hot +in Chicago. At nine forty-two there were at least 400 people at +Montrose Beach trying to beat the heat. Many of them were lying down +looking at the stars, so that they saw the UFO as it came in from the +west northwest, made a 180-degree turn directly over their heads, and +disappeared over the horizon. It was a "large red light with small +white lights on the side," most of the people reported. Some of them +said that it changed to a single yellow light as it made its turn. It +was in sight about five minutes, and during this time no one reported +hearing any sound. + +One of the people at the beach was the weather officer from O'Hare +International Airport, an Air Force captain. He immediately called +O'Hare. They checked on balloon flights and with radar, but both were +negative; radar said that there had been no aircraft in the area of +Montrose Beach for several hours. + +I sent an investigator to Chicago, and although he came back with a +lot of data on the sighting, it didn't add up to be anything known. + +The next day Dayton had its first UFO sighting in a long time when a +Mr. Roy T. Ellis, president of the Rubber Seal Products Company, and +many other people, reported a teardrop-shaped object that hovered +over Dayton for several minutes about midnight. This sighting had an +interesting twist because two years later I was in Dayton and stopped +in at ATIC to see a friend who is one of the technical advisers at +the center. + +Naturally the conversation got around to the subject of UFO's, and +he asked me if I remembered this specific sighting. I did, so he went +on to say that he and his wife had seen this UFO that night but they +had never told anybody. He was very serious when he admitted that he +had no idea what it could have been. Now I'd heard this statement a +thousand times before from other people, but coming from this person, +it was really something because he was as anti-saucer as anyone I +knew. Then he added, "From that time on I didn't think your saucer +reporters were as crazy as I used to think they were." + +The Dayton sighting also created quite a stir in the press. In +conjunction with the sighting, the Dayton Daily _Journal_ had +interviewed Colonel Richard H. Magee, the Dayton-Oakwood civil +defense director; they wanted to know what he thought about the +UFO's. The colonel's answer made news: "There's something flying +around in our skies and we wish we knew what it was." + +When the story broke in other papers, the colonel's affiliation with +civil defense wasn't mentioned, and he became merely "a colonel from +Dayton." Dayton was quickly construed by the public to mean Wright- +Patterson AFB and specifically ATIC. Some people in the Pentagon +screamed while others gleefully clapped their hands. The gleeful +handclaps were from those people who wanted the UFO's to be socially +recognized, and they believed that if they couldn't talk their ideas +into being they might be able to force them in with the help of this +type of publicity. + +The temporary lull in reporting that Project Blue Book had +experienced in early July proved to be only the calm before the +storm. By mid-July we were getting about twenty reports a day plus +frantic calls from intelligence officers all over the United States +as every Air Force installation in the U.S. was being swamped with +reports. We told the intelligence officers to send in the ones that +sounded the best. + +The build-up in UFO reports wasn't limited to the United States-- +every day we would receive reports from our air attaches in other +countries. England and France led the field, with the South American +countries running a close third. Needless to say, we didn't +investigate or evaluate foreign reports because we had our hands full +right at home. + +Most of us were putting in fourteen hours a day, six days a week. It +wasn't at all uncommon for Lieutenant Andy Flues, Bob Olsson, or +Kerry Rothstien, my investigators, to get their sleep on an airliner +going out or coming back from an investigation. TWA airliners out of +Dayton were more like home than home. But we hadn't seen anything yet. + +All the reports that were coming in were good ones, ones with no +answers. Unknowns were running about 40 percent. Rumors persist that +in mid-July 1952 the Air Force was braced for an expected invasion by +flying saucers. Had these rumormongers been at ATIC in mid-July they +would have thought that the invasion was already in full swing. And +they would have thought that one of the beachheads for the invasion +was Patrick AFB, the Air Force's Guided Missile Long-Range Proving +Ground on the east coast of Florida. + +On the night of July 18, at ten forty-five, two officers were +standing in front of base operations at Patrick when they noticed a +light at about a 45-degree angle from the horizon and off to the +west. It was an amber color and "quite a bit brighter than a star." +Both officers had heard flying saucer stories, and both thought the +light was a balloon. But, to be comedians, they called to several +more officers and airmen inside the operations office and told them +to come out and "see the flying saucer." The people came out and +looked. A few were surprised and took the mysterious light seriously, +at the expense of considerable laughter from the rest of the group. +The discussion about the light grew livelier and bets that it was a +balloon were placed. In the meantime the light had drifted over the +base, had stopped for about a minute, turned, and was now heading +north. To settle the bet, one of the officers stepped into the base +weather office to find out about the balloon. Yes, one was in the air +and being tracked by radar, he was told. The weather officer said +that he would call to find out exactly where it was. He called and +found out that the weather balloon was being tracked due west of the +base and that the light had gone out about ten minutes before. The +officer went back outside to find that what was first thought to be a +balloon was now straight north of the field and still lighted. To add +to the confusion, a second amber light had appeared in the west about +20 degrees lower than where the first one was initially seen, and it +was also heading north but at a much greater speed. In a few seconds +the first light stopped and started moving back south over the base. + +While the group of officers and airmen were watching the two lights, +the people from the weather office came out to tell the UFO observers +that the balloon was still traveling straight west. They were just in +time to see a third light come tearing across the sky, directly +overhead, from west to east. A weatherman went inside and called the +balloon-tracking crew again--their balloon was still far to the west +of the base. + +Inside of fifteen minutes two more amber lights came in from the +west, crossed the base, made a 180-degree turn over the ocean, and +came back over the observers. + +In the midst of the melee a radar set had been turned on but it +couldn't pick up any targets. This did, however, eliminate the +possibility of the lights' being aircraft. They weren't stray +balloons either, because the winds at all altitudes were blowing in a +westerly direction. They obviously weren't meteors. They weren't +searchlights on a haze layer because there was no weather conducive +to forming a haze layer and there were no searchlights. They could +have been some type of natural phenomenon, if one desires to take the +negative approach. Or, if you take the positive approach, they could +have been spaceships. + +The next night radar at Washington National Airport picked up UFO's +and one of the most highly publicized sightings of UFO history was in +the making. It marked the beginning of the end of the Big Flap. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE + +The Washington Merry-Go-Round + +No flying saucer report in the history of the UFO ever won more +world acclaim than the Washington National Sightings. + +When radars at the Washington National Airport and at Andrews AFB, +both close to the nation's capital, picked up UFO's, the sightings +beat the Democratic National Convention out of headline space. They +created such a furor that I had inquiries from the office of the +President of the United States and from the press in London, Ottawa, +and Mexico City. A junior-sized riot was only narrowly averted in the +lobby of the Roger Smith Hotel in Washington when I refused to tell +U.S. newspaper reporters what I knew about the sightings. + +Besides being the most highly publicized UFO sightings in the Air +Force annals, they were also the most monumentally fouled-up messes +that repose in the files. Although the Air Force said that the +incident had been fully investigated, the Civil Aeronautics Authority +wrote a formal report on the sightings, and numerous magazine writers +studied them, the complete story has never fully been told. The pros +have been left out of the con accounts, and the cons were neatly +overlooked by the pro writers. + +For a year after the twin sightings we were still putting little +pieces in the puzzle. + +In some aspects the Washington National Sightings could be classed +as a surprise--we used this as an excuse when things got fouled up-- +but in other ways they weren't. A few days prior to the incident a +scientist, from an agency that I can't name, and I were talking about +the build-up of reports along the east coast of the United States. We +talked for about two hours, and I was ready to leave when he said +that he had one last comment to make--a prediction. From his study of +the UFO reports that he was getting from Air Force Headquarters, and +from discussions with his colleagues, he said that he thought that we +were sitting right on top of a big keg full of loaded flying saucers. +"Within the next few days," he told me, and I remember that he +punctuated his slow, deliberate remarks by hitting the desk with his +fist, "they're going to blow up and you're going to have the +granddaddy of all UFO sightings. The sighting will occur in +Washington or New York," he predicted, "probably Washington." + +The trend in the UFO reports that this scientist based his +prediction on hadn't gone unnoticed. We on Project Blue Book had seen +it, and so had the people in the Pentagon; we all had talked about it. + +On July 10 the crew of a National Airlines plane reported a light +"too bright to be a lighted balloon and too slow to be a big meteor" +while they were flying south at 2,000 feet near Quantico, Virginia, +just south of Washington. + +On July 13 another airliner crew reported that when they were 60 +miles southwest of Washington, at 11,000 feet, they saw a light below +them. It came up to their level, hovered off to the left for several +minutes, and then it took off in a fast, steep climb when the pilot +turned on his landing lights. + +On July 14 the crew of a Pan American airliner en route from New +York to Miami reported eight UFO's near Newport News, Virginia, about +130 miles south of Washington. + +Two nights later there was another sighting in exactly the same area +but from the ground. At 9:00P.M. a high-ranking civilian scientist +from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Laboratory at +Langley AFB and another man were standing near the ocean looking +south over Hampton Roads when they saw two amber-colored lights, +"much too large to be aircraft lights," off to their right, silently +traveling north. Just before the two lights got abreast of the two +men they made a 180-degree turn and started back toward the spot +where they had first been seen. As they turned, the two lights seemed +to "jockey for position in the formation." About this time a third +light came out of the west and joined the first two; then as the +three UFO's climbed out of the area toward the south, several more +lights joined the formation. The entire episode had lasted only three +minutes. + +The only possible solution to the sighting was that the two men had +seen airplanes. We investigated this report and found that there were +several B-26's from Langley AFB in the area at the time of the +sighting, but none of the B-26 pilots remembered being over Hampton +Roads. In fact, all of them had generally stayed well south of +Norfolk until about 10:30P.M. because of thunderstorm activity +northwest of Langley. Then there were other factors--the observers +heard no sound and they were away from all city noises, aircraft +don't carry just one or two amber lights, and the distance between +the two lights was such that had they been on an airplane the +airplane would have been huge or very close to the observers. And +last, but not least, the man from the National Advisory Committee for +Aeronautics was a very famous aerodynamicist and of such professional +stature that if he said the lights weren't airplanes they weren't. + +This then was the big build-up to the first Washington national +sighting and the reason why my friend predicted that the Air Force +was sitting on a big powder keg of loaded flying saucers. + +When the keg blew the best laid schemes of the mice and men at ATIC, +they went the way best laid schemes are supposed to. The first one of +the highly publicized Washington national sightings started, +according to the CAA's logbook at the airport, at 11:40P.M. on the +night of July 19 when two radars at National Airport picked up eight +unidentified targets east and south of Andrews AFB. The targets +weren't airplanes because they would loaf along at 100 to 130 miles +an hour then suddenly accelerate to "fantastically high speeds" and +leave the area. During the night the crews of several airliners saw +mysterious lights in the same locations that the radars showed the +targets; tower operators also saw lights, and jet fighters were +brought in. + +But nobody bothered to tell Air Force Intelligence about the +sighting. When reporters began to call intelligence and ask about the +big sighting behind the headlines, INTERCEPTORS CHASE FLYING SAUCERS +OVER WASHINGTON, D.C., they were told that no one had ever heard of +such a sighting. In the next edition the headlines were supplemented +by, AIR FORCE WONT TALK. + +Thus intelligence was notified about the first Washington national +sighting. + +I heard about the sighting about ten o'clock Monday morning when +Colonel Donald Bower and I got off an airliner from Dayton and I +bought a newspaper in the lobby of the Washington National Airport +Terminal Building. I called the Pentagon from the airport and talked +to Major Dewey Fournet, but all he knew was what he'd read in the +papers. He told me that he had called the intelligence officer at +Bolling AFB and that he was making an investigation. We would get a +preliminary official report by noon. + +It was about 1:00P.M. when Major Fournet called me and said that the +intelligence officer from Bolling was in his office with the +preliminary report on the sightings. I found Colonel Bower, we went +up to Major Fournet's office and listened to the intelligence +officer's briefing. + +The officer started by telling us about the location of the radars +involved in the incident. Washington National Airport, which is +located about three miles south of the heart of the city, had two +radars. One was a long-range radar in the Air Route Traffic Control +section. This radar had 100-mile range and was used to control all +air traffic approaching Washington. It was known as the ARTC radar. +The control tower at National Airport had a shorter-range radar that +it used to control aircraft in the immediate vicinity of the airport. +Bolling AFB, he said, was located just east of National Airport, +across the Potomac River. Ten miles farther east, in almost a direct +line with National and Bolling, was Andrews AFB. It also had a short- +range radar. All of these airfields were linked together by an +intercom system. + +Then the intelligence officer went on to tell about the sighting. + +When a new shift took over at the ARTC radar room at National +Airport, the air traffic was light so only one man was watching the +radarscope. The senior traffic controller and the six other traffic +controllers on the shift were out of the room at eleven-forty, when +the man watching the radarscope noticed a group of seven targets +appear. From their position on the scope he knew that they were just +east and a little south of Andrews AFB. In a way the targets looked +like a formation of slow airplanes, but no formations were due in the +area. As he watched, the targets loafed along at 100 to 130 miles an +hour; then in an apparent sudden burst of speed two of them streaked +out of radar range. These were no airplanes, the man thought, so he +let out a yell for the senior controller. The senior controller took +one look at the scope and called in two more of the men. They all +agreed that these were no airplanes. The targets could be caused by a +malfunction in the radar, they thought, so a technician was called in +--the set was in perfect working order. + +The senior controller then called the control tower at National +Airport; they reported that they also had unidentified targets on +their scopes, so did Andrews. And both of the other radars reported +the same slow speeds followed by a sudden burst of speed. One target +was clocked at 7,000 miles an hour. By now the targets had moved into +every sector of the scope and had flown through the prohibited flying +areas over the White House and the Capitol. + +Several times during the night the targets passed close to +commercial airliners in the area and on two occasions the pilots of +the airliners saw lights that they couldn't identify, and the lights +were in the same spots where the radar showed UFO's to be. Other +pilots to whom the ARTC radar men talked on the radio didn't see +anything odd, at least that's what they said, but the senior +controller knew airline pilots and knew that they were very reluctant +to report UFO's. + +The first sighting of a light by an airline pilot took place shortly +after midnight, when an ARTC controller called the pilot of a Capital +Airlines flight just taking off from National. The controller asked +the pilot to keep watch for unusual lights--or anything. Soon after +the pilot cleared the traffic pattern, and while ARTC was still in +contact with him, he suddenly yelled, "There's one--off to the right-- +and there it goes." The controller had been watching the scope, and a +target that had been off to the right of the Capitaliner was gone. + +During the next fourteen minutes this pilot reported six more +identical lights. + +About two hours later another pilot, approaching National Airport +from the south, excitedly called the control tower to report that a +light was following him at "eight o'clock level." The tower checked +their radar-scope and there was a target behind and to the left of +the airliner. The ARTC radar also had the airliner and the UFO +target. The UFO tagged along behind and to the left of the airliner +until it was within four miles of touchdown on the runway. When the +pilot reported the light was leaving, the two radarscopes showed that +the target was pulling away from the airliner. + +Once during the night all three radars, the two at Washington and +the one at Andrews AFB, picked up a target three miles north of the +Riverdale Radio beacon, north of Washington. For thirty seconds the +three radar operators compared notes about the target over the +intercom, then suddenly the target was gone--and it left all three +radarscopes simultaneously. + +But the clincher came in the wee hours of the morning, when an ARTC +traffic controller called the control tower at Andrews AFB and told +the tower operators that ARTC had a target just south of their tower, +directly over the Andrews Radio range station. The tower operators +looked and there was a "huge fiery-orange sphere" hovering in the sky +directly over their range station. + +Not too long after this excitement had started, in fact just after +the technician had checked the radar and found that the targets +weren't caused by a radar malfunction, ARTC had called for Air Force +interceptors to come in and look around. But they didn't show, and +finally ARTC called again--then again. Finally, just about daylight, +an F-94 arrived, but by that time the targets were gone. The F-94 +crew searched the area for a few minutes but they couldn't find +anything unusual so they returned to their base. + +So ended phase one of the Washington National Sightings. + +The Bolling AFB intelligence officer said he would write up the +complete report and forward it to ATIC. + +That afternoon things bustled in the Pentagon. Down on the first +floor Al Chop was doing his best to stave off the press while up on +the fourth floor intelligence officers were holding some serious +conferences. There was talk of temperature inversions and the false +targets they could cause; but the consensus was that a good radar +operator could spot inversion-caused targets, and the traffic +controllers who operated the radar at Washington National Airport +weren't just out of radar school. Every day the lives of thousands of +people depended upon their interpretation of the radar targets they +saw on their scopes. And you don't get a job like this unless you've +spent a good many years watching a luminous line paint targets on a +good many radarscopes. Targets caused by inversions aren't rare--in +the years that these men had been working with radar they had +undoubtedly seen every kind of target, real or false, that radar can +detect. They had told the Bolling AFB intelligence officer that the +targets they saw were caused by the radar waves' bouncing off a hard, +solid object. The Air Force radar operator at Andrews backed them up; +so did two veteran airline pilots who saw lights right where the +radar showed a UFO to be. + +Then on top of all this there were the reports from the Washington +area during the previous two weeks--all good--all from airline pilots +or equally reliable people. + +To say the least, the sighting at Washington National was a jolt. + +Besides trying to figure out what the Washington National UFO's +were, we had the problem of what to tell the press. They were now +beginning to put on a squeeze by threatening to call a congressman-- +and nothing chills blood faster in the military. They wanted some +kind of an official statement and they wanted it soon. Some people in +intelligence wanted to say just, "We don't know," but others held out +for a more thorough investigation. I happened to be in this latter +category. Many times in the past I had seen what first seemed to be a +good UFO report completely fall apart under a thorough investigation. +I was for stalling the press and working all night if necessary to go +into every aspect of the sighting. But to go along with the theme of +the Washington National Sightings--confusion--there was a lot of talk +but no action and the afternoon passed with no further investigation. + +Finally about 4:00P.M. it was decided that the press, who still +wanted an official comment, would get an official "No comment" and +that I would stay in Washington and make a more detailed investigation. + +I called Lieutenant Andy Flues, who was in charge of Project Blue +Book while I was gone, to tell him that I was staying over and I +found out that they were in a de luxe flap back in Dayton. Reports +were pouring out of the teletype machines at the rate of thirty a day +and many were as good, if not better, than the Washington incident. I +talked this over with Colonel Bower and we decided that even though +things were popping back at ATIC the Washington sighting, from the +standpoint of national interest, was more important. + +Feeling like a national martyr because I planned to work all night +if necessary, I laid the course of my investigation. I would go to +Washington National Airport, Andrews AFB, airlines offices, the +weather bureau, and a half dozen other places scattered all over the +capital city. I called the transportation section at the Pentagon to +get a staff car but it took me only seconds to find out that the +regulations said no staff cars except for senior colonels or +generals. Colonel Bower tried--same thing. General Samford and +General Garland were gone, so I couldn't get them to try to pressure +a staff car out of the hillbilly who was dispatching vehicles. I went +down to the finance office--could I rent a car and charge it as +travel expense? No--city buses are available. But I didn't know the +bus system and it would take me hours to get to all the places I had +to visit, I pleaded. You can take a cab if you want to pay for it out +of your per diem was the answer. Nine dollars a day per diem and I +should pay for a hotel room, meals, and taxi fares all over the +District of Columbia. Besides, the lady in finance told me, my travel +orders to Washington covered only a visit to the Pentagon. In +addition, she said, I was supposed to be on my way back to Dayton +right now, and if I didn't go through all the red tape of getting the +orders amended I couldn't collect any per diem and technically I'd be +AWOL. I couldn't talk to the finance officer, the lady informed me, +because he always left at 4:30 to avoid the traffic and it was now +exactly five o'clock and she was quitting. + +At five-one I decided that if saucers were buzzing Pennsylvania +Avenue in formation I couldn't care less. I called Colonel Bower, +explained my troubles, and said that I was through. He concurred, and +I caught the next airliner to Dayton. + +When I returned I dropped in to see Captain Roy James in the radar +branch and told him about the sighting. He said that he thought it +sounded as if the radar targets had been caused by weather but since +he didn't have the finer details he naturally couldn't make any +definite evaluation. + +The good UFO reports that Lieutenant Flues had told me about when I +called him from Washington had tripled in number before I got around +to looking at them. Our daily take had risen to forty a day, and +about a third of them were classified as unknowns. + +More amber-red fights like those seen on July 18 had been observed +over the Guided Missile Long-Range Proving Ground at Patrick AFB, +Florida. In Uvalde, Texas, a UFO described as "a large, round, silver +object that spun on its vertical axis" was seen to cross 100 degrees +of afternoon sky in forty-eight seconds. During part of its flight it +passed between two towering cumulus clouds. At Los Alamos and +Holyoke, Massachusetts, jets had chased UFO's. In both cases the +UFO's had been lost as they turned into the sun. + +In two night encounters, one in New Jersey and one in Massachusetts, +F-94's tried unsuccessfully to intercept unidentified lights reported +by the Ground Observer Corps. In both cases the pilots of the radar- +nosed jet interceptors saw a light; they closed in and their radar +operators got a lock-on. But the lock-ons were broken in a few +seconds, in both cases, as the light apparently took violent evasive +maneuvers. + +Copies of these and other reports were going to the Pentagon, and I +was constantly on the phone or having teleconferences with Major +Fournet. + +When the second Washington National Sighting came along, almost a +week to the hour from the first one, by a stroke of luck things +weren't too fouled up. The method of reporting the sighting didn't +exactly follow the official reporting procedures that are set forth +in Air Force Letter 200-5, dated 5 April 1952, Subject: Reporting of +Unidentified Flying Objects--but it worked. + +I first heard about the sighting about ten o'clock in the evening +when I received a telephone call from Bob Ginna, _Life_ magazine's +UFO expert. He had gotten the word from _Life's_ Washington News +Bureau and wanted a statement about what the Air Force planned to do. +I decided that instead of giving a mysterious "no comment" I would +tell the truth: "I have no idea what the Air Force is doing; in all +probability it's doing nothing." When he hung up, I called the +intelligence duty officer in the Pentagon and I was correct, +intelligence hadn't heard about the sighting. I asked the duty +officer to call Major Fournet and ask him if he would go out to the +airport, which was only two or three miles from his home. When he got +the call from the duty officer Major Fournet called Lieutenant +Holcomb; they drove to the ARTC radar room at National Airport and +found Al Chop already there. So at this performance the UFO's had an +official audience; Al Chop, Major Dewey Fournet, and Lieutenant +Holcomb, a Navy electronics specialist assigned to the Air Force +Directorate of Intelligence, all saw the radar targets and heard the +radio conversations as jets tried to intercept the UFO's. + +Being in Dayton, 380 miles away, there wasn't much that I could do, +but I did call Captain Roy James thinking possibly he might want to +talk on the phone to the people who were watching the UFO's on the +radarscopes. But Captain James has a powerful dislike for UFO's-- +especially on Saturday night. + +About five o'clock Sunday morning Major Fournet called and told me +the story of the second sighting at Washington National Airport: + +About 10:30P.M. on July 26 the same radar operators who had seen the +UFO's the week before picked up several of the same slow-moving +targets. This time the mysterious craft, if that is what they were, +were spread out in an arc around Washington from Herndon, Virginia, +to Andrews AFB. This time there was no hesitation in following the +targets. The minute they appeared on the big 24-inch radarscope one +of the controllers placed a plastic marker representing an +unidentified target near each blip on the scope. When all the targets +had been carefully marked, one of the controllers called the tower +and the radar station at Andrews AFB--they also had the unknown +targets. + +By 11:30P.M. four or five of the targets were continually being +tracked at all times, so once again a call went out for jet +interceptors. Once again there was some delay, but by midnight two F- +94's from New Castle County AFB were airborne and headed south. The +reporters and photographers were asked to leave the radar room on the +pretext that classified radio frequencies and procedures were being +used in vectoring the interceptors. All civilian air traffic was +cleared out of the area and the jets moved in. + +When I later found out that the press had been dismissed on the +grounds that the procedures used in an intercept were classified, I +knew that this was absurd because any ham radio operator worth his +salt could build equipment and listen in on any intercept. The real +reason for the press dismissal, I learned, was that not a few people +in the radar room were positive that this night would be the big +night in UFO history--the night when a pilot would close in on and +get a good look at a UFO--and they didn't want the press to be in on +it. + +But just as the two '94's arrived in the area the targets +disappeared from the radarscopes. The two jets were vectored into the +areas where the radar had shown the last target plots, but even +though the visibility was excellent they could see nothing. The two +airplanes stayed around a few minutes more, made a systematic search +of the area, but since they still couldn't see anything or pick up +anything on their radars they returned to their base. + +A few minutes after the F-94's left the Washington area, the +unidentified targets were back on the radarscopes in that same area. + +What neither Major Fournet nor I knew at this time was that a few +minutes after the targets left the radarscopes in Washington people +in the area around Langley AFB near Newport News, Virginia, began to +call Langley Tower to report that they were looking at weird bright +lights that were "rotating and giving off alternating colors." A few +minutes after the calls began to come in, the tower operators +themselves saw the same or a similar light and they called for an +interceptor. + +An F-94 in the area was contacted and visually vectored to the light +by the tower operators. The F-94 saw the light and started toward it, +but suddenly it went out, "like somebody turning off a light bulb." +The F-94 crew continued their run and soon got a radar lock-on, but +it was broken in a few seconds as the target apparently sped away. +The fighter stayed in the area for several more minutes and got two +more lock-ons, only to have them also broken after a few seconds. + +A few minutes after the F-94 over Newport News had the last lock-on +broken, the targets came back on the scopes at Washington National. + +With the targets back at Washington the traffic controller again +called Air Defense Command, and once again two F-94's roared south +toward Washington. This time the targets stayed on the radarscopes +when the airplanes arrived. + +The controllers vectored the jets toward group after group of +targets, but each time, before the jets could get close enough to see +anything more than just a light, the targets had sped away. Then one +stayed put. The pilot saw a light right where the ARTC radar said a +target was located; he cut in the F-94's afterburner and went after +it, but just like the light that the F-94 had chased near Langley +AFB, this one also disappeared. All during the chase the radar +operator in the F-94 was trying to get the target on his set but he +had no luck. + +After staying in the area about twenty minutes, the jets began to +run low on fuel and returned to their base. Minutes later it began to +get light, and when the sun came up all the targets were gone. + +Early Sunday morning, in an interview with the press, the Korean +veteran who piloted the F-94, Lieutenant William Patterson, said: + +I tried to make contact with the bogies below 1,000 feet, but they +[the radar controllers] vectored us around. I saw several bright +lights. I was at my maximum speed, but even then I had no closing +speed. I ceased chasing them because I saw no chance of overtaking +them. I was vectored into new objects. Later I chased a single bright +light which I estimated about 10 miles away. I lost visual contact +with it about 2 miles. + +When Major Fournet finished telling me about the night's activity, +my first question was, "How about the radar targets--could they have +been caused by weather?" + +I knew that Lieutenant Holcomb was a sharp electronics man and that +Major Fournet, although no electronics specialist, was a crackerjack +engineer, so their opinion meant a lot. + +Dewey said that everybody in the radar room was convinced that the +targets were very probably caused by solid metallic objects. There +had been weather targets on the scope too, he said, but these were +common to the Washington area and the controllers were paying no +attention to them. + +And this something solid could poke along at 100 miles an hour or +outdistance a jet, I thought to myself. + +I didn't ask Dewey any more because he'd been up all night and +wanted to get to bed. + +Monday morning Major Ed Gregory, another intelligence officer at +ATIC, and I left for Washington, but our flight was delayed in Dayton +so we didn't arrive until late afternoon. On the way through the +terminal building to get a cab downtown, I picked up the evening +papers. Every headline was about the UFO's: + +FIERY OBJECTS OUTRUN JETS OVER CAPITAL--INVESTIGATION VEILED IN +SECRECY FOLLOWING VAIN CHASE + +JETS ALERTED FOR SAUCERS--INTERCEPTORS CHASE LIGHTS IN D.C. SKIES + +EXPERT HERE TO PUSH STUDY AS OBJECTS IN SKIES REPORTED AGAIN + +I jokingly commented about wondering who the expert was. In a half +hour I found out--I was. When Major Gregory and I walked into the +lobby of the Roger Smith Hotel to check in, reporters and +photographers rose from the easy chairs and divans like a covey of +quail. They wanted my secrets, but I wasn't going to tell nor would I +pose for pictures while I wasn't telling anything. Newspaper +reporters are a determined lot, but Greg ran interference and we +reached the elevator without even a "no comment." + +The next day was one of confusion. After the first Washington +sighting the prevailing air in the section of the Pentagon's fourth +floor, which is occupied by Air Force Intelligence, could be +described as excitement, but this day it was confusion. There was a +maximum of talk and a minimum of action. Everyone agreed that both +sightings should be thoroughly investigated, but nobody did anything. +Major Fournet and I spent the entire morning "just leaving" for +somewhere to investigate "something." Every time we would start to +leave, something more pressing would come up. + +About 10:00A.M. the President's air aide, Brigadier General Landry, +called intelligence at President Truman's request to find out what +was going on. Somehow I got the call. I told General Landry that the +radar target could have been caused by weather but that we had no +proof. + +To add to the already confused situation, new UFO reports were +coming in hourly. We kept them quiet mainly because we weren't able +to investigate them right away, or even confirm the facts. And we +wanted to confirm the facts because some of the reports, even though +they were from military sources, were difficult to believe. + +Prior to the Washington sightings in only a very few of the many +instances in which radar had picked up UFO targets had the targets +themselves supposedly been seen visually. Radar experts had +continually pointed out this fact to us as an indication that maybe +all of the radar targets were caused by freak weather conditions. "If +people had just seen a light, or an object, near where the radar +showed the UFO target to be, you would have a lot more to worry +about," radar technicians had told me many times. + +Now people were seeing the same targets that the radars were picking +up, and not just at Washington. + +On the same night as the second Washington sighting we had a really +good report from California. An ADC radar had picked up an +unidentified target and an F-94C had been scrambled. The radar +vectored the jet interceptor into the target, the radar operator in +the '94 locked-on to it, and as the airplane closed in the pilot and +RO saw that they were headed directly toward a large, yellowish- +orange light. For several minutes they played tag with the UFO. Both +the radar on the ground and the radar in the F-94 showed that as soon +as the airplane would get almost within gunnery range of the UFO it +would suddenly pull away at a terrific speed. Then in a minute or two +it would slow down enough to let the F-94 catch it again. + +When I talked to the F-94 crew on the phone, the pilot said that +they felt as if this were just a big aerial cat-and-mouse game--and +they didn't like it--at any moment they thought the cat might have +pounced. + +Needless to say, this was an unknown. + +About midmorning on Tuesday, July 29th, Major General John Samford +sent word down that he would hold a press conference that afternoon +in an attempt to straighten out the UFO situation with the press. + +Donald Keyhoe reports on the press conference and the events leading +up to it in detail in his book, _Flying_ _Saucers_ _from_ _Outer_ +_Space_. He indicates that before the conference started, General +Samford sat behind his big walnut desk in Room 3A138 in the Pentagon +and battled with his conscience. Should he tell the public "the real +truth"--that our skies are loaded with spaceships? No, the public +might panic. The only answer would be to debunk the UFO's. + +This bit of reporting makes Major Keyhoe the greatest journalist in +history. This beats wire tapping. He reads minds. And not only that, +he can read them right through the walls of the Pentagon. But I'm +glad that Keyhoe was able to read the General's mind and that he +wrote the true and accurate facts about what he was really thinking +because I spent quite a bit of time talking to the General that day +and he sure fooled me. I had no idea he was worried about what he +should tell the public. + +When the press conference, which was the largest and longest the Air +Force had held since World War II, convened at 4:00P.M., General +Samford made an honest effort to straighten out the Washington +National Sightings, but the cards were stacked against him before he +started. He had to hedge on many answers to questions from the press +because he didn't know the answers. This hedging gave the impression +that he was trying to cover up something more than just the fact that +his people had fouled up in not fully investigating the sightings. +Then he had brought in Captain Roy James from ATIC to handle all the +queries about radar. James didn't do any better because he'd just +arrived in Washington that morning and didn't know very much more +about the sightings than he'd read in the papers. Major Dewey Fournet +and Lieutenant Holcomb, who had been at the airport during the +sightings, were extremely conspicuous by their absence, especially +since it was common knowledge among the press that they weren't +convinced the UFO's picked up on radars were weather targets. + +But somehow out of this chaotic situation came exactly the result +that was intended--the press got off our backs. Captain James's +answers about the possibility of the radar targets' being caused by +temperature inversions had been construed by the press to mean that +this was the Air Force's answer, even though today the twin sightings +are still carried as unknowns. + +The next morning headlines from Bangor to Bogota read: + +AIR FORCE DEBUNKS SAUCERS AS JUST NATURAL PHENOMENA + +The Washington National Sightings proved one thing, something that +many of us already knew: in order to forestall any more trouble +similar to what we'd just been through we always had to get all of +the facts and not try to hide them. A great deal of the press's +interest was caused by the Air Force's reluctance to give out any +information, and the reluctance on the part of the Air Force was +caused by simply not having gone out to find the answers. + +But had someone gone out and made a more thorough investigation a +few big questions would have popped up and taken some of the intrigue +out of the two reports. It took me a year to put the question marks +together because I just picked up the information as I happened to +run across it, but it could have been collected in a day of +concentrated effort. + +There was some doubt about the visual sighting of the "large fiery- +orange-colored sphere" that the tower operators at Andrews AFB saw +when the radar operators at National Airport told them they had a +target over the Andrews Radio range station. When the tower operators +were later interrogated they completely changed their story and said +that what they saw was merely a star. They said that on the night of +the sighting they "had been excited." (According to astronomical +charts, there were no exceptionally bright stars where the UFO was +seen over the range station, however. And I heard from a good source +that the tower men had been "persuaded" a bit.) + +Then the pilot of the F-94C changed his mind even after he'd given +the press and later told me his story about vainly trying to +intercept unidentified lights. In an official report he says that all +he saw was a ground light reflecting off a layer of haze. + +Another question mark arose about the lights that the airline pilots +saw. Months after the sighting I heard from one of the pilots whom +the ARTC controllers called to learn if he could see a UFO. This +man's background was also impressive, he had been flying in and out +of Washington since 1936. This is what he had to say: + +The most outstanding incident happened just after a take-off one +night from Washington National. The tower man advised us that there +was a UFO ahead of us on the take-off path and asked if we would aid +in tracking it down. We were given headings to follow and shortly we +were advised that we had passed the UFO and would be given a new +heading. None of us in the cockpit had seen anything unusual. Several +runs were made; each time the tower man advised us we were passing +the UFO we noticed that we were over one certain section of the +Potomac River, just east of Alexandria. Finally we were asked to +visually check the terrain below for anything which might cause such +an illusion. We looked and the only object we could see where the +radar had a target turned out to be the Wilson Lines moonlight +steamboat trip to Mount Vernon. Whether there was an altitude gimmick +on the radar unit at the time I do not know but the radar was sure as +hell picking up the steamboat. + +The pilot went on to say that there is such a conglomeration of +lights around the Washington area that no matter where you look you +see a "mysterious light." + +Then there was another point: although the radars at Washington +National and Andrews overlap, and many of the targets appeared in the +overlap area, only once did the three radars simultaneously pick up a +target. + +The investigation brought out a few more points on the pro side too. +We found out that the UFO's frequently visited Washington. On May 23 +fifty targets had been tracked from 8:00 p.m. till midnight. They +were back on the Wednesday night between the two famous Saturday- +night sightings, the following Sunday night, and again the night of +the press conference; then during August they were seen eight more +times. On several occasions military and civilian pilots saw lights +exactly where the radar showed the UFO's to be. + +On each night that there was a sighting there was a temperature +inversion but it was never strong enough to affect the radar the way +inversions normally do. On each occasion I checked the strength of +the inversion according to the methods used by the Air Defense +Command Weather Forecast Center. + +Then there was another interesting fact: hardly a night passed in +June, July, and August in 1952 that there wasn't an inversion in +Washington, yet the slow-moving, "solid" radar targets appeared on +only a few nights. + +But the one big factor on the pro side of the question is the people +involved--good radar men--men who deal in human lives. Each day they +use their radar to bring thousands of people into Washington National +Airport and with a responsibility like this they should know a real +target from a weather target. + +So the Washington National Airport Sightings are still unknowns. + +Had the press been aware of some of the other UFO activity in the +United States during this period, the Washington sightings might not +have been the center of interest. True, they could be classed as good +reports but they were not the best that we were getting. In fact, +less than six hours after the ladies and gentlemen of the press said +"Thank you" to General Samford for his press conference, and before +the UFO's could read the newspapers and find out that they were +natural phenomena, one of them came down across the Canadian border +into Michigan. The incident that occurred that night was one of those +that even the most ardent skeptic would have difficulty explaining. +I've heard a lot of them try and I've heard them all fail. + +At nine-forty on the evening of the twenty-ninth an Air Defense +Command radar station in central Michigan started to get plots on a +target that was coming straight south across Saginaw Bay on Lake +Huron at 625 miles an hour. A quick check of flight plans on file +showed that it was an unidentified target. + +Three F-94's were in the area just northeast of the radar station, +so the ground controller called one of the F-94's and told the pilot +to intercept the unidentified target. The F-94 pilot started climbing +out of the practice area on an intercept heading that the ground +controller gave him. When the F-94 was at 20,000 feet, the ground +controller told the pilot to turn to the right and he would be on the +target. The pilot started to bring the F-94 around and at that +instant both he and the radar operator in the back seat saw that they +were turning toward a large bluish-white light, "many times larger +than a star." In the next second or two the light "took on a reddish +tinge, and slowly began to get smaller, as if it were moving away." +Just then the ground controller called and said that he still had +both the F-94 and the unidentified target on his scope and that the +target had just made a tight 180-degree turn. The turn was too tight +for a jet, and at the speed the target was traveling it would have to +be a jet if it were an airplane. Now the target was heading back +north. The F-94 pilot gave the engine full power and cut in the +afterburner to give chase. The radar operator in the back seat got a +good radar lock-on. Later he said, "It was just as solid a lock-on as +you get from a B-36." The object was at 4 miles range and the F-94 +was closing slowly. For thirty seconds they held the lock-on; then, +just as the ground controller was telling the pilot that he was +closing in, the light became brighter and the object pulled away to +break the lock-on. Without breaking his transmission, the ground +controller asked if the radar operator still had the lock-on because +on the scope the distance between two blips had almost doubled in one +sweep of the antenna. This indicated that the unknown target had +almost doubled its speed in a matter of seconds. + +For ten minutes the ground radar followed the chase. At times the +unidentified target would slow down and the F-94 would start to close +the gap, but always, just as the F-94 was getting within radar range, +the target would put on a sudden burst of speed and pull away from +the pursuing jet. The speed of the UFO--for by this time all +concerned had decided that was what it was--couldn't be measured too +accurately because its bursts of speed were of such short duration; +but on several occasions the UFO traveled about 4 miles in one ten- +second sweep of the antenna, or about 1,400 miles an hour. + +The F-94 was getting low on fuel, and the pilot had to break off the +chase a minute or two before the UFO got out of range of the ground +radar. The last few plots on the UFO weren't too good but it looked +as if the target slowed down to 200 to 300 miles an hour as soon as +the F-94 turned around. + +What was it? It obviously wasn't a balloon or a meteor. It might +have been another airplane except that in 1952 there was nothing +flying, except a few experimental airplanes that were far from +Michigan, that could so easily outdistance an F-94. Then there was +the fact that radar clocked it at 1,400 miles an hour. The F-94 was +heading straight for the star Capella, which is low on the horizon +and is very brilliant, but what about the radar contacts? Some people +said "Weather targets," but the chances of a weather target's making +a 180-degree turn just as an airplane turns into it, giving a radar +lock-on, then changing speed to stay just out of range of the +airplane's radar, and then slowing down when the airplane leaves is +as close to nil as you can get. + +What was it? A lot of people I knew were absolutely convinced this +report was the key--the final proof. Even if all of the thousands of +other UFO reports could be discarded on a technicality, this one +couldn't be. These people believed that this report in itself was +proof enough to officially accept the fact that UFO's were +interplanetary spaceships. And when some people refused to believe +even this report, the frustration was actually pitiful to see. + +As the end of July approached, there was a group of officers in +intelligence fighting hard to get the UFO "recognized." At ATIC, +Project Blue Book was still trying to be impartial--but sometimes it +was difficult. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN + +Hoax or Horror? + +To the military and the public who weren't intimately associated +with the higher levels of Air Force Intelligence during the summer of +1952--and few were--General Samford's press conference seemed to +indicate the peak in official interest in flying saucers. It did take +the pressure off Project Blue Book--reports dropped from fifty per +day to ten a day inside of a week--but behind the scenes the press +conference was only the signal for an all-out drive to find out more +about the UFO. Work on the special cameras continued on a high- +priority basis, and General Samford directed us to enlist the aid of +top-ranking scientists. + +During the past four months we had collected some 750 comparatively +well-documented reports, and we hoped that something in these reports +might give us a good lead on the UFO. My orders were to tell the +scientists to whom we talked that the Air Force was officially still +very much interested in the UFO and that their assistance, even if it +was only in giving us ideas and comments on the reports, was badly +needed. Although the statement of the problem was worded much more +loosely, in essence it was, "Do the UFO reports we have collected +indicate that the earth is being visited by a people from another +planet?" + +Such questions had been asked of the scientists before, but not in +such a serious vein. + +Then a secondary program was to be started, one of "educating" the +military. The old idea that UFO reports would die out when the thrill +wore off had long been discarded. We all knew that UFO reports would +continue to come in and that in order to properly evaluate them we +had to have every shred of evidence. The Big Flap had shown us that +our chances of getting a definite answer on a sighting was directly +proportional to the quality of the information we received from the +intelligence officers in the field. + +But soon after the press conference we began to get wires from +intelligence officers saying they had interpreted the newspaper +accounts of General Samford's press conference to mean that we were +no longer interested in UFO reports. A few other intelligence +officers had evidently also misinterpreted the general's remarks +because their reports of excellent sightings were sloppy and +incomplete. All of this was bad, so to forestall any misconceived +ideas about the future of the Air Force's UFO project, summaries of +General Samford's press conference were distributed to intelligence +officers. General Samford had outlined the future of the UFO project +when he'd said: + +"So our present course of action is to continue on this problem with +the best of our ability, giving it the attention that we feel it very +definitely warrants. We will give it adequate attention, but not +frantic attention." + +The summary of the press conference straightened things out to some +extent and our flow of reports got back to normal. + +I was anxious to start enlisting the aid of scientists, as General +Samford had directed, but before this could be done we had a backlog +of UFO reports that had to be evaluated. During July we had been +swamped and had picked off only the best ones. Some of the reports we +were working on during August had simple answers, but many were +unknowns. There was one report that was of special interest because +it was an excellent example of how a UFO report can at first appear +to be absolutely unsoluble then suddenly fall apart under thorough +investigation. It also points up the fact that our investigation and +analysis were thorough and that when we finally stamped a report +"Unknown" it was unknown. We weren't infallible but we didn't often +let a clue slip by. + +At exactly ten forty-five on the morning of August 1, 1952, an ADC +radar near Bellefontaine, Ohio, picked up a high-speed unidentified +target moving southwest, just north of Dayton. Two F-86's from the +97th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Wright-Patterson were scrambled +and in a few minutes they were climbing out toward where the radar +showed the UFO to be. The radar didn't have any height-finding +equipment so all that the ground controller at the radar site could +do was to get the two F-86's over or under the target, and then they +would have to find it visually. + +When the two airplanes reached 30,000 feet, the ground controller +called them and told them that they were almost on the target, which +was still continuing its southwesterly course at about 525 miles an +hour. In a few seconds the ground controller called back and told the +lead pilot that the targets of his airplane and the UFO had blended +on the radar-scope and that the pilot would have to make a visual +search; this was as close in as radar could get him. Then the radar +broke down and went off the air. + +But at almost that exact second the lead pilot looked up and there +in the clear blue sky several thousand feet above him was a silver- +colored sphere. The lead pilot pointed it out to his wing man and +both of them started to climb. They went to their maximum altitude +but they couldn't reach the UFO. After ten minutes of unsuccessful +attempts to identify the huge silver sphere or disk--because at times +it looked like a disk--one of the pilots hauled the nose of his F-86 +up in a stall and exposed several feet of gun camera film. Just as he +did this the warning light on his radar gun sight blinked on, +indicating that something solid was in front of him--he wasn't +photographing a sundog, hallucination, or refracted light. + +The two pilots broke off the intercept and started back to Wright- +Patterson when they suddenly realized that they were still northwest +of the base, in almost the same location they had been when they +started the intercept ten minutes before. The UFO had evidently +slowed down from the speed that the radar had measured, 525 miles an +hour, until it was hovering almost completely motionless. + +As soon as the pilots were on the ground, the magazine of film from +the gun camera was rushed to the photo lab and developed. The photos +showed only a round, indistinct blob--no details--but they were proof +that some type of unidentified flying object had been in the air +north of Dayton. + +Lieutenant Andy Flues was assigned to this one. He checked the +locations of balloons and found out that a 20-foot-diameter +radiosonde weather balloon from Wright-Patterson had been very near +the area when the unsuccessful intercept took place, but the balloon +wasn't traveling 525 miles an hour and it couldn't be picked up by +the ground radar, so he investigated further. The UFO couldn't have +been another airplane because airplanes don't hover in one spot and +it was no atmospheric phenomenon. Andy wrote it off as an unknown but +it still bothered him; that balloon in the area was mighty +suspicious. He talked to the two pilots a half dozen times and spent +a day at the radar site at Bellefontaine before he reversed his +"Unknown" decision and came up with the answer. + +The unidentified target that the radar had tracked across Ohio was a +low-flying jet. The jet was unidentified because there was a mix-up +and the radar station didn't get its flight plan. Andy checked and +found that a jet out of Cleveland had landed at Memphis at about +eleven-forty. At ten forty-five this jet would have been north of +Dayton on a southwesterly heading. When the ground controller blended +the targets of the two F-86's into the unidentified target, they were +at 30,000 feet and were looking for the target at their altitude or +higher so they missed the low-flying jet--but they did see the +balloon. Since the radar went out just as the pilots saw the balloon, +the ground controller couldn't see that the unidentified target he'd +been watching was continuing on to the southwest. The pilots didn't +bother to look around any more once they'd spotted the balloon +because they thought they had the target in sight. + +The only part of the sighting that still wasn't explained was the +radar pickup on the F-86's gun sight. Lieutenant Flues checked +around, did a little experimenting, and found out that the small +transmitter box on a radiosonde balloon will give an indication on +the radar used in F-86 gun sights. + +To get a final bit of proof, Lieutenant Flues took the gun camera +photos to the photo lab. The two F-86's had been at about 40,000 feet +when the photos were taken and the 20-foot balloon was at about +70,000 feet. Andy's question to the photo lab was, "How big should a +20-foot balloon appear on a frame of 16-mm. movie film when the +balloon is 30,000 feet away?" + +The people in the photo lab made a few calculations and measurements +and came up with the answer, "A 20-foot balloon photographed from +30,000 feet away would be the same size as the UFO in the gun camera +photos." + +By the middle of August, Project Blue Book was back to normal. +Lieutenant Flues's Coca-Cola consumption had dropped from twenty +bottles a day in mid-July to his normal five. We were all getting a +good night's sleep and it was now a rare occasion when my home +telephone would ring in the middle of the night to report a new UFO. + +But then on the morning of August 20 I was happily taking a shower, +getting ready to go to work, when one of these rare occasions +occurred and the phone rang--it was the ATIC OD. An operational +immediate wire had just come in for Blue Book. He had gone over to +the message center and gotten it. He thought that it was important +and wanted me to come right out. For some reason he didn't want to +read it over the phone, although it was not classified. I decided +that if he said so I should come out, so I left in a hurry. + +The wire was from the intelligence officer at an air base in +Florida. The previous night a scoutmaster and three boy scouts had +seen a UFO. The scoutmaster had been burned when he approached too +close to the UFO. The wire went on to give a few sketchy details and +state that the scoutmaster was a "solid citizen." + +I immediately put in a long-distance call to the intelligence +officer. He confirmed the data in the wire. He had talked briefly to +the scoutmaster on the phone and from all he could gather it was no +hoax. The local police had been contacted and they verified the story +and the fact of the burns. I asked the intelligence officer to +contact the scoutmaster and ask if he would submit to a physical +examination immediately. I could imagine the rumors that could start +about the scoutmaster's condition, and I wanted proof. The report +sounded good, so I told the intelligence officer I'd get down to see +him as soon as possible. + +I immediately called Colonel Dunn, then chief at ATIC, and gave him +a brief rundown. He agreed that I should go down to Florida as soon +as possible and offered to try to get an Air Force B-25, which would +save time over the airlines. + +I told Bob Olsson to borrow a Geiger counter at Wright Field, then +check out a camera. I called my wife and asked her to pack a few +clothes and bring them out to me. Bob got the equipment, ran home and +packed a bag, and in two hours he and I and our two pilots, Captain +Bill Hoey and Captain David Douglas, were on our way to Florida to +investigate one of the weirdest UFO reports that I came up against. + +When we arrived, the intelligence officer arranged for the +scoutmaster to come out to the air base. The latter knew we were +coming, so he arrived at the base in a few minutes. He was a very +pleasant chap, in his early thirties, not at all talkative but +apparently willing to co-operate. + +While he was giving us a brief personal history, I had the immediate +impression that he was telling the truth. He'd lived in Florida all +of his life. He'd gone to a private military prep school, had some +college, and then had joined the Marines. He told us that he had been +in the Pacific most of the war and repeated some rather hairy stories +of what he'd been through. After the war he'd worked as an auto +mechanic, then gone to Georgia for a while to work in a turpentine +plant. After returning to Florida, he opened a gas station, but some +hard luck had forced him to sell out. He was now working as a clerk +in a hardware store. Some months back a local church had decided to +organize a boy scout troop and he had offered to be the scoutmaster. + +On the night before the weekly scout meeting had broken up early. He +said that he had offered to give four of the boys a ride home. He had +let one of the boys out when the conversation turned to a stock car +race that was to take place soon. They talked about the condition of +the track. It had been raining frequently, and they wondered if the +track was flooded, so they drove out to look at it. Then they started +south toward a nearby town to take another of the boys home. They +took a black-top road about 10 miles inland from the heavily traveled +coastal highway that passes through sparsely settled areas of scrub +pine and palmetto thickets. + +They were riding along when the scoutmaster said that he noticed a +light off to his left in the pines. He slowed down and asked the boys +if they'd seen it; none of them had. He started to drive on, when he +saw the lights again. This time all of the boys saw them too, so he +stopped. He said that he wanted to go back into the woods to see what +was going on, but that the boys were afraid to stay alone. Again he +started to drive on, but in a few seconds decided he had to go back. +So he turned the car around, went back, and parked beside the road at +a point just opposite where he'd seen the lights. + +I stopped him at this point to find out a little bit more about why +he'd decided to go back. People normally didn't go running off into +palmetto thickets infested with rattlesnakes at night. He had a +logical answer. The lights looked like an airplane crashing into the +woods some distance away. He didn't believe that was what he saw, but +the thought that this could be a possibility bothered him. After all, +he had said, he was a scoutmaster, and if somebody was in trouble, +his conscience would have bothered him the rest of his life if he +hadn't investigated and it had been somebody in need of help. + +A fifteen-minute radio program had just started, and he told the +boys that he was going to go into the woods, and that if he wasn't +back by the time the program ended they should run down the road to a +farmhouse that they had passed and get help. He got out and started +directly into the woods, wearing a faded denim billed cap and +carrying machete and two flashlights. One of the lights was a spare +he carried in his back pocket. + +He had traveled about 50 yards off the road when he ran into a +palmetto thicket, so he stopped and looked for a clear path. But +finding none, he started pushing his way through the waist-high +tangle of brush. + +When he stopped, he recalled later, he had first become aware of an +odd odor. He couldn't exactly describe it to us, except to say that +it was "sharp" or "pungent." It was very faint, actually more like a +subconscious awareness at first. Another sensation he recalled after +the incident was a very slight difference in temperature, hardly +perceivable, like walking by a brick building in the evening after +the sun has set. He hadn't thought anything about either the odor or +the heat at the time but later, when they became important, he +remembered them. + +Paying no attention to these sensations then, he pushed on through +the brush, looking up occasionally to check the north star, so that +he could keep traveling straight east. After struggling through about +30 yards of palmetto undergrowth, he noticed a change in the shadows +ahead of him and stopped to shine the flashlight farther ahead of him +to find out if he was walking into a clearing or into one of the many +ponds that dot that particular Florida area. It was a clearing. + +The boy scouts in the car had been watching the scoutmaster's +progress since they could see his light bobbing around. Occasionally +he would shine it up at a tree or across the landscape for an +instant, so they knew where he was in relation to the trees and +thickets. They saw him stop at the edge of the open, shadowed area +and shine his light ahead of him. + +The scoutmaster then told us that when he stopped this second time +he first became consciously aware of the odor and the heat. Both +became much more noticeable as he stepped into the clearing. In fact, +the heat became almost unbearable or, as he put it, "oppressively +moist, making it hard to breathe." + +He walked a few more paces and suddenly got a horrible feeling that +somebody was watching him. He took another step, stopped, and looked +up to find the north star. But he couldn't see the north star, or any +stars. Then he suddenly saw that almost the whole sky was blanked out +by a large dark shape about 30 feet above him. + +He said that he had stood in this position for several seconds, or +minutes--he didn't know how long--because now the feeling of being +watched had overcome any power of reasoning he had. He managed to +step back a few paces, and apparently got out from under the object, +because he could see the edge of it silhouetted against the sky. + +As he backed up, he said, the air became much cooler and fresher, +helping him to think more clearly. He shone his light up at the edge +of the object and got a quick but good look. It was circular-shaped +and slightly concave on the bottom. The surface was smooth and a +grayish color. He pointed to a gray linoleum-topped desk in the +intelligence officer's room. "Just like that," he said. The upper +part had a dome in the middle, like a turret. The edge of the saucer- +shaped object was thick and had vanes spaced about every foot, like +buckets on a turbine wheel. Between each vane was a small opening, +like a nozzle. + +The next reaction that the scoutmaster recalled was one of fury. He +wanted to harm or destroy whatever it was that he saw. All he had was +a machete, but he wanted to try to jump up and strike at whatever he +was looking at. No sooner did he get this idea than he noticed the +shadows on the turret change ever so slightly and heard a sound, +"like the opening of a well-oiled safe door." He froze where he stood +and noticed a small ball of red fire begin to drift toward him. As it +floated down it expanded into a cloud of red mist. He dropped his +fight and machete, and put his arms over his face. As the mist +enveloped him, he passed out. + +The boy scouts, in the car, estimated that their scoutmaster had +been gone about five minutes when they saw him stop at the edge of +the clearing, then walk on in. They saw him stop seconds later, +hesitate a few more seconds, then shine the light up in the air. They +thought he was just looking at the trees again. The next thing they +said they saw was a big red ball of fire engulfing him. They saw him +fall, so they spilled out of the car and took off down the road +toward the farmhouse. + +The farmer and his wife had a little difficulty getting the story +out of the boys, they were so excited. All they could get was +something about the boys' scoutmaster being in trouble down the road. +The farmer called the Florida State Highway Patrol, who relayed the +message to the county sheriff's office. In a few minutes a deputy +sheriff and the local constable arrived. They picked up the scouts +and drove to where their car was parked. + +The scoutmaster had no idea of how long he had been unconscious. He +vaguely remembered leaning against a tree, the feeling of wet, dew- +covered grass, and suddenly regaining his consciousness. His first +reaction was to get out to the highway, so he started to run. About +halfway through the palmetto thicket he saw a car stop on the +highway. He ran toward it and found the deputy and constable with the +boys. + +He was so excited he could hardly get his story told coherently. +Later the deputy said that in all his years as a law-enforcement +officer he had never seen anyone as scared as the scoutmaster was as +he came up out of the ditch beside the road and walked into the glare +of the headlights. As soon as he'd told his story, they all went back +into the woods, picking their way around the palmetto thicket. The +first thing they noticed was the flashlight, still burning, in a +clump of grass. Next to it was a place where the grass was flattened +down, as if a person had been lying there. They looked around for the +extra light that the scoutmaster had been carrying, but it was gone. +Later searches for this missing flashlight were equally fruitless. +They marked the spot where the crushed grass was located and left. +The constable took the boy scouts home and the scoutmaster followed +the deputy to the sheriff's office. On the way to town the +scoutmaster said he first noticed that his arms and face burned. When +he arrived at the sheriff's office, he found that his arms, face, and +cap _were_ burned. The deputy called the Air Force. + +There were six people listening to his story. Bob Olsson, the two +pilots, the intelligence officer, his sergeant, and I. We each had +previously agreed to pick one insignificant detail from the story and +then re-question the scoutmaster when he had finished. Our theory was +that if he had made up the story he would either repeat the details +perfectly or not remember what he'd said. I'd used this many times +before, and it was a good indicator of a lie. He passed the test with +flying colors. His story sounded good to all of us. + +We talked for about another hour, discussing the event and his +background. He kept asking, "What did I see?"--evidently thinking +that I knew. He said that the newspapers were after him, since the +sheriff's office had inadvertently leaked the story, but that he had +been stalling them off pending our arrival. I told him it was Air +Force policy to allow people to say anything they wanted to about a +UFO sighting. We had never muzzled anyone; it was his choice. With +that, we thanked him, arranged to pick up the cap and machete to take +back to Dayton, and sent him home in a staff car. + +By this time it was getting late, but I wanted to talk to the flight +surgeon who had examined the man that morning. The intelligence +officer found him at the hospital and he said he would be right over. +His report was very thorough. The only thing he could find out of the +ordinary were minor burns on his arms and the back of his hands. +There were also indications that the inside of his nostrils might be +burned. The degree of burn could be compared to a light sunburn. The +hair had also been singed, indicating a flash heat. + +The flight surgeon had no idea how this specifically could have +happened. It could have even been done with a cigarette lighter, and +he took his lighter and singed a small area of his arm to +demonstrate. He had been asked only to make a physical check, so that +is what he'd done, but he did offer a suggestion. Check his Marine +records; something didn't ring true. I didn't quite agree; the story +sounded good to me. + +The next morning my crew from ATIC, three people from the +intelligence office, and the two law officers went out to where the +incident had taken place. We found the spot where somebody had +apparently been lying and the scoutmaster's path through the thicket. +We checked the area with a Geiger counter, as a precautionary +measure, not expecting to find anything; we didn't. We went over the +area inch by inch, hoping to find a burned match with which a flare +or fireworks could have been lighted, drippings from a flare, or +anything that shouldn't have been in a deserted area of woods. We +looked at the trees; they hadn't been hit by lightning. The blades of +grass under which the UFO supposedly hovered were not burned. We +found nothing to contradict the story. We took a few photos of the +area and went back to town. On the way back we talked to the +constable and the deputy. All they could do was to confirm what we'd +heard. + +We talked to the farmer and his wife, but they couldn't help. The +few facts that the boy scouts had given them before they had a chance +to talk to their scoutmaster correlated with his story. We talked to +the scoutmaster's employer and some of his friends; he was a fine +person. We questioned people who might have been in a position to +also observe something; they saw nothing. The local citizens had a +dozen theories, and we thoroughly checked each one. + +He hadn't been struck by lightning. He hadn't run across a still. +There was no indication that he'd surprised a gang of illegal turtle +butcherers, smugglers, or bootleggers. There was no indication of +marsh gas or swamp fire. The mysterious blue lights in the area +turned out to be a farmer arc-welding at night. The other flying +saucers were the landing lights of airplanes landing at a nearby +airport. + +To be very honest, we were trying to prove that this was a hoax, but +were having absolutely no success. Every new lead we dug up pointed +to the same thing, a true story. + +We finished our work on a Friday night and planned to leave early +Saturday morning. Bob Olsson and I planned to fly back on a +commercial airliner, as the B-25 was grounded for maintenance. Just +after dinner that night I got a call from the sheriff's office. It +was from a deputy I had talked to, not the one who met the +scoutmaster coming out of the woods, but another one, who had been +very interested in the incident. He had been doing a little +independent checking and found that our singed UFO observer's +background was not as clean as he led one to believe. He had been +booted out of the Marines after a few months for being AWOL and +stealing an automobile, and had spent some time in a federal +reformatory in Chillicothe, Ohio. The deputy pointed out that this +fact alone meant nothing but that he thought I might be interested in +it. I agreed. + +The next morning, early, I was awakened by a phone call from the +intelligence officer. The morning paper carried the UFO story on the +front page. It quoted the scoutmaster as saying that "high brass" +from Washington had questioned him late into the night. There was no +"high brass," just four captains, a second lieutenant, and a +sergeant. He knew we were from Dayton because we had discussed who we +were and where we were stationed. The newspaper story went on to say +that "he, the scoutmaster, and the Air Force knew what he'd seen but +he couldn't tell--it would create a national panic." He'd also hired +a press agent. I could understand the "high brass from the Pentagon" +as literary license by the press, but this "national panic" pitch was +too much. I had just about decided to give up on this incident and +write it off as "Unknown" until this happened. From all appearances, +our scoutmaster was going to make a fast buck on his experience. Just +before leaving for Dayton, I called Major Dewey Fournet in the +Pentagon and asked him to do some checking. + +Monday morning the machete went to the materials lab at Wright- +Patterson. The question we asked was, "Is there anything unusual +about this machete? Is it magnetized? Is it radioactive? Has it been +heated?" No knife was ever tested so thoroughly for so many things. +As in using a Geiger counter to check the area over which the UFO had +hovered in the Florida woods, our idea was to investigate every +possible aspect of the sighting. They found nothing, just a plain, +unmagnetized, unradioactive, unheated, common, everyday knife. + +The cap was sent to a laboratory in Washington, D.C., along with the +scoutmaster's story. Our question here was, "Does the cap in any way +(burns, chemicals, etc.) substantiate or refute the story?" + +I thought that we'd collected all the items that could be analyzed +in a lab until somebody thought of one I'd missed, the most obvious +of them all--soil and grass samples from under the spot where the UFO +had hovered. We'd had samples, but in the last-minute rush to get +back to Dayton they had been left in Florida. I called Florida and +they were shipped to Dayton and turned over to an agronomy lab for +analysis. + +By the end of the week I received a report on our ex-Marine's +military and reformatory records. They confirmed a few suspicions and +added new facts. They were not complimentary. The discrepancy between +what we'd heard about the scoutmaster while we were in Florida and +the records was considered a major factor. I decided that we should +go back to Florida and try to resolve this discrepancy. + +Since it was hurricane season, we had to wait a few days, then sneak +back between two hurricanes. We contacted a dozen people in the city +where the scoutmaster lived. All of them had known him for some time. +We traced him from his early boyhood to the time of the sighting. To +be sure that the people we talked to were reliable, we checked on +them. The specific things we found out cannot be told since they were +given to us in confidence, but we were convinced that the whole +incident was a hoax. + +We didn't talk to the scoutmaster again but we did talk to all the +boy scouts one night at their scout meeting, and they retold how they +had seen their scoutmaster knocked down by the ball of fire. The +night before, we had gone out to the area of the sighting and, under +approximately the same lighting conditions as existed on the night of +the sighting, had re-enacted the scene--especially the part where the +boy scouts saw their scoutmaster fall, covered with red fire. We +found that not even by standing _on_ _top_ _of_ _the_ _car_ could you +see a person silhouetted in the clearing where the scoutmaster +supposedly fell. The rest of their stories fell apart to some extent +too. They were not as positive of details as they had been previously. + +When we returned to Dayton, the report on the cap had come back. The +pattern of the scorch showed that the hat was flat when it was +scorched, but the burned holes--the lab found some minute holes we +had missed--had very probably been made by an electrical spark. This +was all the lab could find. + +During our previous visit we repeatedly asked the question, "Was the +hat burned before you went into the woods?" and, "Had the cap been +ironed?" We had received the same answers each time: "The hat was not +burned because we [the boy scouts] were playing with it at the scout +meeting and would have noticed the burns," and, "The cap was new; it +had not been washed or ironed." It is rumored that the cap was never +returned because it was proof of the authenticity of the sighting. +The hat wasn't returned simply because the scoutmaster said that he +didn't want it back. No secrets, no intrigue; it's as simple as that. + +Everyone who was familiar with the incident, except a few people in +the Pentagon, were convinced that this was a hoax until the lab +called me about the grass samples we'd sent in. "How did the roots +get charred?" Roots charred? I didn't even know what my caller was +talking about. He explained that when they'd examined the grass they +had knocked the dirt and sand off the roots of the grass clumps and +found them charred. The blades of grass themselves were not damaged; +they had never been heated, except on the extreme tips of the longer +blades. These had evidently been bending over touching the ground and +were also charred. The lab had duplicated the charring and had found +that by placing live grass clumps in a pan of sand and dirt and +heating it to about 300 degrees F. over a gas burner the charring +could be duplicated. How it was actually done outside the lab they +couldn't even guess. + +As soon as we got the lab report, we checked a few possibilities +ourselves. There were no hot underground springs to heat the earth, +no chemicals in the soil, not a thing we found could explain it. The +only way it could have been faked would have been to heat the earth +from underneath to 300 degrees F., and how do you do this without +using big and cumbersome equipment and disturbing the ground? You +can't. Only a few people handled the grass specimens: the lab, the +intelligence officer in Florida, and I. The lab wouldn't do it as a +joke, then write an official report, and I didn't do it. This leaves +the intelligence officer; I'm positive that he wouldn't do it. There +may be a single answer everyone is overlooking, but as of now the +charred grass roots from Florida are still a mystery. + +Writing an official report on this incident was difficult. On one +side of the ledger was a huge mass of circumstantial evidence very +heavily weighted against the scoutmaster's story being true. On our +second trip to Florida, Lieutenant Olsson and I heard story after +story about the man's aptitude for dreaming up tall tales. One man +told us, "If he told me the sun was shining, I'd look up to make +sure." There were parts of his story and those of the boy scouts that +didn't quite mesh. None of us ever believed the boy scouts were in on +the hoax. They were undoubtedly so impressed by the story that they +imagined a few things they didn't actually see. The scoutmaster's +burns weren't proof of anything; the flight surgeon had duplicated +these by burning his own arm with a cigarette lighter. But we didn't +make step one in proving the incident to be a hoax. We thought up +dozens of ways that the man could have set up the hoax but couldn't +prove one. + +In the scoutmaster's favor were the two pieces of physical evidence +we couldn't explain, the holes burned in the cap and the charred +grass roots. + +The deputy sheriff who had first told me about the scoutmaster's +Marine and prison record had also said, "Maybe this is the one time +in his life he's telling the truth, but I doubt it." + +So did we; we wrote off the incident as a hoax. The best hoax in UFO +history. + +Many people have asked why we didn't give the scoutmaster a lie +detector test. We seriously considered it and consulted some experts +in this field. They advised against it. In some definite types of +cases the lie detector will not give valid results. This, they +thought, was one of those cases. Had we done it and had he passed on +the faulty results, the publicity would have been a headache. + +There is one way to explain the charred grass roots, the burned cap, +and a few other aspects of the incident. It's pure speculation; I +don't believe that it is the answer, yet it is interesting. Since the +blades of the grass were not damaged and the ground had not been +disturbed, this one way is the only way (nobody has thought of any +other way) the soil could have been heated. It could have been done +by induction heating. + +To quote from a section entitled "Induction Heating" from an +electrical engineering textbook: + +A rod of solid metal or any electrical conductor, when subjected to +an alternating magnetic field, has electromotive forces set up in it. +These electromotive forces cause what are known as "eddy currents." A +rise in temperature results from "eddy currents." + +Induction heating is a common method of melting metals in a foundry. + +Replace the "rod of solid metal" mentioned above with damp sand, an +electrical conductor, and assume that a something that was generating +a powerful alternating magnetic field was hovering over the ground, +and you can explain how the grass roots were charred. To get an +alternating magnetic field, some type of electrical equipment was +needed. Electricity--electrical sparks--the holes burned in the cap +"by electric sparks." + +UFO propulsion comes into the picture when one remembers Dr. +Einstein's unified field theory, concerning the relationship between +electro-magnetism and gravitation. + +If this alternating magnetic field can heat metal, why didn't +everything the scoutmaster had that was metal get hot enough to burn +him? He had a flashlight, machete, coins in his pocket, etc. The +answer--he wasn't under the UFO for more than a few seconds. He said +that when he stopped to really look at it he had backed away from +under it. He did feel some heat, possibly radiating from the ground. + +To further pursue this line of speculation, the scoutmaster +repeatedly mentioned the unusual odor near the UFO. He described it +as being "sharp" or "pungent." Ozone gas is "sharp" or "pungent." To +quote from a chemistry book, "Ozone is prepared by passing air +between two plates which are charged at a high electrical potential." +Electrical equipment again. Breathing too high a concentration of +ozone gas will also cause you to lose consciousness. + +I used to try out this induction heating theory on people to get +their reaction. I tried it out one day on a scientist from Rand. He +practically leaped at the idea. I laughed when I explained that I +thought this theory just _happened_ to tie together the unanswered +aspects of the incident in Florida and was not the answer; he was +slightly perturbed. "What do you want?" he said. "Does a UFO have to +come in and land on your desk at ATIC?" + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN + +Digesting the Data + +It was soon after we had written a finis to the Case of the +Scoutmaster that I went into Washington to give another briefing on +the latest UFO developments. Several reports had come in during early +August that had been read with a good deal of interest in the +military and other governmental agencies. By late August 1952 several +groups in Washington were following the UFO situation very closely. + +The sighting that had stirred everyone up came from Haneda AFB, now +Tokyo International Airport, in Japan. Since the sighting came from +outside the U.S., we couldn't go out and investigate it, but the +intelligence officers in the Far East Air Force had done a good job, +so we had the complete story of this startling account of an +encounter with a UFO. Only a few minor questions had been unanswered, +and a quick wire to FEAF brought back these missing data. Normally it +took up to three months to get routine questions back and forth, but +this time the exchange of wires took only a matter of hours. + +Several months after the sighting I talked to one of the FEAF +intelligence officers who had investigated it, and in his estimation +it was one of the best to come out of the Far East. + +The first people to see the UFO were two control tower operators who +were walking across the ramp at the air base heading toward the tower +to start the midnight shift. They were about a half hour early so +they weren't in any big hurry to get up into the tower--at least not +until they saw a large brilliant light off to the northeast over +Tokyo Bay. They stopped to look at the light for a few seconds +thinking that it might be an exceptionally brilliant star, but both +men had spent many lonely nights in a control tower when they had +nothing to look at except stars and they had never seen anything this +bright before. Besides, the light was moving. The two men had lined +it up with the corner of a hangar and could see that it was +continually moving closer and drifting a little off to the right. + +In a minute they had run across the ramp, up the several hundred +steps to the tower, and were looking at the light through 7x50 +binoculars. Both of the men, and the two tower operators whom they +were relieving, got a good look at the UFO. The light was circular in +shape and had a constant brilliance. It appeared to be the upper +portion of a large, round, dark shape which was about four times the +diameter of the light itself. As they watched, the UFO moved in +closer, or at least it appeared to be getting closer because it +became more distinct. When it moved in, the men could see a second +and dimmer light on the lower edge of the dark, shadowy portion. + +In a few minutes the UFO had moved off to the east, getting dimmer +and dimmer as it disappeared. The four tower men kept watching the +eastern sky, and suddenly the light began to reappear. It stayed in +sight a few seconds, was gone again, and then for the third time it +came back, heading toward the air base. + +This time one of the tower operators picked up a microphone, called +the pilot of a C-54 that was crossing Tokyo Bay, and asked if he +could see the light. The pilot didn't see anything unusual. + +At 11:45P.M., according to the logbook in the tower, one of the +operators called a nearby radar site and asked if they had an +unidentified target on their scopes. They did. + +The FEAF intelligence officers who investigated the sighting made a +special effort to try to find out if the radar's unidentified target +and the light were the same object. They deduced that they were +since, when the tower operators and the radar operators compared +notes over the telephone, the light and the radar target were in the +same location and were moving in the same direction. + +For about five minutes the radar tracked the UFO as it cut back and +forth across the central part of Tokyo Bay, sometimes traveling so +slowly that it almost hovered and then speeding up to 300 miles an +hour. All of this time the tower operators were watching the light +through binoculars. Several times when the UFO approached the radar +station--once it came within 10 miles--a radar operator went outside +to find out if he could see the light but no one at the radar site +ever saw it. Back at the air base the tower operators had called +other people and they saw the light. Later on the tower man said that +he had the distinct feeling that the light was highly directional, +like a spotlight. + +Some of the people who were watching thought that the UFO might be a +lighted balloon; so, for the sake of comparison, a lighted weather +balloon was released. But the light on the balloon was much more +"yellowish" than the UFO and in a matter of seconds it had traveled +far enough away that the light was no longer visible. This gave the +observers a chance to compare the size of the balloon and the size of +the dark, shadowy part of the UFO. Had the UFO been 10 miles away it +would have been 50 feet in diameter. + +Three minutes after midnight an F-94 scrambled from nearby Johnson +AFB came into the area. The ground controller sent the F-94 south of +Yokohama, up Tokyo Bay, and brought him in "behind" the UFO. The +second that the ground controller had the F-94 pilot lined up and +told him that he was in line for a radar run, the radar operator in +the rear seat of the F-94 called out that he had a lock-on. His +target was at 6,000 yards, 10 degrees to the right and 10 degrees +below the F-94. The lock-on was held for ninety seconds as the ground +controller watched both the UFO and the F-94 make a turn and come +toward the ground radar site. Just as the target entered the "ground +clutter"--the permanent and solid target near the radar station +caused by the radar beam's striking the ground--the lock-on was +broken. The target seemed to pull away swiftly from the jet +interceptor. At almost this exact instant the tower operators +reported that they had lost visual contact with the UFO. The tower +called the F-94 and asked if they had seen anything visually during +the chase--they hadn't. The F-94 crew stayed in the area ten or +fifteen more minutes but couldn't see anything or pick up any more +targets on their radar. + +Soon after the F-94 left the area, both the ground radar and the +tower operators picked up the UFO again. In about two minutes radar +called the tower to say that their target had just "broken into three +pieces" and that the three "pieces," spaced about a quarter of a mile +apart, were leaving the area, going northeast. Seconds later tower +operators lost sight of the light. + +The FEAF intelligence officers had checked every possible angle but +they could offer nothing to account for the sighting. + +There were lots of opinions, weather targets for example, but once +again the chances of a weather target's being in exactly the same +direction as a bright star and having the star appear to move with +the false radar target aren't too likely--to say the least. And then +the same type of thing had happened twice before inside of a month's +time, once in California and once in Michigan. + +As one of the men at the briefing I gave said, "It's incredible, and +I can't believe it, but those boys in FEAF are in a war--they're +veterans--and by damn, I think they know what they're talking about +when they say they've never seen anything like this before." + +I could go into a long discourse on the possible explanations for +this sighting; I heard many, but in the end there would be only one +positive answer--the UFO could not be identified as something we knew +about. It could have been an interplanetary spaceship. Many people +thought this was the answer and were all for sticking their necks out +and establishing a category of conclusions for UFO reports and +labeling it spacecraft. But the majority ruled, and a UFO remained an +_unidentified_ flying object. + +On my next trip to the Pentagon I spent the whole day talking to +Major Dewey Fournet and two of his bosses, Colonel W. A. Adams and +Colonel Weldon Smith, about the UFO subject in general. One of the +things we talked about was a new approach to the UFO problem--that of +trying to prove that the motion of a UFO as it flew through the air +was intelligently controlled. + +I don't know who would get credit for originating the idea of trying +to analyze the motion of the UFO's. It was one of those kinds of +ideas that are passed around, with everyone adding a few +modifications. We'd been talking about making a study of this idea +for a long time, but we hadn't had many reports to work with; but +now, with the mass of data that we had accumulated in June and July +and August, the prospects of such a study looked promising. + +The basic aim of the study would be to learn whether the motion of +the reported UFO's was random or ordered. Random motion is an +unordered, helter-skelter motion very similar to a swarm of gnats or +flies milling around. There is no apparent pattern or purpose to +their flight paths. But take, for example, swallows flying around a +chimney--they wheel, dart, and dip, but if you watch them closely, +they have a definite pattern in their movements--an ordered motion. +The definite pattern is intelligently controlled because they are +catching bugs or getting in line to go down the chimney. + +By the fall of 1952 we had a considerable number of well-documented +reports in which the UFO's made a series of maneuvers. If we could +prove that these maneuvers were not random, but ordered, it would be +proof that the UFO's were things that were intelligently controlled. + +During our discussion Major Fournet brought up two reports in which +the UFO seemed to know what it was doing and wasn't just aimlessly +darting around. One of these was the recent sighting from Haneda AFB, +Japan, and the other was the incident that happened on the night of +July 29, when an F-94 attempted to intercept a UFO over eastern +Michigan. In both cases radar had established the track of the UFO. + +In the Haneda Incident, according to the sketch of the UFO's track, +each turn the UFO made was constant and the straight "legs" between +the turns were about the same length. The sketch of the UFO's flight +path as it moved back and forth over Tokyo Bay reminded me very much +of the "crisscross" search patterns we used to fly during World War +II when we were searching for the crew of a ditched airplane. The +only time the UFO seriously deviated from this pattern was when the F- +94 got on its tail. + +The Michigan sighting was even better, however. In this case there +was a definite reason for every move that the UFO made. It made a 180- +degree turn because the F-94 was closing on it head on. It +alternately increased and decreased its speed, but every time it did +this it was because the F-94 was closing in and it evidently put on +speed to pull out ahead far enough to get out of range of the F-94's +radar. To say that this motion was random and that it was just a +coincidence that the UFO made the 180-degree turn when the F-94 +closed in head on and that it was just a coincidence that the UFO +speeded up every time the F-94 began to get within radar range is +pushing the chance of coincidence pretty hard. + +The idea of the motion analysis study sounded interesting to me, but +we were so busy on Project Blue Book we didn't have time to do it. So +Major Fournet offered to look into it further and I promised him all +the help we could give him. + +In the meantime my people in Project Blue Book were contacting +various scientists in the U.S., and indirectly in Europe, telling +them about our data, and collecting opinions. We did this in two +ways. In the United States we briefed various scientific meetings and +groups. To get the word to the other countries, we enlisted the +gratis aid of scientists who were planning to attend conferences or +meetings in Europe. We would brief these European-bound scientists on +all of the aspects of the UFO problem so they could informally +discuss the problem with their European colleagues. + +The one thing about these briefings that never failed to amaze me, +although it happened time and time again, was the interest in UFO's +within scientific circles. As soon as the word spread that Project +Blue Book was giving official briefings to groups with the proper +security clearances, we had no trouble in getting scientists to swap +free advice for a briefing. I might add that we briefed only groups +who were engaged in government work and who had the proper security +clearances solely because we could discuss any government project +that might be of help to us in pinning down the UFO. Our briefings +weren't just squeezed in either; in many instances we would arrive at +a place to find that a whole day had been set aside to talk about +UFO's. And never once did I meet anyone who laughed off the whole +subject of flying saucers even though publicly these same people had +jovially sloughed off the press with answers of "hallucinations," +"absurd," or "a waste of time and money." They weren't wild-eyed fans +but they were certainly interested. + +Colonel S. H. Kirkland and I once spent a whole day briefing and +talking to the Beacon Hill Group, the code name for a collection of +some of the world's leading scientists and industrialists. This +group, formed to consider and analyze the toughest of military +problems, took a very serious interest in our project and gave much +good advice. At Los Alamos and again at Sandia Base our briefings +were given in auditoriums to standing room only crowds. In addition I +gave my briefings at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics +laboratories, at Air Research and Development centers, at Office of +Naval Research facilities and at the Air Force University. Then we +briefed special groups of scientists. + +Normally scientists are a cautious lot and stick close to proven +facts, keeping their personal opinions confined to small groups of +friends, but when they know that there is a sign on a door that says +"Classified Briefing in Progress," inhibitions collapse like the +theories that explain all the UFO's away. People say just what they +think. + +I could jazz up this part of the UFO story as so many other +historians of the UFO have and say that Dr. So-and-So believes that +the reported flying saucers are from outer space or that Dr. Whositz +is firmly convinced that Mars is inhabited. I talked to plenty of Dr. +So-and-So's who believed that flying saucers were real and who were +absolutely convinced that other planets or bodies in the universe +were inhabited, but we were looking for proven facts and not just +personal opinions. + +However, some of the questions we asked the scientists had to be +answered by personal opinions because the exact answers didn't exist. +When such questions came up, about all we could do was to try to get +the largest and most representative cross section of personal +opinions upon which to base our decisions. In this category of +questions probably the most frequently discussed was the possibility +that other celestial bodies in the universe were populated with +intelligent beings. The exact answer to this is that no one knows. +But the consensus was that it wouldn't be at all surprising. + +All the briefings we were giving added to our work load because UFO +reports were still coming in in record amounts. The lack of newspaper +publicity after the Washington sightings had had some effect because +the number of reports dropped from nearly 500 in July to 175 in +August, but this was still far above the normal average of twenty to +thirty reports a month. + +September 1952 started out with a rush, and for a while it looked as +if UFO sightings were on the upswing again. For some reason, we never +could determine why, we suddenly began to get reports from all over +the southeastern United States. Every morning, for about a week or +two, we'd have a half dozen or so new reports. Georgia and Alabama +led the field. Many of the reports came from people in the vicinity +of the then new super-hush-hush Atomic Energy Commission facility at +Savannah River, Georgia. And many were coming from the port city of +Mobile, Alabama. Our first thought, when the reports began to pour +in, was that the newspapers in these areas were possibly stirring +things up with scare stories, but our newspaper clipping service +covered the majority of the southern papers, and although we kept +looking for publicity, none showed up. In fact, the papers only +barely mentioned one or two of the sightings. As they came in, each +of the sighting reports went through our identification process; they +were checked against all balloon flights, aircraft flights, celestial +bodies, and the MO file, but more than half of them came out as +unknowns. + +When the reports first began to come in, I had called the +intelligence officers at all of the major military installations in +the Southeast unsuccessfully trying to find out if they could shed +any light on the cause of the sightings. One man, the man who was +responsible for UFO reports made to Brookley AFB, just outside of +Mobile, Alabama, took a dim view of all of the proceedings. "They're +all nuts," he said. + +About a week later his story changed. It seems that one night, about +the fourth night in a row that UFO's had been reported near Mobile, +this man and several of his assistants decided to try to see these +famous UFO's; about 10:00P.M., the time that the UFO's were usually +reported, they were gathered around the telephone in the man's office +at Brookley AFB. Soon a report came in. The first question that the +investigator who answered the phone asked was, "Can you still see it?" + +The answer was "Yes," so the officer took off to see the UFO. + +The same thing happened twice more, and two more officers left for +different locations. The fourth time the phone rang the call was from +the base radar station. They were picking up a UFO on radar, so the +boss himself took off. He saw the UFO in air out over Mobile Bay and +he saw the return of the UFO on the radarscope. + +The next morning he called me at ATIC and for over an hour he told +me what had happened. Never have I talked to four more ardent flying +saucer believers. + +We did quite a bit of work on the combination radar-visual sighting +at Brookley. First of all, radar-visual sightings were the best type +of UFO sightings we received. There are no explanations for how radar +can pick up a UFO target that is being watched visually at the same +time. Maybe I should have said there are no proven explanations on +how this can happen, because, like everything else associated with +the UFO, there was a theory. During the Washington National Sightings +several people proposed the idea that the same temperature-inversion +layer that was causing the radar beam to bend down and pick up a +ground target was causing the target to appear to be in the air. They +went on to say that we couldn't get a radar-visual sighting unless +the ground target was a truck, car, house, or something else that was +lighted and could be seen at a great distance. The second reason the +Brookley AFB sighting was so interesting was that it knocked this +theory cold. + +The radar at Brookley AFB was so located that part of the area that +it scanned was over Mobile Bay. It was in this area that the UFO was +detected. We thought of the theory that the same inversion layer that +bent the radar beam also caused the target to appear to be in the +air, and we began to do a little checking. There was a slight +inversion but, according to our calculations, it wasn't enough to +affect the radar. More important was the fact that in the area where +the target appeared there were no targets to pick up--let alone +lighted targets. We checked and rechecked and found that at the time +of the sighting there were no ships, buoys, or anything else that +would give a radar return in the area of Mobile Bay in which we were +interested. + +Although this sighting wasn't as glamorous as some we had, it was +highly significant because it was possible to show that the UFO +couldn't have been a lighted surface target. + +While we were investigating the sighting we talked to several +electronics specialists about our radar-visual sightings. One of the +most frequent comments we heard was, "Why do all of these radar- +visual sightings occur at night?" + +The answer was simple: they don't. On August 1, just before dawn, an +ADC radar station outside of Yaak, Montana, on the extreme northern +border of the United States, picked up a UFO. The report was very +similar to the sighting at Brookley except it happened in the +daylight and, instead of seeing a light, the crew at the radar +station saw a "dark, cigar-shaped object" right where the radar had +the UFO pinpointed. + +What these people saw is a mystery to this day. + +Late in September I made a trip out to Headquarters, ADC to brief +General Chidlaw and his staff on the past few months' UFO activity. + +Our plans for periodic briefings, which we had originally set up +with ADC, had suffered a bit in the summer because we were all busy +elsewhere. They were still giving us the fullest co-operation, but we +hadn't been keeping them as thoroughly read in as we would have liked +to. I'd finished the briefing and was eating lunch at the officers' +club with Major Verne Sadowski, Project Blue Book's liaison officer +in ADC Intelligence, and several other officers. I had a hunch that +something was bothering these people. Then finally Major Sadowski +said, "Look, Rupe, are you giving us the straight story on these +UFO's?" + +I thought he meant that I was trying to spice things up a little, so +I said that since he had copies of most of our reports and had read +them, he should know that I was giving them the facts straight across +the board. + +Then one of the other officers at the table cut in, "That's just the +point, we do have the reports and we have read them. None of us can +understand why Intelligence is so hesitant to accept the fact that +something we just don't know about is flying around in our skies-- +unless you are trying to cover up something big." + +Everyone at the table put in his ideas. One radar man said that he'd +looked over several dozen radar reports and that his conclusion was +that the UFO's couldn't be anything but interplanetary spaceships. He +started to give his reasons when another radar man leaped into the +conversation. + +This man said that he'd read every radar report, too, and that there +wasn't one that couldn't be explained as a weather phenomenon--even +the radar-visual sightings. In fact, he wasn't even convinced that we +had ever gotten such a thing as radar-visual sighting. He wanted to +see proof that an object that was seen visually was the same object +that the radar had picked up. Did we have it? + +I got back into the discussion at this point with the answer. No, we +didn't have proof if you want to get technical about the degree of +proof needed. But we did have reports where the radar and visual +bearings of the UFO coincided almost exactly. Then we had a few +reports where airplanes had followed the UFO's and the maneuvers of +the UFO that the pilot reported were the same as the maneuvers of the +UFO that was being tracked by radar. + +A lieutenant colonel who had been sitting quietly by interjected a +well-chosen comment. "It seems the difficulty that Project Blue Book +faces is what to accept and what not to accept as proof." + +The colonel had hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head. + +Then he went on, "Everyone has a different idea of what proof really +is. Some people think we should accept a new model of an airplane +after only five or ten hours of flight testing. This is enough proof +for them that the airplane will fly. But others wouldn't be happy +unless it was flight-tested for five or ten years. These people have +set an unreasonably high value on the word 'proof.' The answer is +somewhere in between these two extremes." + +But where is this point when it comes to UFO's? + +There was about a thirty-second pause for thought after the +colonel's little speech. Then someone asked, "What about these recent +sightings at Mainbrace?" + +In late September 1952 the NATO naval forces had held maneuvers off +the coast of Europe; they were called Operation Mainbrace. Before +they had started someone in the Pentagon had half seriously mentioned +that Naval Intelligence should keep an eye open for UFO's, but no one +really expected the UFO's to show up. Nevertheless, once again the +UFO's were their old unpredictable selves--they were there. + +On September 20, a U.S. newspaper reporter aboard an aircraft +carrier in the North Sea was photographing a carrier take-off in +color when he happened to look back down the flight deck and saw a +group of pilots and flight deck crew watching something in the sky. +He went back to look and there was a silver sphere moving across the +sky just behind the fleet of ships. The object appeared to be large, +plenty large enough to show up in a photo, so the reporter shot +several pictures. They were developed right away and turned out to +be excellent. He had gotten the superstructure of the carrier in each +one and, judging by the size of the object in each successive photo, +one could see that it was moving rapidly. + +The intelligence officers aboard the carrier studied the photos. The +object looked like a balloon. From its size it was apparent that if +it were a balloon, it would have been launched from one of the ships, +so the word went out on the TBS radio: "Who launched a balloon?" + +The answer came back on the TBS: "Nobody." + +Naval Intelligence double-checked, triple-checked and quadruple- +checked every ship near the carrier but they could find no one who +had launched the UFO. + +We kept after the Navy. The pilots and the flight deck crew who saw +the UFO had mixed feelings--some were sure that the UFO was a balloon +while others were just as sure that it couldn't have been. It was +traveling too fast, and although it resembled a balloon in some ways +it was far from being identical to the hundreds of balloons that the +crew had seen the aerologists launch. + +We probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get a definite answer to +the Mainbrace photos if it hadn't been for the events that took place +during the rest of the operation, I explained to the group of ADC +officers. + +The day after the photos had been taken six RAF pilots flying a +formation of jet fighters over the North Sea saw something coming +from the direction of the Mainbrace fleet. It was a shiny, spherical +object, and they couldn't recognize it as anything "friendly" so they +took after it. But in a minute or two they lost it. When they neared +their base, one of the pilots looked back and saw that the UFO was +now following him. He turned but the UFO also turned, and again it +outdistanced the Meteor in a matter of minutes. + +Then on the third consecutive day a UFO showed up near the fleet, +this time over Topcliffe Aerodrome in England. A pilot in a Meteor +was scrambled and managed to get his jet fairly close to the UFO, +close enough to see that the object was "round, silvery, and white" +and seemed to "rotate around its vertical axis and sort of wobble." +But before he could close in to get a really good look it was gone. + +It was these sightings, I was told by an RAF exchange intelligence +officer in the Pentagon, that caused the RAF to officially recognize +the UFO. + +By the time I'd finished telling about the Mainbrace Sightings, it +was after the lunch hour in the club and we were getting some get-the- +hell-out-of-here looks from the waiters, who wanted to clean up the +dining room. But before I could suggest that we leave, Major Sadowski +repeated his original question--the one that started the whole +discussion--"Are you holding out on us?" + +I gave him an unqualified "No." We wanted more positive proof, and +until we had it, UFO's would remain unidentified flying objects and +no more. + +The horizontal shaking of heads illustrated some of the group's +thinking. + +We had plans for getting more positive proof, however, and I said +that just as soon as we returned to Major Sadowski's office I'd tell +them what we contemplated doing. + +We moved out onto the sidewalk in front of the club and, after +discussing a few more sightings, went back into the security area to +Sadowski's office and I laid out our plans. + +First of all, in November or December the U.S. was going to shoot +the first H-bomb during Project Ivy. Although this was Top Secret at +the time, it was about the most poorly kept secret in history-- +everybody seemed to know all about it. Some people in the Pentagon +had the idea that there were beings, earthly or otherwise, who might +be interested in our activities in the Pacific, as they seemed to be +in Operation Mainbrace. Consequently Project Blue Book had been +directed to get transportation to the test area to set up a reporting +net, brief people on how to report, and analyze their reports on the +spot. + +Secondly, Project Blue Book was working on plans for an extensive +system to track UFO's by instruments. Brigadier General Garland, who +had been General Samford's Deputy Director for Production and who had +been riding herd on the UFO project for General Samford, was now +chief at ATIC, having replaced Colonel Dunn, who went to the Air War +College. General Garland had long been in favor of trying to get some +concrete information, either positive or negative, about the UFO's. +This planned tracking system would replace the defraction grid +cameras that were still being developed at ATIC. + +Thirdly, as soon as we could we were planning to gather together a +group of scientists and let them spend a full week or two studying +the UFO problem. + +When I left ADC, Major Sadowski and crew were satisfied that we +weren't just sitting around twiddling our UFO reports. + +During the fall of 1952 reports continued to drop off steadily. By +December we were down to the normal average of thirty per month, with +about 20 per cent of these falling into the "Unknown" category. + +Our proposed trip to the Pacific to watch for UFO's during the H- +bomb test was canceled at the last minute because we couldn't get +space on an airplane. But the crews of Navy and Air Force security +forces who did go out to the tests were thoroughly briefed to look +for UFO's, and they were given the procedures on how to track and +report them. Back at Dayton we stood by to make quick analysis of any +reports that might come in--none came. Nothing that fell into the UFO +category was seen during the entire Project Ivy series of atomic shots. + +By December work on the planning phase of our instrumentation +program was completed. During the two months we had been working on +it we had considered everything from giving Ground Observer Corps +spotters simple wooden tracking devices to building special radars +and cameras. We had talked over our problems with the people at +Wright Field who knew about missile-tracking equipment, and we had +consulted the camera technicians at the Air Force Aerial +Reconnaissance Laboratory. Astronomers explained their equipment and +the techniques to use, and we went to Rome, New York, and Boston to +enlist the aid of the people who develop the Air Force's electronic +equipment. + +Our final plan called for visual spotting stations to be established +all over northern New Mexico. We'd picked this test location because +northern New Mexico still consistently produced more reports than any +other area in the U.S. These visual spotting stations would be +equipped with a sighting device similar to a gun sight on a bomber. +All the operator would have to do would be to follow the UFO with the +tracking device, and the exact time and the UFO's azimuth and +elevation angles would be automatically recorded. The visual spotting +stations would all be tied together with an interphone system, so +that as soon as the tracker at one station saw something he could +alert the other spotters in the area. If two stations tracked the +same object, we could immediately compute its speed and altitude. + +This visual spotting net would be tied into the existing radar +defense net in the Albuquerque-Los Alamos area. At each radar site we +proposed that a long focal-length camera be synchronized to the +turning radar antenna, so that any time the operator saw a target he +could press a button and photograph the portion of the sky exactly +where the radar said a UFO was located. These cameras would actually +be astronomical telescopes, so that even the smallest light or object +could be photographed. + +In addition to this photography system we proposed that a number of +sets of instruments be set out around the area. Each set would +contain instruments to measure nuclear radiation, any disturbances in +the earth's magnetic field, and the passage of a body that was giving +off heat. The instruments would continually be sending their +information to a central "UFO command post," which would also get +reports directly from the radars and the visual spotting stations. + +This instrumentation plan would cost about $250,000 because we +planned to use as much surplus equipment as possible and tie it into +existing communications systems, where they already existed. After +the setup was established, it would cost about $25,000 a year to +operate. At first glance this seemed like a lot of money, but when we +figured out how much the UFO project had cost the Air Force in the +past and how much it would probably cost in the future, the price +didn't seem too bad--especially if we could solve the UFO problem +once and for all. + +The powers-that-be at ATIC O.K.'d the plan in December and it went +to Washington, where it would have to be approved by General Samford +before it went to ADC and then back to the Pentagon for higher Air +Force official blessing. From all indications it looked as if we +would get the necessary blessings. + +But the majority of the effort at Project Blue Book during the fall +of 1952 had gone toward collecting together all of the bits and +pieces of data that we had accumulated over the past year and a half. +We had sorted out the best of the "Unknowns" and made studies of +certain aspects of the UFO problem, so that when we could assemble a +panel of scientists to review the data we could give them the over- +all picture, not just a basketful of parts. + +Everyone who knew about the proposed panel meeting was eager to get +started because everyone was interested in knowing what this panel +would have to say. Although the group of scientists wouldn't be +empowered to make the final decision, their recommendations were to +go to the President if they decided that the UFO's were real. And any +recommendations made by the group of names we planned to assemble +would carry a lot of weight. + +In the Pentagon and at ATIC book was being made on what their +recommendations would be. When I put my money down, the odds were 5 +to 3 in favor of the UFO. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN + +The Radiation Story + +The idea for gathering together a group of scientists, to whom we +referred as our "panel of experts," had been conceived early in 1952-- +as soon as serious talk about the possibility that the UFO's might be +interplanetary spaceships had taken hold in both military and +scientific circles. In fact, when Project Grudge was reorganized in +the summer of 1951 the idea had been mentioned, and this was the main +reason that our charter had said we were to be only a fact-finding +group. The people on previous UFO projects had gone off on tangents +of speculation about the identity of the UFO's; they first declared +that they were spacecraft, then later, in a complete about-face, they +took the whole UFO problem as one big belly laugh. Both approaches +had gotten the Air Force into trouble. Why they did this I don't +know, because from the start we realized that no one at ATIC, in the +Air Force, or in the whole military establishment was qualified to +give a final yes or no answer to the UFO problem. Giving a final +answer would require a serious decision--probably one of the most +serious since the beginning of man. + +During 1952 many highly qualified engineers and scientists had +visited Project Blue Book and had spent a day or two going over our +reports. Some were very much impressed with the reports--some had all +the answers. + +But all of the scientists who read our reports readily admitted that +even though they may have thought that the reports did or did not +indicate visitors from outer space, they would want to give the +subject a good deal more study before they ever committed themselves +in writing. Consequently the people's opinions, although they were +valuable, didn't give us enough to base a decision upon. We still +needed a group to study our material thoroughly and give us written +conclusions and recommendations which could be sent to the President +if necessary. + +Our panel of experts was to consist of six or eight of the top +scientists in the United States. We fully realized that even the Air +Force didn't have enough "pull" just to ask all of these people to +drop the important work they were engaged in and spend a week or two +studying our reports. Nor did we want to do it this way; we wanted to +be sure that we had something worth while before asking for their +valuable time. So, working through other government agencies, we +organized a preliminary review panel of four people. All of them were +competent scientists and we knew their reputations were such that if +they recommended that a certain top scientist sit on a panel to +review our material he would do it. + +In late November 1952 the preliminary review panel met at ATIC for +three days. + +When the meeting ended, the group unanimously recommended that a +"higher court" be formed to review the case of the UFO. In an hour +their recommendation was accepted by higher Air Force authorities, +and the men proceeded to recommend the members for our proposed +panel. They picked six men who had reputations as being both +practical and theoretical scientists and who were known to have no +biased opinions regarding the UFO's. + +The meeting of the panel, which would be held in Washington, was +tentatively scheduled for late December or early January--depending +upon when all of the scientists who had been asked to attend would be +free. At Project Blue Book activity went into high gear as we made +preparations for the meeting. But before we were very far along our +preparations were temporarily sidetracked--I got a lead on the facts +behind a rumor. Normally we didn't pay attention to rumors, but this +one was in a different class. + +Ever since the Air Force had become interested in UFO reports, the +comment of those who had been requested to look them over and give a +professional opinion was that we lacked the type of data "you could +get your teeth into." In even our best reports we had to rely upon +what someone had seen. I'd been told many times that if we had even +one piece of information that was substantiated by some kind of +recorded proof--a set of cinetheodolite movies of a UFO, a spectrum +photograph, or any other kind of instrumented data that one could sit +down and study--we would have no difficulty getting almost any +scientist in the world interested in actively helping us find the +answer to the UFO riddle. + +The rumor that caused me to temporarily halt our preparations for +the high-level conference involved data that we might be able to get +our teeth into. + +This is the way it went. + +In the fall of 1949, at some unspecified place in the United States, +a group of scientists had set up equipment to measure background +radiation, the small amount of harmless radiation that is always +present in our atmosphere. This natural radiation varies to a certain +degree, but will never increase by any appreciable amount unless +there is a good reason. + +According to the rumor, two of the scientists at the unnamed place +were watching the equipment one day when, for no apparent reason, a +sudden increase of radiation was indicated. The radiation remained +high for a few seconds, then dropped back to normal. The increase +over normal was not sufficient to be dangerous, but it definitely was +unusual. All indications pointed to equipment malfunction as the most +probable explanation. A quick check revealed no obvious trouble with +the gear, and the two scientists were about to start a more detailed +check when a third member of the radiation crew came rushing into the +lab. + +Before they could tell the newcomer about the unexplained radiation +they had just picked up, he blurted out a story of his own. He had +driven to a nearby town, and on his return trip, as he approached the +research lab, something in the sky suddenly caught his eye. High in +the cloudless blue he saw three silvery objects moving in a V +formation. They appeared to be spherical in shape, but he wasn't +sure. The first fact that had hit him was that the objects were +traveling too fast to be conventional aircraft. He jammed on the +brakes, stopped his car, and shut off the engine. No sound. All he +could hear was the quiet whir of a generator in the research lab. In +a few seconds the objects had disappeared from sight. + +After the first two scientists had briefed their excited colleague +on the unusual radiation they had detected, the three men asked each +other the $64 question: Was there any connection between the two +incidents? Had the UFO's caused the excessive radiation? + +They checked the time. Knowing almost exactly when the instruments +had registered the increased radiation, they checked on how long it +took to drive to the lab from the point where the three silver +objects had been seen. The times correlated within a minute or two. +The three men proceeded to check their radiation equipment +thoroughly. Nothing was wrong. + +The rumor stopped here. Nothing that I or anyone else on Project +Blue Book could find out shed any further light on the source of the +story. People associated with projects similar to the research lab +that was mentioned in the rumor were sought out and questioned. Many +of them had heard the story, but no one could add any new details. +The three unknown scientists, at the unnamed lab, in an unknown part +of the United States, might as well never have existed. Maybe they +hadn't. + +Almost a year after I had first heard the UFO-radiation story I got +a long-distance call from a friend on the west coast. I had seen him +several months before, at which time I told him about this curious +rumor and expressed my wish to find out how authentic it was. Now, on +the phone, he told me he had just been in contact with two people he +knew and they had the whole story. He said they would be in Los +Angeles the following night and would like very much to talk to me. + +I hated to fly clear to the west coast on what might be a wild-goose +chase, but I did. I couldn't afford to run the risk of losing an +opportunity to turn that old recurrent rumor into fact. + +Twenty hours later I met the two people at the Hollywood Roosevelt +Hotel. We talked for several hours that night, and I got the details +on the rumor and a lot more that I hadn't bargained for. Both of my +informants were physicists working for the Atomic Energy Commission, +and were recognized in their fields. They wanted no publicity and I +promised them that they would get none. One of the men knew all the +details behind the rumor, and did most of the talking. To keep my +promise of no publicity, I'll call him the "scientist." + +The rumor version of the UFO-radiation story that had been kicking +around in Air Force and scientific circles for so long had been +correct in detail but it was by no means complete. The scientist said +that after the initial sighting had taken place word was spread at +the research lab that the next time the instruments registered +abnormal amounts of radiation, some of the personnel were to go +outside immediately and look for some object in the sky. + +About three weeks after the first incident a repetition did occur. +While excessive radiation was registering on the instruments in the +lab, a lone dark object was seen streaking across the sky. Again the +instruments were checked but, as before, no malfunction was found. + +After this second sighting, according to the scientist, an +investigation was started at the laboratory. The people who made the +visual observations weren't sure that the object they had seen +couldn't have been an airplane. Someone thought that perhaps some +type of radar equipment in the airplane, if that's what the object +was, might have affected the radiation-detection equipment. So +arrangements were made to fly all types of aircraft over the area +with their radar in operation. Nothing unusual happened. All possible +types of airborne research equipment were traced during similar +flights in the hope that some special equipment not normally carried +in aircraft would be found to have caused the jump in radiation. But +nothing out of the ordinary occurred during these tests either. + +It was tentatively concluded, the scientist continued, that the +abnormally high radiation readings were "officially" due to some +freakish equipment malfunction and that the objects sighted visually +were birds or airplanes. A report to this effect was made to military +authorities, but since the conclusion stated that no flying saucers +were involved, the report went into some unknown file. Project Blue +Book never got it. + +Shortly after the second UFO-radiation episode the research group +finished its work. It was at this time that the scientist had first +become aware of the incidents he related to me. A friend of his, one +of the men involved in the sightings, had sent the details in a letter. + +As the story of the sightings spread it was widely discussed in +scientific circles, with the result that the conclusion, an equipment +malfunction, began to be more seriously questioned. Among the +scientists who felt that further investigation of such phenomena was +in order, were the man to whom I was talking and some of the people +who had made the original sightings. + +About a year later the scientist and these original investigators +were working together. They decided to make a few more tests, on +their own time, but with radiation-detection equipment so designed +that the possibility of malfunction would be almost nil. They formed +a group of people who were interested in the project, and on evenings +and weekends assembled and set up their equipment in an abandoned +building on a small mountain peak. To insure privacy and to avoid +arousing undue interest among people not in on the project, the +scientist and his colleagues told everyone that they had formed a +mineral club. The "mineral club" deception covered their weekend +expeditions because "rock hounds" are notorious for their addiction +to scrambling around on mountains in search for specimens. + +The equipment that the group had installed in the abandoned building +was designed to be self-operating. Geiger tubes were arranged in a +pattern so that some idea as to the direction of the radiation source +could be obtained. During the original sightings the equipment- +malfunction factor could not be definitely established or refuted +because certain critical data had not been measured. + +To get data on visual sightings, the "mineral club" had to rely on +the flying saucer grapevine, which exists at every major scientific +laboratory in the country. + +By late summer of 1950 they were in business. For the next three +months the scientist and his group kept their radiation equipment +operating twenty-four hours a day, but the tapes showed nothing +except the usual background activity. The saucer grapevine reported +sightings in the general area of the tests, but none close to the +instrumented mountaintop. + +The trip to the instrument shack, which had to be made every two +days to change tapes, began to get tiresome for the "rock hounds," +and there was some talk of discontinuing the watch. + +But persistence paid off. Early in December, about ten o'clock in +the morning, the grapevine reported sightings of a silvery, circular- +shaped object near the instrument shack. The UFO was seen by several +people. + +When the "rock hounds" checked the recording tapes in the shack they +found that several of the Geiger tubes had been triggered at +10:17A.M. The registered radiation increase was about 100 times +greater than the normal background activity. + +Three more times during the next two months the "mineral club's" +equipment recorded abnormal radiation on occasions when the grapevine +reported visual sightings of UFO's. One of the visual sightings was +substantiated by radar. + +After these incidents the "mineral club" kept its instruments in +operation until June 1951, but nothing more was recorded. And, +curiously enough, during this period while the radiation level +remained normal, the visual sightings in the area dropped off too. +The "mineral club" decided to concentrate on determining the +significance of the data they had obtained. + +Accordingly, the scientist and the group made a detailed study of +their mountaintop findings. They had friends working on many research +projects throughout the United States and managed to visit and confer +with them while on business trips. They investigated the possibility +of unusual sunspot activity, but sunspots had been normal during the +brief periods of high radiation. To clinch the elimination of +sunspots as a cause, their record tapes showed no burst of radiation +when sunspot activity had been abnormal. + +The "rock hounds" checked every possible research project that might +have produced some stray radiation for their instruments to pick up. +They found nothing. They checked and rechecked their instruments, but +could find no factor that might have induced false readings. They let +other scientists in on their findings, hoping that these outsiders +might be able to put their fingers on errors that had been overlooked. + +Now, more than a year after the occurrence of the mysterious +incidents that they had recorded, a year spent in analyzing their +data, the "rock hounds" had no answer. + +By the best scientific tests that they had been able to apply, the +visual sightings and the high radiation had taken place more or less +simultaneously. + +Intriguing ideas are hard to kill, and this one had more than one +life, possibly because of the element of mystery which surrounds the +subject of flying saucers. But the scientific mind thrives on taking +the mystery out of unexplained events, so it is not surprising that +the investigation went on. + +According to my friend the scientist, a few people outside the +laboratory where the "rock hounds" worked were told about the +activities of the "mineral club," and they started radiation- +detection groups of their own. + +For instance, two graduate astronomy students from a southwestern +university started a similar watch, on a modest scale, using a +modified standard Geiger counter as their detection unit. They did +not build a recorder into their equipment, however, and consequently +were forced to man their equipment continuously, which naturally cut +down the time they were in operation. On two occasions they +reportedly detected a burst of high radiation. + +Although the veracity of the two astronomers was not doubted, the +scientist felt that the accuracy of their readings was poor because +of the rather low quality of their equipment. + +The scientist then told me about a far more impressive effort to +verify or disprove the findings of the "mineral club." Word of the +"rock hounds" and their work had also spread to a large laboratory in +the East. An Air Force colonel, on duty at the lab, told the story to +some of his friends, and they decided to look personally into the +situation. + +Fortunately these people were in a wonderful spot to make such an +investigation. At their laboratory an extensive survey of the +surrounding area was being made. An elaborate system of radiation- +detection equipment had been set up for a radius of 100 miles around +the lab. In addition, the defenses of the area included a radar net. + +Thanks to the flashing of silver eagles, the colonel's group got +permission to check the records of the radiation-survey station and +to look over the logs of the radar stations. They found instances +where, during the same period of time that radiation in the area had +been much higher than normal, radar had had a UFO on the scope. These +events had occurred during the period from January 1951 until about +June 1951. + +Upon learning of the tentative but encouraging findings that the +colonel's group had dug out of their past records, people on both the +radiation-survey crews and at the radar sites became interested in co- +operating for further investigation. A tie-in with the local saucer +grapevine established a three-way check. + +One evening in July, just before sunset, two of the colonel's group +were driving home from the laboratory. As they sped along the highway +they noticed two cars stopped ahead of them. The occupants were +standing beside the road, looking at something in the sky. + +The two scientists stopped, got out of their car, and scanned the +sky too. Low on the eastern horizon they saw a bright circular object +moving slowly north. They watched it for a while, took a few notes, +then drove back to the lab. + +Some interesting news awaited them there. Radar had picked up an +unidentified target near the spot where the scientists in the car had +seen the UFO, and it had been traveling north. A fighter had been +scrambled, but when it got into the proper area, the radar target was +off the scope. The pilot glimpsed something that looked like the +reported UFO, but before he could check further he had to turn into +the sun to get on an interception course, and he lost the object. + +Several days passed before the radiation reports from all stations +could be collected. When the reports did come in they showed that +stations east of the laboratory, on an approximate line with the +radar track, had shown the highest increase in radiation. Stations +west of the lab showed nothing. + +The possible significance of this well-covered incident spurred the +colonel's group to extend and refine their activities. Their idea was +to build a radiation-detection instrument in an empty wing tank and +hang the tank on an F-47. Then when a UFO was reported they would fly +a search pattern in the area and try to establish whether or not a +certain sector of the sky was more radioactive than other sectors. +Also, they proposed to build a highly directional detector for the F- +47 and attempt actually to track a UFO. + +The design of such equipment was started, but many delays occurred. +Before the colonel's group could get any of the equipment built, some +of the members left the lab for other jobs, and the colonel, who +sparked the operation, was himself transferred elsewhere. The entire +effort collapsed. + +The scientist was not surprised that I hadn't heard the story of the +colonel's group. All the people involved, he said, had kept it quiet +in order to avoid ridicule. The scientist added that he would be glad +to give me all the data he had on the sightings of his "mineral +club," and he told me where to get the information about the two +astronomers and the colonel's group. + +Armed with the scientist's notes and recorder tapes, I left for my +office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton. + +With the blessings of my chief, I started to run down the rest of +the radiation information. The data we had, especially that from the +scientist's "mineral club," had been thoroughly analyzed, but we +thought that since we now had access to more general data something +new and more significant might be found. + +First I contacted the government agency for which all of the people +involved in these investigations had been working, the scientists who +recorded the original incident, the scientist and his "mineral club," +the colonel's group, and the rest. + +The people in the agency were very co-operative but stressed the +fact that the activities I was investigating were strictly the +extracurricular affairs of the scientists involved, had no official +sanction, and should not be tied in with the agency in any way, +shape, or form. This closed-door reaction was typical of how the +words "flying saucer" seem to scare some people. + +They did help me locate the report on the original incident, +however, and since it seemed to be the only existing copy, I arranged +to borrow it. About this same time we located the two graduate +astronomy students in New Mexico. Both now had their Ph.D.'s and held +responsible jobs on highly classified projects. They repeated their +story, which I had first heard from the scientist, but had kept no +record of their activities. + +On one occasion, just before dawn on a Sunday morning, they were on +the roof, making some meteorological observations. One of them was +listening to the Geiger counter when he detected a definite increase +in the clicking. + +Just as the frequency of the clicks reached its highest peak--almost +a steady buzz--a large fireball, described by them as "spectacular," +flashed across the sky. Both of the observers had seen several of the +green fireballs and said that this object was similar in all respects +except that the color was a brilliant blue-white. + +With the disappearance of the fireball, the counter once more +settled down to a steady click per second. They added that once +before they had detected a similar increase in the frequency of the +clicks but had seen nothing in the sky. + +In telling their story, both astronomers stressed the point that +their data were open to a great deal of criticism, mainly because of +the limited instrumentation they had used. We agreed. Still their +work tended to support the findings of the more elaborate and +systematic radiation investigations. + +The gods who watch over the UFO project were smiling about this +time, because one morning I got a call from a colonel on Wright- +Patterson Air Force Base. He was going to be in our area that morning +and planned to stop in to see me. + +He arrived in a few minutes and turned out to be none other than the +colonel who had headed the group which had investigated UFO's and +radiation at the eastern laboratory. He repeated his story. It was +the same as I had heard from the scientist, with a few insignificant +changes. The colonel had no records of his group's operations, but +knew who had them. He promised to get a wire off to the person +immediately, which he did. + +The answer was a bit disappointing. During the intervening months +the data had been scattered out among the members of the colonel's +group, and when the group broke up, so did its collection of records. + +So all we had to fall back on was the colonel's word, but since he +now was heading a top-priority project at Wright, it would be +difficult not to believe him. + +After obtaining the colonel's story, we collected all available data +concerning known incidents in which there seemed to be a correlation +between the visual sighting of UFO's and the presence of excess +atomic radiation in the area of the sightings. + +There was one last thing to do. I wanted to take the dates and times +of all the reported radiation increases and check them against all +sources of UFO reports. This project would take a lot of leg work and +digging, but I felt that it would offer the most positive and +complete evidence we could assemble as to whether or not a +correlation existed. + +Accordingly, we dug into our files, ADC radar logs, press wire +service files, newspaper morgues in the sighting area, and the files +of individuals who collect data on saucers. Whenever we found a +visual report that correlated with a radiation peak we checked it +against weather conditions, balloon tracks, astronomical reports, etc. + +As soon as the data had all been assembled, I arranged for a group +of Air Force consultants to look it over. I got the same old answer-- +the data still aren't good enough. The men were very much interested +in the reports, but when it came time to putting their comments on +paper they said, "Not enough conclusive evidence." If in some way the +UFO's could have been photographed at the same time that the +radiation detectors were going wild, it would have been a different +story, they later told me, but with the data I had for them this was +the only answer they could give. No one could explain the sudden +bursts of radiation, but there was no proof that they were associated +with UFO's. + +The board's ruling wrote finish to this investigation. I informed +the colonel, and he didn't like the decision. Later I passed through +the city where the scientist was working. I stopped over a few hours +to brief him on the board's decision. He shook his head in disbelief. + +It is interesting to note that both the colonel and the scientist +reacted in the same way. We're not fools--we were there--we saw it-- +they didn't. What do they want for proof? + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN + +The Hierarchy Ponders + +By early January 1953 the scientists who were to be members of our +panel of experts had been contacted and had agreed to sit in judgment +of the UFO. In turn, we agreed to give them every detail about the UFO. + +We had our best reports for them to read, and we were going to show +them the two movies that some intelligence officers considered as the +"positive proof"--the Tremonton Movie and the Montana Movie. + +When this high court convened on the morning of January 12, the +first thing it received was its orders; one of three verdicts would +be acceptable: + +All UFO reports are explainable as known objects or natural +phenomena; therefore the investigation should be permanently +discontinued. + +The UFO reports do not contain enough data upon which to base a +final conclusion. Project Blue Book should be continued in hopes of +obtaining better data. + +The UFO's are interplanetary spacecraft. + +The written verdict, the group was told, would be given to the +National Security Council, a council made up of the directors of all +U.S. intelligence agencies, and thence it would go to the President +of the United States--if they should decide that the UFO's were +interplanetary spacecraft. + +Because of military regulations, the names of the panel members, +like the names of so many other people associated with the UFO story, +cannot be revealed. Two of the men had made names for themselves as +practical physicists--they could transform the highest theory for +practical uses. One of these men had developed the radar that pulled +us out of a big hole at the beginning of World War II, and the other +had been one of the fathers of the H-bomb. Another of the panel +members is now the chief civilian adviser to one of our top military +commanders, and another was an astronomer whose unpublished fight to +get the UFO recognized is respected throughout scientific circles. +There was a man who is noted for his highly theoretical physics and +mathematics, and another who had pioneered operations research during +World War II. The sixth member of the panel had been honored by the +American Rocket Society and the International Astronautical +Federation for his work in moving space travel from the Buck Rogers +realm to the point of near reality and who is now a rocket expert. + +It was an impressive collection of top scientific talent. + +During the first two days of the meeting I reviewed our findings for +the scientists. Since June 1947, when the first UFO report had been +made, ATIC had analyzed 1,593 UFO reports. About 4,400 had actually +been received, but all except 1,593 had been immediately rejected for +analysis. From our studies, we estimated that ATIC received reports +of only 10 per cent of the UFO sightings that were made in the United +States, therefore in five and a half years something like 44,000 UFO +sightings had been made. + +Of the 1,593 reports that had been analyzed by Project Blue Book, +and we had studied and evaluated every report in the Air Force files, +we had been able to explain a great many. The actual breakdown was +like this: + +_Balloons_.....................18.51% + +Known 1.57 +Probable 4.99 +Possible 11.95 + 18.51 + +_Aircraft_.....................11.76% + +Known 0.98 +Probable 7.74 +Possible 3.04 + 11.76 + +_Astronomical_ _Bodies_........14.20% + +Known 2.79 +Probable 4.01 +Possible 7.40 + 14.20 + +_Other_ ........................4.21% + +Searchlights on clouds, birds, blowing paper, inversions, +reflections, etc. + +_Hoaxes_........................1.66% + +_Insufficient_ _data_..........22.72% + +(In addition to those initially eliminated) + +_Unknowns_.....................26.94% + +By using the terms "Known," "Probable," and "Possible," we were able +to differentiate how positive we were of our conclusions. But even in +the "Possible" cases we were, in our own minds, sure that we had +identified the reported UFO. + +And who made these reports? Pilots and air crews made 17.1 per cent +from the air. Scientists and engineers made 5.7 per cent, airport +control tower operators made an even 1.0 per cent of the reports, and +12.5 per cent of the total were radar reports. The remaining 63.7 per +cent were made by military and civilian observers in general. + +The reports that we were interested in were the 26.94 per cent or +429 "Unknowns," so we had studied them in great detail. We studied +the reported colors of the UFO's, the shapes, the directions they +were traveling, the times of day they were observed, and many more +details, but we could find no significant pattern or trends. We did +find that the most often reported shape was elliptical and that the +most often reported color was white or "metallic." About the same +number of UFO's were reported as being seen in daytime as at night, +and the direction of travel equally covered the sixteen cardinal +headings of the compass. + +Seventy per cent of the "Unknowns" had been seen visually from the +air; 12 per cent had been seen visually from the ground; 10 per cent +had been picked up by ground or airborne radar; and 8 per cent were +combination visual-radar sightings. + +In the over-all total of 1,593 sightings women made two reports for +every one made by a man, but in the "Unknowns" the men beat out women +ten to one. + +There were two other factors we could never resolve, the frequency +of the sightings and their geographical distribution. Since the first +flurry of reports in July of 1947, each July brought a definite peak +in reports; then a definite secondary peak occurred just before each +Christmas. We plotted these peaks in sightings against high tides, +world-wide atomic tests, the positions of the moon and planets, the +general cloudiness over the United States, and a dozen and one other +things, but we could never say what caused more people to see UFO's +at certain times of the year. + +Then the UFO's were habitually reported from areas around +"technically interesting" places like our atomic energy +installations, harbors, and critical manufacturing areas. Our studies +showed that such vital military areas as Strategic Air Command and +Air Defense Command bases, some A-bomb storage areas, and large +military depots actually produced fewer reports than could be +expected from a given area in the United States. Large population +centers devoid of any major "technically interesting" facilities also +produced few reports. + +According to the laws of normal distribution, if UFO's are not +intelligently controlled vehicles, the distribution of reports should +have been similar to the distribution of population in the United +States--it wasn't. + +Our study of the geographical locations of sightings also covered +other countries. The U.S. by no means had a curb on the UFO market. + +In all of our "Unknown" reports we never found one measurement of +size, speed, or altitude that could be considered to be even fairly +accurate. We could say only that some of the UFO's had been traveling +pretty fast. + +As far as radar was concerned, we had reports of fantastic speeds-- +up to 50,000 miles an hour--but in all of these instances there was +some doubt as to exactly what caused the target. The highest speeds +reported for our combination radar-visual sightings, which we +considered to be the best type of sighting in our files, were 700 to +800 miles an hour. + +We had never picked up any "hardware"--any whole saucers, pieces, or +parts--that couldn't be readily identified as being something very +earthly. We had a contract with a materials-testing laboratory, and +they would analyze any piece of material that we found or was sent to +us. The tar-covered marble, aluminum broom handle, cow manure, slag, +pieces of plastic balloon, and the what-have-you that we did receive +and analyze only served to give the people in our material lab some +practice and added nothing but laughs to the UFO project. + +The same went for the reports of "contacts" with spacemen. Since +1952 a dozen or so people have claimed that they have talked to or +ridden with the crews of flying saucers. They offer affidavits, +pieces of material, photographs, and other bits and pieces of junk as +proof. We investigated some of these reports and could find +absolutely no fact behind the stories. + +We had a hundred or so photos of flying saucers, both stills and +movies. Many were fakes--some so expert that it took careful study by +photo interpreters to show how the photos had been faked. Some were +the crudest of fakes, automobile hub caps thrown into the air, +homemade saucers suspended by threads, and just plain retouched +negatives. The rest of the still photos had been sent in by well- +meaning citizens who couldn't recognize a light flare of flaw in the +negative, or who had chanced to get an excellent photo of a sundog or +mirage. + +But the movies that were sent in to us were different. In the first +place, it takes an expert with elaborate equipment to fake a movie. +We had or knew about four strips of movie film that fell into the +"Unknown" category. Two were the cinetheodolite movies that had been +taken at White Sands Proving Ground in April and May of 1950, one was +the Montana Movie and the last was the Tremonton Movie. These latter +two had been subjected to thousands of hours of analysis, and since +we planned to give the panel of scientists more thorough reports on +them on Friday, I skipped over their details and went to the next +point I wanted to cover--theories. + +Periodically throughout the history of the UFO people have come up +with widely publicized theories to explain all UFO reports. The one +that received the most publicity was the one offered by Dr. Donald +Menzel of Harvard University. Dr. Menzel, writing in _Time_, _Look_, +and later in his _Flying_ _Saucers_, claimed that all UFO reports +could be explained as various types of light phenomena. We studied +this theory thoroughly because it did seem to have merit. Project +Bear's physicists studied it. ATIC's scientific consultants studied +it and discussed it with several leading European physicists whose +specialty was atmospheric physics. In general the comments that +Project Blue Book received were, "He's given the subject some thought +but his explanations are not the panacea." + +And there were other widely publicized theories. One man said that +they were all skyhook balloons, but we knew the flight path of every +skyhook balloon and they were seldom reported as UFO's. Their little +brothers, the weather balloons, caused us a great deal more trouble. + +The Army Engineers took a crack at solving the UFO problem by making +an announcement that a scientist in one of their laboratories had +duplicated a flying saucer in his laboratory. Major Dewey Fournet +checked into this one. It had all started out as a joke, but it was +picked up as fact and the scientist was stuck with it. He gained some +publicity but lost prestige because other scientists wondered just +how competent the man really was to try to pass off such an answer. + +All in all, the unsolicited assistance of theorists didn't help us a +bit, I told the panel members. Some of them were evidently familiar +with the theories because they nodded their heads in agreement. + +The next topic I covered in my briefing was a question that came up +quite frequently in discussions of the UFO: Did UFO reports actually +start in 1947? We had spent a great deal of time trying to resolve +this question. Old newspaper files, journals, and books that we found +in the Library of Congress contained many reports of odd things being +seen in the sky as far back as the Biblical times. The old Negro +spiritual says, "Ezekiel saw a wheel 'way up in the middle of the +air." We couldn't substantiate Ezekiel's sighting because many of the +very old reports of odd things observed in the sky could be explained +as natural phenomena that weren't fully understood in those days. + +The first documented reports of sightings similar to the UFO +sightings as we know them today appeared in the newspapers of 1896. +In fact, the series of sightings that occurred in that year and the +next had many points of similarity with the reports of today. + +The sightings started in the San Francisco Bay area on the evening +of November 22, 1896, when hundreds of people going home from work +saw a large, dark, "cigar-shaped object with stubby wings" traveling +northwest across Oakland. + +Within hours after the mystery craft had disappeared over what is +now the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, the stories of people +in other northern California towns began to come in on the telegraph +wires. The citizens of Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Chico, and Red Bluff-- +several thousand of them--saw it. + +I tried to find out if the people in these outlying communities saw +the UFO before they heard the news from the San Francisco area or +afterward, but trying to run down the details of a fifty-six-year-old +UFO report is almost hopeless. Once while I was on a trip to Hamilton +AFB I called the offices of the San Francisco _Chronicle_ and they +put me in touch with a retired employee who had worked on a San +Francisco paper in 1896. I called the old gentleman on the phone and +talked to him for a long time. He had been a copy boy at the time and +remembered the incident, but time had canceled out the details. He +did tell me that he, the editor of the paper, and the news staff had +seen "the ship," as he referred to the UFO. His story, even though it +was fifty-six years old, smacked of others I'd heard when he said +that no one at the newspaper ever told anyone what they had seen; +they didn't want people to think that they were "crazy." + +On November 30 the mystery ship was back over the San Francisco area +and those people who had maintained that people were being fooled by +a wag in a balloon became believers when the object was seen moving +into the wind. + +For four months reports came in from villages, cities, and farms in +the West; then the Midwest, as the airship "moved eastward." In early +April of 1897 people in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Wisconsin, +Minnesota, and Illinois reported seeing it. On April 10 it was +reported to be over Chicago. Reports continued to come in to the +newspapers until about April 20; then it, or stories about it, were +gone. Literally thousands of people had seen it before the last +report clicked in over the telegraph wires. + +A study of the hundreds of newspaper accounts of this sighting that +rocked the world in the late 1890's was interesting because the same +controversies that arose then exist now. Those who hadn't seen the +stubby-winged, cigar-shaped "craft" said, "Phooey," or the nineteenth- +century version thereof. Those who had seen it were almost ready to +do battle to uphold their integrity. Some astronomers loudly yelled, +"Venus," "Jupiter," and "Alpha Orionis" while others said, "We saw +it." Thomas Edison, _the_ man of science of the day, disclaimed any +knowledge of the mystery craft. "I prefer to devote my time to +objects of commercial value," he told a New York _Herald_ reporter. +"At best airships would only be toys." + +Thomas--you goofed on that prediction. + +I had one more important point to cover before I finished my +briefing and opened the meeting to a general question-and-answer +session. + +During the past year and a half we had had several astronomers visit +Project Blue Book, and they were not at all hesitant to give us their +opinions but they didn't care to say much about what their colleagues +were thinking, although they did indicate that they were thinking. We +decided that the opinions and comments of astronomers would be of +value, so late in 1952 we took a poll. We asked an astronomer, whom +we knew to be unbiased about the UFO problem and who knew every +outstanding astronomer in the United States, to take a trip and talk +to his friends. We asked him not to make a point of asking about the +UFO but just to work the subject into a friendly conversation. This +way we hoped to get a completely frank opinion. To protect his fellow +astronomers, our astronomer gave them all code names and he kept the +key to the code. + +The report we received expressed the detailed opinions of forty-five +recognized authorities. Their opinions varied from that of Dr. C, who +regarded the UFO project as a "silly waste of money to investigate an +even sillier subject," to Dr. L, who has spent a great deal of his +own valuable time personally investigating UFO reports because he +believes that they are something "real." Of the forty-five +astronomers who were interviewed, 36 per cent were not at all +interested in the UFO reports, 41 per cent were interested to the +point of offering their services if they were ever needed, and 23 per +cent thought that the UFO's were a much more serious problem than +most people recognized. + +None of the astronomers, even during a friendly discussion, admitted +that he thought the UFO's could be interplanetary vehicles. All of +those who were interested would only go so far as to say, "We don't +know what they are, but they're something real." + +During the past few years I have heard it said that if the UFO's +were really "solid objects" our astronomers would have seen them. Our +study shed some light on this point--astronomers have seen UFO's. +None of them has ever seen or photographed anything resembling a UFO +through his telescope, but 11 per cent of the forty-five men had seen +something that they couldn't explain. Although, technically speaking, +these sightings were no better than hundreds of others in our files +as far as details were concerned, they were good because of the +caliber of the observer. Astronomers know what is in the sky. + +It is interesting to note that out of the representative cross +section of astronomers, five of them, or 11 per cent, had sighted +UFO's. For a given group of people this is well above average. To +check this point, the astronomer who was making our study picked +ninety people at random--people he met while traveling--and got them +into a conversation about flying saucers. These people were his +"control group," to borrow a term from the psychologists. Although +the percentage of people who were interested in UFO's was higher for +the control group than for the group of astronomers, only 41 per cent +of the astronomers were interested while 86 per cent of the control +group were interested; 11 per cent of the astronomers had seen UFO's, +while only about 1 per cent of the control group had seen one. This +seemed to indicate that as a group astronomers see many more UFO's +than the average citizen. + +When I finished my briefing, it was too late to start the question- +and-answer session, so the first day's meeting adjourned. But +promptly at nine o'clock the next morning the group was again +gathered, and from the looks of the list of questions some of them +had, they must have been thinking about UFO's all night. + +One of the first questions was about the results of photography +taken by the pairs of huge "meteorite patrol" cameras that are +located in several places throughout North America. Did they ever +photograph a UFO? The cameras, which are in operation almost every +clear night, can photograph very dim lights, and once a light is +photographed its speed and altitude can be very accurately +established. If there were any objects giving off light as they flew +through our atmosphere, there is a chance that these cameras might +have photographed them. But they hadn't. + +At first this seemed to be an important piece of evidence and we had +just about racked this fact up as a definite score against the UFO +when we did a little checking. If the UFO had been flying at an +altitude of 100 miles, the chances of its being picked up by the +cameras would be good, but the chances of photographing something +flying any lower would be less. + +This may account for the fact that while our "inquiring astronomer" +was at the meteorite patrol camera sites, he talked to an astronomer +who had seen a UFO while operating one of the patrol cameras. + +Many people have asked why our astronomers haven't seen anything +through their big telescopes. They are focused light-years away and +their field of vision is so narrow that even if UFO's did exist and +littered the atmosphere they wouldn't be seen. + +Another question the panel had was about Orson Welles' famous _War_ +_of_ _the_ _Worlds_ broadcast of October 1938, which caused thousands +of people to panic. Had we studied this to see if there were any +similarities between it and the current UFO reporting? + +We had. + +Our psychologist looked into the matter and gave us an opinion--to +make a complete study and get a positive answer would require an +effort that would dwarf the entire UFO project. But he did have a few +comments. There were many documented cases in which a series of +innocent circumstances triggered by the broadcast had caused people +to completely lose all sense of good judgment--to panic. There were +some similar reports in our UFO files. + +But we had many reports in which people reported UFO's and obviously +hadn't panicked. Reports from pilots who had seen mysterious lights +at night and, thinking that they might be a cockpit reflection, had +turned off all their cockpit lights. Or the pilots who turned and +rolled their airplanes to see if they could change the angle of +reflection and get rid of the UFO. Or those pilots who climbed and +dove thousands of feet and then leveled out to see if the UFO would +change its relative position to the airplane. Or the amateur +astronomer who made an excellent sighting and before he reluctantly +reported it as a UFO had talked to a half dozen professional +astronomers and physicists in hopes of finding an explanation. All of +these people were thinking clearly, questioning themselves as to what +the sightings could be; then trying to answer their questions. These +people weren't panicked. + +The question-and-answer period went on for a full day as the +scientists dug into the details of the general facts I had given them +in my briefing. + +The following day and a half was devoted to reviewing and discussing +fifty of our best sighting reports that we had classed as "Unknowns." + +The next item on the agenda, when the panel had finished absorbing +all of the details of the fifty selected top reports, was a review of +a very hot and very highly controversial study. It was based on the +idea that Major Dewey Fournet and I had talked about several months +before--an analysis of the motions of the reported UFO's in an +attempt to determine whether they were intelligently controlled. The +study was hot because it wasn't official and the reason it wasn't +official was because it was so hot. It concluded that the UFO's were +interplanetary spaceships. The report had circulated around high +command levels of intelligence and it had been read with a good deal +of interest. But even though some officers at command levels just a +notch below General Samford bought it, the space behind the words +"Approved by" was blank--no one would stick his neck out and +officially send it to the top. + +Dewey Fournet, who had completed his tour of active duty in the Air +Force and was now a civilian, was called from Houston, Texas, to tell +the scientists about the study since he had worked very closely with +the group that had prepared it. + +The study covered several hundred of our most detailed UFO reports. +By a very critical process of elimination, based on the motion of the +reported UFO's, Fournet told the panel how he and any previous +analysis by Project Blue Book had been disregarded and how those +reports that could have been caused by any one of the many dozen +known objects--balloons, airplanes, astronomical bodies, etc., were +sifted out. This sifting took quite a toll, and the study ended up +with only ten or twenty reports that fell into the "Unknown" +category. Since such critical methods of evaluation had been used, +these few reports proved beyond a doubt that the UFO's were +intelligently controlled by persons with brains equal to or far +surpassing ours. + +The next step in the study, Fournet explained, was to find out where +they came from. "Earthlings" were eliminated, leaving the final +answer--spacemen. + +Both Dewey and I had been somewhat worried about how the panel would +react to a study with such definite conclusions. But when he finished +his presentation, it was obvious from the tone of the questioning +that the men were giving the conclusions serious thought. Fournet's +excellent reputation was well known. + +On Friday morning we presented the feature attractions of the +session, the Tremonton Movie and the Montana Movie. These two bits of +evidence represented the best photos of UFO's that Project Blue Book +had to offer. The scientists knew about them, especially the +Tremonton Movie, because since late July they had been the subject of +many closed-door conferences. Generals, admirals, and GS-16's had +seen them at "command performances," and they had been flown to Kelly +AFB in Texas to be shown to a conference of intelligence officers +from all over the world. Two of the country's best military photo +laboratories, the Air Force lab at Wright Field and the Navy's lab at +Anacostia, Maryland, had spent many hours trying to prove that the +UFO's were balloons, airplanes, or stray light reflections, but they +failed--the UFO's were true unknowns. The possibility that the movie +had been faked was considered but quickly rejected because only a +Hollywood studio with elaborate equipment could do such a job and the +people who filmed the movies didn't have this kind of equipment. + +The Montana Movie had been taken on August 15, 1950, by Nick +Mariana, the manager of the Great Falls baseball team. It showed two +large bright lights flying across the blue sky in an echelon +formation. There were no clouds in the movie to give an indication of +the UFO's speed, but at one time they passed behind a water tower. +The lights didn't show any detail; they appeared to be large circular +objects. + +Mariana had sent his movies to the Air Force back in 1950, but in +1950 there was no interest in the UFO so, after a quick viewing, +Project Grudge had written them off as "the reflections from two F-94 +jet fighters that were in the area." + +In 1952, at the request of the Pentagon, I reopened the +investigation of the Montana Movie. Working through an intelligence +officer at the Great Falls AFB, I had Mariana reinterrogated and +obtained a copy of his movie, which I sent to the photo lab. + +When the photo lab got the movie, they had a little something to +work with because the two UFO's had passed behind a reference point, +the water tower. Their calculations quickly confirmed that the +objects were not birds, balloons, or meteors. Balloons drift with the +wind and the wind was not blowing in the direction that the two UFO's +were traveling. No exact speeds could be measured, but the lab could +determine that the lights were traveling too fast to be birds and too +slow to be meteors. + +This left airplanes as the only answer. The intelligence officer at +Great Falls had dug through huge stacks of files and found that only +two airplanes, two F-94's, were near the city during the sighting and +that they had landed about two minutes afterwards. Both Mariana and +his secretary, who had also seen the UFO's, had said that the two +jets had appeared in another part of the sky only a minute or two +after the two UFO's had disappeared in the southeast. This in itself +would eliminate the jets as candidates for the UFO's, but we wanted +to double-check. The two circular lights didn't look like F-94's, but +anyone who has done any flying can tell you that an airplane so far +away that it can't be seen can suddenly catch the sun's rays and make +a brilliant flash. + +First we studied the flight paths of the two F-94's. We knew the +landing pattern that was being used on the day of the sighting, and +we knew when the two F-94's landed. The two jets just weren't +anywhere close to where the two UFO's had been. Next we studied each +individual light and both appeared to be too steady to be reflections. + +We drew a blank on the Montana Movie--it was an unknown. + +We also drew a blank on the Tremonton Movie, a movie that had been +taken by a Navy Chief Photographer, Warrant Officer Delbert C. +Newhouse, on July 2, 1952. + +Our report on the incident showed that Newhouse, his wife, and their +two children were driving to Oakland, California, from the east coast +on this eventful day. They had just passed through Tremonton, Utah, a +town north of Salt Lake City, and had traveled about 7 miles on U.S. +Highway 30S when Mrs. Newhouse noticed a group of objects in the sky. +She pointed them out to her husband; he looked, pulled over to the +side of the road, stopped the car, and jumped out to get a better +look. He didn't have to look very long to realize that something +highly unusual was taking place because in his twenty-one years in +the Navy and 2,000 hours' flying time as an aerial photographer, he'd +never seen anything like this. About a dozen shiny disklike objects +were "milling around the sky in a rough formation." + +Newhouse had his movie camera so he turned the turret around to a 3- +inch telephoto lens and started to photograph the UFO's. He held the +camera still and took several feet of film, getting all of the bright +objects in one photo. All of the UFO's had stayed in a compact group +from the time the Newhouse family had first seen them, but just +before they disappeared over the western horizon one of them left the +main group and headed east. Newhouse swung his camera around and took +several shots of it, holding his camera steady and letting the UFO +pass through the field of view before it disappeared in the east. + +When I received the Tremonton films I took them right over to the +Wright Field photo lab, along with the Montana Movie, and the photo +technicians and I ran them twenty or thirty times. The two movies +were similar in that in both of them the objects appeared to be large +circular lights--in neither one could you see any detail. But, unlike +the Montana Movie, the lights in the Tremonton Movie would fade out, +then come back in again. This fading immediately suggested airplanes +reflecting light, but the roar of a king-sized dogfight could have +been heard for miles and the Newhouse family had heard no sound. We +called in several fighter pilots and they watched the UFO's circling +and darting in and out in the cloudless blue sky. Their unqualified +comment was that no airplane could do what the UFO's were doing. + +Balloons came under suspicion, but the lab eliminated them just as +quickly by studying the kind of a reflection given off by a balloon-- +it is a steady reflection since a balloon is spherical. Then, to +further scuttle the balloon theory, clusters of balloons are tied +together and don't mill around. Of course, the lone UFO that took off +to the east by itself was the biggest argument against balloons. + +Newhouse told an intelligence officer from the Western Air Defense +Forces that he had held his camera still and let this single UFO fly +through the field of view, so the people in the lab measured its +angular velocity. Unfortunately there were no clouds in the sky, nor +was he able to include any of the ground in the pictures, so our +estimates of angular velocity had to be made assuming that the +photographer held his camera still. Had the lone UFO been 10 miles +away it would have been traveling several thousand miles an hour. + +After studying the movies for several weeks, the Air Force photo lab +at Wright Field gave up. All they had to say was, "We don't know what +they are but they aren't airplanes or balloons, and we don't think +they are birds." + +While the lab had been working on the movies at Wright Field, Major +Fournet had been talking to the Navy photo people at Anacostia; they +thought they had some good ideas on how to analyze the movies, so as +soon as we were through with them I sent them to Major Fournet and he +took them over to the Navy lab. + +The Navy lab spent about two months studying the films and had just +completed their analysis. The men who had done the work were on hand +to brief the panel of scientists on their analysis after the panel +had seen the movies. + +We darkened the room and I would imagine that we ran each film ten +times before every panel member was satisfied that he had seen and +could remember all of the details. We ran both films together so that +the men could compare them. + +The Navy analysts didn't use the words "interplanetary spacecraft" +when they told of their conclusions, but they did say that the UFO's +were intelligently controlled vehicles and that they weren't +airplanes or birds. They had arrived at this conclusion by making a +frame-by-frame study of the motion of the lights and the changes in +the lights' intensity. + +When the Navy people had finished with their presentation, the +scientists had questions. None of the panel members were trying to +find fault with the work the Navy people had done, but they weren't +going to accept the study until they had meticulously searched for +every loophole. Then they found one. + +In measuring the brilliance of the lights, the photo analysts had +used an instrument called a densitometer. The astronomer on the panel +knew all about measuring the density of an extremely small +photographic image with a densitometer because he did it all the time +in his studies of the stars. And the astronomer didn't think that the +Navy analysts had used the correct technique in making their +measurements. This didn't necessarily mean that their data were all +wrong, but it did mean that they should recheck their work. + +When the discussion of the Navy's report ended, one of the +scientists asked to see the Tremonton Movie again; so I had the +projectionists run it several more times. The man said that he +thought the UFO's could be sea gulls soaring on a thermal current. He +lived in Berkeley and said that he'd seen gulls high in the air over +San Francisco Bay. We had thought of this possibility several months +before because the area around the Great Salt Lake is inhabited by +large white gulls. But the speed of the lone UFO as it left the main +group had eliminated the gulls. I pointed this out to the physicist. +His answer was that the Navy warrant officer might have thought he +had held the camera steady, but he could have "panned with the +action" unconsciously. This would throw all of our computations 'way +off. I agreed with this, but I couldn't agree that they were sea gulls. + +But several months later I was in San Francisco waiting for an +airliner to Los Angeles and I watched gulls soaring in a cloudless +sky. They were "riding a thermal," and they were so high that you +couldn't see them until they banked just a certain way; then they +appeared to be a bright white flash, much larger than one would +expect from sea gulls. There was a strong resemblance to the UFO's in +the Tremonton Movie. But I'm not sure that this is the answer. + +The presentation of the two movies ended Project Blue Book's part of +the meeting. In five days we had given the panel of scientists every +pertinent detail in the history of the UFO, and it was up to them to +tell us if they were real--some type of vehicle flying through our +atmosphere. If they were real, then they would have to be spacecraft +because no one at the meeting gave a second thought to the +possibility that the UFO's might be a supersecret U.S. aircraft or a +Soviet development. The scientists knew everything that was going on +in the U.S. and they knew that no country in the world had developed +their technology far enough to build a craft that would perform as +the UFO's were reported to do. In addition, we were spending billions +of dollars on the research and development and the procurement of +airplanes that were just nudging the speed of sound. It would be +absurd to think that these billions were being spent to cover the +existence of a UFO-type weapon. And it would be equally absurd to +think that the British, French, Russians or any other country could +be far enough ahead of us to have a UFO. + +The scientists spent the next two days pondering a conclusion. They +reread reports and looked at the two movies again and again, they +called other scientists to double-check certain ideas that they had, +and they discussed the problem among themselves. Then they wrote out +their conclusions and each man signed the document. The first +paragraph said: + +We as a group do not believe that it is impossible for some other +celestial body to be inhabited by intelligent creatures. Nor is it +impossible that these creatures could have reached such a state of +development that they could visit the earth. However, there is +nothing in all of the so-called "flying saucer" reports that we have +read that would indicate that this is taking place. + +The Tremonton Movie had been rejected as proof but the panel did +leave the door open a crack when they suggested that the Navy photo +lab redo their study. But the Navy lab never rechecked their report, +and it was over a year later before new data came to light. + +After I got out of the Air Force I met Newhouse and talked to him +for two hours. I've talked to many people who have reported UFO's, +but few impressed me as much as Newhouse. I learned that when he and +his family first saw the UFO's they were close to the car, much +closer than when he took the movie. To use Newhouse's own words, "If +they had been the size of a B-29 they would have been at 10,000 feet +altitude." And the Navy man and his family had taken a good look at +the objects--they looked like "two pie pans, one inverted on the top +of the other!" He didn't just _think_ the UFO's were disk-shaped; he +_knew_ that they were; he had plainly seen them. I asked him why he +hadn't told this to the intelligence officer who interrogated him. He +said that he had. Then I remembered that I'd sent the intelligence +officer a list of questions I wanted Newhouse to answer. The question +"What did the UFO's look like?" wasn't one of them because when you +have a picture of something you don't normally ask what it looks +like. Why the intelligence officer didn't pass this information on to +us I'll never know. + +The Montana Movie was rejected by the panel as positive proof +because even though the two observers said that the jets were in +another part of the sky when they saw the UFO's and our study backed +them up, there was still a chance that the two UFO's could have been +the two jets. We couldn't prove the UFO's were the jets, but neither +could we prove they weren't. + +The controversial study of the UFO's' motions that Major Fournet had +presented was discarded. All of the panel agreed that if there had +been some permanent record of the motion of the UFO's, a photograph +of a UFO's flight path or a photograph of a UFO's track on a +radarscope, they could have given the study much more weight. But in +every one of the ten or twenty reports that were offered as proof +that the UFO's were intelligently controlled, the motions were only +those that the observer had seen. And the human eye and mind are not +accurate recorders. How many different stories do you get when a +group of people watch two cars collide at an intersection? + +Each of the fifty of our best sightings that we gave the scientists +to study had some kind of a loophole. In many cases the loopholes +were extremely small, but scientific evaluation has no room for even +the smallest of loopholes and we had asked for a scientific evaluation. + +When they had finished commenting on the reports, the scientists +pointed out the seriousness of the decision they had been asked to +make. They said that they had tried hard to be objective and not to +be picayunish, but actually all we had was circumstantial evidence. +Good circumstantial evidence, to be sure, but we had nothing +concrete, no hardware, no photos showing any detail of a UFO, no +measured speeds, altitudes, or sizes--nothing in the way of good, +hard, cold, scientific facts. To stake the future course of millions +of lives on a decision based upon circumstantial evidence would be +one of the gravest mistakes in the history of the world. + +In their conclusions they touched upon the possibility that the +UFO's might be some type of new or yet undiscovered natural +phenomenon. They explained that they hadn't given this too much +credence; however, if the UFO's were a new natural phenomenon, the +reports of their general appearance should follow a definite pattern-- +the UFO reports didn't. + +This ended the section of the panel's report that covered their +conclusions. The next section was entitled, "Recommendations." I +fully expected that they would recommend that we as least reduce the +activities of Project Blue Book if not cancel it entirely. I didn't +like this one bit because I was firmly convinced that we didn't have +the final answer. We needed more and better proof before a final yes +or no could be given. + +The panel didn't recommend that the activities of Blue Book be cut +back, and they didn't recommend that it be dropped. They recommended +that it be expanded. Too many of the reports had been made by +credible observers, the report said, people who should know what +they're looking at--people who think things out carefully. Data that +was out of the circumstantial-evidence class was badly needed. And +the panel must have been at least partially convinced that an +expanded effort would prove something interesting because the +expansion they recommended would require a considerable sum of money. +The investigative force of Project Blue Book should be quadrupled in +size, they wrote, and it should be staffed by specially trained +experts in the fields of electronics, meteorology, photography, +physics, and other fields of science pertinent to UFO investigations. +Every effort should be made to set up instruments in locations where +UFO sightings are frequent, so that data could be measured and +recorded during a sighting. In other locations around the country +military and civilian scientists should be alerted and instructed to +use every piece of available equipment that could be used to track +UFO's. + +And lastly, they said that the American public should be told every +detail of every phase of the UFO investigation--the details of the +sightings, the official conclusions, and why the conclusions were +made. This would serve a double purpose; it would dispel any of the +mystery that security breeds and it would keep the Air Force on the +ball--sloppy investigations and analyses would never occur. + +When the panel's conclusions were made known in the government, they +met with mixed reactions. Some people were satisfied, but others +weren't. Even the opinions of a group of the country's top scientists +couldn't overcome the controversy that had dogged the UFO for five +years. Some of those who didn't like the decision had sat in on the +UFO's trial as spectators and they felt that the "jury" was +definitely prejudiced-- afraid to stick their necks out. They could +see no reason to continue to assume that the UFO's weren't +interplanetary vehicles. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN + +What Are UFO's? + +While the scientists were in Washington, D.C., pondering over the +UFO, the UFO's weren't just sitting idly by waiting to find out what +they were--they were out doing a little "lobbying" for the cause-- +keeping the interest stirred up. + +And they were doing a good job, too. + +It was just a few minutes before midnight on January 28, 1953, when +a message flashed into Wright-Patterson for Project Blue Book. It was +sent "Operational Immediate," so it had priority handling; I was +reading it by 12:30A.M. A pilot had chased a UFO. + +The report didn't have many details but it did sound good. It gave +the pilot's name and said that he could be reached at Moody AFB. I +put in a long-distance call, found the pilot, and flipped on my +recorder so that I could get his story word for word. + +He told me that he had been flying an F-86 on a "round-robin" +navigation flight from Moody AFB to Lawson AFB to Robins AFB, then +back to Moody--all in Georgia. At exactly nine thirty-five he was at +6,000 feet, heading toward Lawson AFB on the first leg of his flight. +He remembered that he had just looked down and had seen the lights of +Albany, Georgia; then he'd looked up again and seen this bright white +light at "ten o'clock high." It was an unusually bright light, and he +said that he thought this was why it was so noticeable among the +stars. He flew on for a few minutes watching it as he passed over +Albany. He decided that it must be an extremely bright star or +another airplane--except it just didn't look right. It had too much +of a definitely circular shape. + +It was a nice night to fly and he had to get in so much time anyway, +so he thought he'd try to get a little closer to it. If it was an +airplane, chances were he could close in and if it was a star, he +should be able to climb up to 30,000 feet and the light shouldn't +change its relative position. He checked his oxygen supply, increased +the r.p.m. of the engine, and started to climb. In three or four +minutes it was obvious that he was getting above the light, and he +watched it; it had moved in relation to the stars. It must be an +airplane then, he'd decided--an airplane so far away that he couldn't +see its red and green wing tip lights. + +Since he'd gone this far, he decided that he'd get closer and make +sure it _was_ an airplane; so he dropped the nose of the F-86 and +started down. As the needle on the machmeter nudged the red line, he +saw that he was getting closer because the light was getting bigger, +but still he couldn't see any lights other than the one big white +one. Then it wasn't white any longer; it was changing color. In about +a two-second cycle it changed from white to red, then back to white +again. It went through this cycle two or three times, and then before +he could realize what was going on, he told me, the light changed in +shape to a perfect triangle. Then it split into two triangles, one +above the other. By this time he had leveled off and wasn't closing +in any more. In a flash the whole thing was gone. He used the old +standard description for a disappearing UFO: "It was just like +someone turning off a light--it's there, then it's gone." + +I asked him what he thought he'd seen. He'd thought about flying +saucers, he said, but he "just couldn't swallow those stories." He +thought he had a case of vertigo and the more he thought about it, +the surer he was that this was the answer. He'd felt pretty foolish, +he told me, and he was glad that he was alone. + +Up ahead he saw the sprawling lights of Fort Benning and Lawson AFB, +his turning point on the flight, and he'd started to turn but then +he'd checked his fuel. The climb had used up quite a bit, so he +changed his mind about going to Robins AFB and started straight back +to Moody. + +He called in to the ground station to change his flight plan, but +before he could say anything the ground radio operator asked him if +he'd seen a mysterious light. + +Well--he'd seen a light. + +Then the ground operator proceeded to tell him that the UFO chase +had been watched on radar. First the radar had the UFO target on the +scope, and it was a UFO because it was traveling much too slowly to +be an airplane. Then the radar operators saw the F-86 approach, +climb, and make a shallow dive toward the UFO. At first the F-86 had +closed in on the UFO, but then the UFO had speeded up just enough to +maintain a comfortable lead. This went on for two or three minutes; +then it had moved off the scope at a terrific speed. The radar site +had tried to call him, the ground station told the F-86 pilot, but +they couldn't raise him so the message had to be relayed through the +tower. + +Rack up two more points for the UFO--another unknown and another +confirmed believer. + +Two or three weeks after the meeting of the panel of scientists in +Washington I received word that Project Blue Book would follow the +recommendations that the panel had made. I was to start implementing +the plan right away. Our proposal for setting up instruments had gone +to the Pentagon weeks before, so that was already taken care of. We +needed more people, so I drew up a new organizational cable that +called for more investigators and analysts and sent it through to +ATIC's personnel section. + +About this time in the history of the UFO the first of a series of +snags came up. The scientists had strongly recommended that we hold +nothing back--give the public everything. Accordingly, when the press +got wind of the Tremonton Movie, which up until this time had been a +closely guarded secret, I agreed to release it for the newsmen to +see. I wrote a press release which was O.K.'d by General Garland, +then the chief of ATIC, and sent it to the Pentagon. It told what the +panel had said about the movies, "until proved otherwise there is no +reason why the UFO's couldn't have been sea gulls." Then the release +went on to say that we weren't sure exactly what the UFO's were, the +sea gull theory was only an opinion. When the Pentagon got the draft +of the release they screamed, "No!" No movie for the press and no +press release. The sea gull theory was too weak, and we had a new +publicity policy as of now--don't say anything. + +This policy, incidentally, is still in effect. The January 7, 1955, +issue of the _Air_ _Force_ _Information_ _Services_ _Letter_ said, in +essence, people in the Air Force are talking too much about UFO's-- +shut up. The old theory that if you ignore them they'll go away is +again being followed. + +Inside of a month the UFO project took a few more hard jolts. In +December of 1952 I'd asked for a transfer. I'd agreed to stay on as +chief of Blue Book until the end of February so that a replacement +could be obtained and be broken in. But no replacement showed up. And +none showed up when Lieutenant Rothstien's tour of active duty ended, +when Lieutenant Andy Flues transferred to the Alaskan Air Command, or +when others left. When I left the UFO project for a two-month tour of +temporary duty in Denver, Lieutenant Bob Olsson took over as chief. +His staff consisted of Airman First Class Max Futch. Both men were +old veterans of the UFO campaign of '52, but two people can do only +so much. + +When I came back to ATIC in July 1953 and took over another job, +Lieutenant Olsson was just getting out of the Air Force and Al/c +Futch was now it. He said that he felt like the President of +Antarctica on a non-expedition year. In a few days I again had +Project Blue Book, as an additional duty this time, and I had orders +to "build it up." + +While I had been gone, our instrumentation plan had been rejected. +Higher headquarters had decided against establishing a net of manned +tracking stations, astronomical cameras tied in with radars, and our +other proposed instrumentation. General Garland had argued long and +hard for the plan, but he'd lost. It was decided that the cameras +with diffraction gratings over the lenses, the cameras that had been +under development for a year, would suffice. + +The camera program had started out as a top-priority project, but it +had lost momentum fast when we'd tested these widely publicized +instruments and found that they wouldn't satisfactorily photograph a +million-candle power flare at 450 yards. The cameras themselves were +all right, but in combination with the gratings, they were no good. +However, Lieutenant Olsson had been told to send them out, so he sent +them out. + +The first thing that I did when I returned to Project Blue Book was +to go over the reports that had come in while I was away. There were +several good reports but only one that was exceptional. It had taken +place at Luke AFB, Arizona, the Air Force's advanced fighter-bomber +school that is named after the famous "balloon buster" of World War +I, Lieutenant Frank Luke, Jr. It was a sighting that produced some +very interesting photographs. + +There were only a few high cirrus clouds in the sky late on the +morning of March 3 when a pilot took off from Luke in an F-84 jet to +log some time. He had been flying F-51's in Korea and had recently +started to check out in the jets. He took off, cleared the traffic +pattern, and started climbing toward Blythe Radio, about 130 miles +west of Luke. He'd climbed for several minutes and had just picked up +the coded letters BLH that identified Blythe Radio when he looked up +through the corner glass in the front part of his canopy--high at +about two o'clock he saw what he thought was an airplane angling +across his course from left to right leaving a long, thin vapor +trail. He glanced down at his altimeter and saw that he was at 23,000 +feet. The object that was leaving the vapor trail must really be +high, he remembered thinking, because he couldn't see any airplane at +the head of it. He altered his course a few degrees to the right so +that he could follow the trail and increased his rate of climb. +Before long he could tell that he was gaining on the object, or +whatever was leaving the vapor trail, because he was under the +central part of it. But he still couldn't see any object. This was +odd, he thought, because vapor trails don't just happen; something +has to leave them. His altimeter had ticked off another 12,000 feet +and he was now at 35,000. He kept on climbing, but soon the '84 began +to mush; it was as high as it would go. The pilot dropped down 1,000 +feet and continued on--now he was below the front of the trail, but +still no airplane. This bothered him too. Nothing that we have flies +over 55,000 feet except a few experimental airplanes like the D-558 +or those of the "X" series, and they don't stray far from Edwards AFB +in California. He couldn't be more than 15,000 feet from the front of +the trail, and you can recognize any kind of an airplane 15,000 feet +away in the clear air of the substratosphere. He looked and he looked +and he looked. He rocked the F-84 back and forth thinking maybe he +had a flaw in the plexiglass of the canopy that was blinking out the +airplane, but still no airplane. Whatever it was, it was darn high or +darn small. It was moving about 300 miles an hour because he had to +pull off power and "S" to stay under it. + +He was beginning to get low on fuel about this time so he hauled up +the nose of the jet, took about 30 feet of gun camera film, and +started down. When he landed and told his story, the film was quickly +processed and rushed to the projection room. It showed a weird, thin, +forked vapor trail--but no airplane. + +Lieutenant Olsson and Airman Futch had worked this one over +thoroughly. The photo lab confirmed that the trail was definitely a +vapor trail, not a freak cloud formation. But Air Force Flight +Service said, "No other airplanes in the area," and so did Air +Defense Command, because minutes after the F-84 pilot broke off +contact, the "object" had passed into an ADIZ--Air Defense +Identification Zone--and radar had shown nothing. + +There was one last possibility: Blue Book's astronomer said that the +photos looked exactly like a meteor's smoke trail. But there was one +hitch: the pilot was positive that the head of the vapor trail was +moving at about 300 miles an hour. He didn't know exactly how much +ground he'd covered, but when he first picked up Blythe Radio he was +on Green 5 airway, about 30 miles west of his base, and when he'd +given up the chase he'd gotten another radio bearing, and he was now +almost up to Needles Radio, 70 miles north of Blythe. He could see a +lake, Lake Mojave, in the distance. + +Could a high-altitude jet-stream wind have been blowing the smoke +cloud? Futch had checked this--no. The winds above 20,000 feet were +the usual westerlies and the jet stream was far to the north. + +Several months later I talked to a captain who had been at Luke when +this sighting occurred. He knew the F-84 pilot and he'd heard him +tell his story in great detail. I won't say that he was a confirmed +believer, but he was interested. "I never thought much about these +reports before," he said, "but I know this guy well. He's not nuts. +What do you think he saw?" + +I don't know what he saw. Maybe he didn't travel as far as he +thought he did. If he didn't, then I'd guess that he saw a meteor's +smoke trail. But if he did know that he'd covered some 80 miles +during the chase, I'd say that he saw a UFO--a real one. And I find +it hard to believe that pilots don't know what they're doing. + +During the summer of 1953, UFO reports dropped off considerably. +During May, June, and July of 1952 we'd received 637 good reports. +During the same months in 1953 we received only seventy-six. We had +been waiting for the magic month of July to roll around again because +every July there had been the sudden and unexplained peak in +reporting; we wanted to know if it would happen again. It didn't-- +only twenty-one reports came in, to make July the lowest month of the +year. But July did bring new developments. + +Project Blue Book got a badly needed shot in the arm when an +unpublicized but highly important change took place: another +intelligence agency began to take over all field investigations. + +Ever since I'd returned to the project, the orders had been to build +it up--get more people--do what the panel recommended. But when I'd +asked for more people, all I got was a polite "So sorry." So, I did +the next best thing and tried to find some organization already in +being which could and would help us. I happened to be expounding my +troubles one day at Air Defense Command Headquarters while I was +briefing General Burgess, ADC's Director of Intelligence, and he told +me about his 4602nd Air Intelligence Squadron, a specialized +intelligence unit that had recently become operational. Maybe it +could help--he'd see what he could work out, he told me. + +Now in the military all commitments to do something carry an almost +standard time factor. "I'll expedite it," means nothing will happen +for at least two weeks. "I'll do it right away," means from a month +to six weeks. An answer like, "I'll see what I can work out," +requires writing a memo that explains what the person was going to +see if he could work out and sealing it in a time capsule for +preservation so that when the answer finally does come through the +future generation that receives it will know how it all started. But +I underestimated the efficiency of the Air Defense Command. Inside of +two weeks General Burgess had called General Garland, they'd +discussed the problem, and I was back in Colorado Springs setting up +a program with Colonel White's 4602nd. + +The 4602nd's primary function is to interrogate captured enemy +airmen during wartime; in peacetime all that they can do is +participate in simulated problems. Investigating UFO reports would +supplement these problems and add a factor of realism that would be +invaluable in their training. The 4602nd had field teams spread out +all over the United States, and these teams could travel anywhere by +airplane, helicopter, canoe, jeep, or skis on a minute's notice. The +field teams had already established a working contact with the +highway patrols, sheriffs' offices, police, and the other military in +their respective areas, so they were in an excellent position to +collect facts about a UFO report. Each member of the field teams had +been especially chosen and trained in the art of interrogation, and +each team had a technical specialist. We couldn't have asked for a +better ally. + +Project Blue Book was once more back in business. Until the formal +paper work went through, our plan was that whenever a UFO report +worth investigating came in we would call the 4602nd and they would +get a team out right away. The team would make a thorough +investigation and wire us their report. If the answer came back +"Unknown," we would study the details of the sighting and, with the +help of Project Bear, try to find the answer. + +A few weeks after the final plans had been made with the 4602nd, I +again bade farewell to Project Blue Book. In a simple ceremony on the +poop deck of one of the flying saucers that I frequently have been +accused of capturing, before a formation of the three-foot-tall green +men that I have equally as frequently been accused of keeping +prisoner, I turned my command over to Al/c Max Futch and walked out +the door into civilian life with separation orders in hand. + +The UFO's must have known that I was leaving because the day I found +out that officers with my specialty, technical intelligence, were no +longer on the critical list and that I could soon get out of the +service, they really put on a show. The show they put on is still the +best UFO report in the Air Force files. + +I first heard about the sighting about two o'clock on the morning of +August 13, 1953, when Max Futch called me from ATIC. A few minutes +before a wire had come in carrying a priority just under that +reserved for flashing the word the U.S. has been attacked. Max had +been called over to ATIC by the OD to see the report, and he thought +that I should see it. I was a little hesitant to get dressed and go +out to the base, so I asked Max what he thought about the report. His +classic answer will go down in UFO history, "Captain," Max said in +his slow, pure Louisiana drawl, "you know that for a year I've read +every flying saucer report that's come in and that I never really +believed in the things." Then he hesitated and added, so fast that I +could hardly understand him, "But you should read _this_ wire." The +speed with which he uttered this last statement was in itself enough +to convince me. When Max talked fast, something was important. + +A half hour later I was at ATIC--just in time to get a call from the +Pentagon. Someone else had gotten out of bed to read his copy of the +wire. I used the emergency orders that I always kept in my desk and +caught the first airliner out of Dayton to Rapid City, South Dakota. +I didn't call the 4602nd because I wanted to investigate this one +personally. I talked to everyone involved in the incident and pieced +together an amazing story. + +Shortly after dark on the night of the twelfth, the Air Defense +Command radar station at Ellsworth AFB, just east of Rapid City, had +received a call from the local Ground Observer Corps filter center. A +lady spotter at Black Hawk, about 10 miles west of Ellsworth, had +reported an extremely bright light low on the horizon, off to the +northeast. The radar had been scanning an area to the west, working a +jet fighter in some practice patrols, but when they got the report +they moved the sector scan to the northeast quadrant. There was a +target exactly where the lady reported the light to be. The warrant +officer, who was the duty controller for the night, told me that he'd +studied the target for several minutes. He knew how weather could +affect radar but this target was "well defined, solid, and bright." +It seemed to be moving, but very slowly. He called for an altitude +reading, and the man on the height-finding radar checked his scope. +He also had the target--it was at 16,000 feet. + +The warrant officer picked up the phone and asked the filter center +to connect him with the spotter. They did, and the two people +compared notes on the UFO's position for several minutes. But right +in the middle of a sentence the lady suddenly stopped and excitedly +said, "It's starting to move--it's moving southwest toward Rapid." + +The controller looked down at his scope and the target was beginning +to pick up speed and move southwest. He yelled at two of his men to +run outside and take a look. In a second or two one of them shouted +back that they could both see a large bluish-white light moving +toward Rapid City. The controller looked down at his scope--the +target was moving toward Rapid City. As all three parties watched the +light and kept up a steady cross conversation of the description, the +UFO swiftly made a wide sweep around Rapid City and returned to its +original position in the sky. + +A master sergeant who had seen and heard the happenings told me that +in all his years of duty--combat radar operations in both Europe and +Korea--he'd never been so completely awed by anything. When the +warrant officer had yelled down at him and asked him what he thought +they should do, he'd just stood there. "After all," he told me, "what +in hell could we do--they're bigger than all of us." + +But the warrant officer did do something. He called to the F-84 +pilot he had on combat air patrol west of the base and told him to +get ready for an intercept. He brought the pilot around south of the +base and gave him a course correction that would take him right into +the light, which was still at 16,000 feet. By this time the pilot had +it spotted. He made the turn, and when he closed to within about 3 +miles of the target, it began to move. The controller saw it begin to +move, the spotter saw it begin to move and the pilot saw it begin to +move--all at the same time. There was now no doubt that all of them +were watching the same object. + +Once it began to move, the UFO picked up speed fast and started to +climb, heading north, but the F-84 was right on its tail. The pilot +would notice that the light was getting brighter, and he'd call the +controller to tell him about it. But the controller's answer would +always be the same, "Roger, we can see it on the scope." + +There was always a limit as to how near the jet could get, however. +The controller told me that it was just as if the UFO had some kind +of an automatic warning radar linked to its power supply. When +something got too close to it, it would automatically pick up speed +and pull away. The separation distance always remained about 3 miles. + +The chase continued on north--out of sight of the lights of Rapid +City and the base--into some very black night. + +When the UFO and the F-84 got about 120 miles to the north, the +pilot checked his fuel; he had to come back. And when I talked to +him, he said he was damn glad that he was running out of fuel because +being out over some mighty desolate country alone with a UFO can +cause some worry. + +Both the UFO and the F-84 had gone off the scope, but in a few +minutes the jet was back on, heading for home. Then 10 or 15 miles +behind it was the UFO target also coming back. + +While the UFO and the F-84 were returning to the base--the F-84 was +planning to land--the controller received a call from the jet +interceptor squadron on the base. The alert pilots at the squadron +had heard the conversations on their radio and didn't believe it. +"Who's nuts up there?" was the comment that passed over the wire from +the pilots to the radar people. There was an F-84 on the line ready +to scramble, the man on the phone said, and one of the pilots, a +World War II and Korean veteran, wanted to go up and see a flying +saucer. The controller said, "O.K., go." + +In a minute or two the F-84 was airborne and the controller was +working him toward the light. The pilot saw it right away and closed +in. Again the light began to climb out, this time more toward the +northeast. The pilot also began to climb, and before long the light, +which at first had been about 30 degrees above his horizontal line of +sight, was now below him. He nosed the '84 down to pick up speed, but +it was the same old story--as soon as he'd get within 3 miles of the +UFO, it would put on a burst of speed and stay out ahead. + +Even though the pilot could see the light and hear the ground +controller telling him that he was above it, and alternately gaining +on it or dropping back, he still couldn't believe it--there must be a +simple explanation. He turned off all of his lights--it wasn't a +reflection from any of the airplane's lights because there it was. A +reflection from a ground light, maybe. He rolled the airplane--the +position of the light didn't change. A star--he picked out three +bright stars near the light and watched carefully. The UFO moved in +relation to the three stars. Well, he thought to himself, if it's a +real object out there, my radar should pick it up too; so he flipped +on his radar-ranging gunsight. In a few seconds the red light on his +sight blinked on--something real and solid was in front of him. Then +he was scared. When I talked to him, he readily admitted that he'd +been scared. He'd met MD 109's, FW 190's and ME 262's over Germany +and he'd met MIG-15's over Korea but the large, bright, bluish-white +light had scared him--he asked the controller if he could break off +the intercept. + +This time the light didn't come back. + +When the UFO went off the scope it was headed toward Fargo, North +Dakota, so the controller called the Fargo filter center. "Had they +had any reports of unidentified lights?" he asked. They hadn't. + +But in a few minutes a call came back. Spotter posts on a southwest- +northeast line a few miles west of Fargo had reported a fast-moving, +bright bluish-white light. + +This was an unknown--the best. + +The sighting was thoroughly investigated, and I could devote pages +of detail on how we looked into every facet of the incident; but it +will suffice to say that in every facet we looked into we saw +nothing. Nothing but a big question mark asking what was it. + +When I left Project Blue Book and the Air Force I severed all +official associations with the UFO. But the UFO is like hard drink; +you always seem to drift back to it. People I've met, people at work, +and friends of friends are continually asking about the subject. In +the past few months the circulation manager of a large Los Angeles +newspaper, one of Douglas Aircraft Company's top scientists, a man +who is guiding the future development of the supersecret Atlas +intercontinental guided missile, a movie star, and a German rocket +expert have called me and wanted to get together to talk about UFO's. +Some of them had seen one. + +I have kept up with the activity of the UFO and Project Blue Book +over the past two years through friends who are still in +intelligence. Before Max Futch got out of the Air Force and went back +to law school he wrote to me quite often and a part of his letters +were always devoted to the latest about the UFO's. + +Then I make frequent business trips to ATIC, and I always stop in to +see Captain Charles Hardin, who is now in charge of Blue Book, for a +"What's new?" I always go to ATIC with the proper security clearances +so I'm sure I get a straight answer to my question. + +Since I left ATIC, the UFO's haven't gone away and neither has the +interest. There hasn't been too much about them in the newspapers +because of the present Air Force policy of silence, but they're with +us. That the interest is still with us is attested to by the fact +that in late 1953 Donald Keyhoe's book about UFO's, _Flying_ +_Saucers_ _from_ _Outer_ _Space_, immediately appeared on best seller +lists. The book was based on a few of our good UFO reports that were +released to the press. To say that the book is factual depends +entirely upon how one uses the word. The details of the specific UFO +sightings that he credits to the Air Force are factual, but in his +interpretations of the incidents he blasts way out into the wild blue +yonder. + +During the past two years the bulk of the UFO activity has taken +place in Europe. I might add here that I have never seen any recent +official UFO reports or studies from other countries; all of my +information about the European Flap came from friends. But when these +friends are in the intelligence branches of the U.S. Air Force, the +RAF, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the data can be considered +at least good. + +The European Flap started in the summer of 1953, when reports began +to pop up in England and France. Quality-wise these first reports +weren't too good, however. But then, like a few reports that occurred +early in the stateside Big Flap of 1952, sightings began to drift in +that packed a bit of a jolt. Reports came in that had been made by +personal friends of the brass in the British and French Air Forces. +Then some of the brass saw them. Corners of mouths started down. + +In September several radar sites in the London area picked up +unidentified targets streaking across the city at altitudes of from +44,000 to 68,000 feet. The crews who saw the targets said, "Not +weather," and some of these crews had been through the bloody Battle +of Britain. They knew their radar. + +In October the crew of a British European Airways airliner reported +that a "strange aerial object" had paced their twin-engined +Elizabethan for thirty minutes. Then on November 3, about two-thirty +in the afternoon, radar in the London area again picked up targets. +This time two Vampire jets were scrambled and the pilots saw a +"strange aerial object." The men at the radar site saw it too; +through their telescope it looked like a "flat, white-coloured tennis +ball." + +The flap continued into 1954. In January those people who officially +keep track of the UFO's pricked up their ears when the report of two +Swedish airline pilots came in. The pilots had gotten a good look +before the UFO had streaked into a cloud bank. It looked like a +discus with a hump in the middle. + +On through the spring reports poured out of every country in Europe. +Some were bad, some were good. + +On July 3, 1954, at eight-fifteen in the morning, the captain, the +officers and 463 passengers on a Dutch ocean liner watched a +"greenish-colored, saucer-shaped object about half the size of a full +moon" as it sped across the sky and disappeared into a patch of high +clouds. + +There was one fully documented and substantiated case of a "landing" +during the flap. On August 25 two young ladies in Mosjoen, Norway, +made every major newspaper in the world when they encountered a +"saucer-man." They said that they were picking berries when suddenly +a dark man, with long shaggy hair, stepped out from behind some +bushes. He was friendly; he stepped right up to them and started to +talk rapidly. The two young ladies could understand English but they +couldn't understand him. At first they were frightened, but his smile +soon "disarmed" them. He drew a few pictures of flying saucers and +pointed up in the sky. "He was obviously trying to make a point," one +of the young ladies said. + +A few days later it was discovered that the man from "outer space" +was a lost USAF helicopter pilot who was flying with NATO forces in +Norway. + +As I've always said, "Ya gotta watch those Air Force pilots-- +especially those shaggy-haired ones from Brooklyn." + +The reporting spread to Italy, where thousands of people in Rome saw +a strange cigar-shaped object hang over the city for forty minutes. +Newspapers claimed that Italian Air Force radar had the UFO on their +scopes, but as far as I could determine, this was never officially +acknowledged. + +In December a photograph of two UFO's over Taormina, Sicily, +appeared in many newspapers. The picture showed three men standing on +a bridge, with a fourth running up with a camera. All were intently +watching two disk-shaped objects. The photo looked good, but there +was one flaw, the men weren't looking at the UFO's; they were looking +off to the right of them. I'm inclined to agree with Captain Hardin +of Blue Book--the photographer just fouled up on his double exposure. + +Sightings spread across southern Europe, and at the end of October, +the Yugoslav Government expressed official interest. Belgrade +newspapers said that a "thoughtful inquiry" would be set up, since +reports had come from "control tower operators, weather stations and +hundreds of farmers." But the part of the statement that swung the +most weight was, "Scientists in astronomical observatories have seen +these strange objects with their own eyes." + +During 1954 and the early part of 1955 my friends in Europe tried to +keep me up-to-date on all of the better reports, but this soon +approached a full-time job. Airline pilots saw them, radar picked +them up, and military pilots chased them. The press took sides, and +the controversy that had plagued the U.S. since 1947 bloomed forth in +all its confusion. + +An ex-Air Chief Marshal in the RAF, Lord Dowding, went to bat for +the UFO's. The Netherlands Air Chief of Staff said they can't be. +Herman Oberth, the father of the German rocket development, said that +the UFO's were definitely interplanetary vehicles. + +In Belgium a senator put the screws on the Secretary of Defense--he +wanted an answer. The Secretary of Defense questioned the idea that +the saucers were "real" and said that the military wasn't officially +interested. In France a member of parliament received a different +answer--the French military was interested. The French General Staff +had set up a committee to study UFO reports. + +In Italy, Clare Boothe Luce, American Ambassador to Italy, said that +she had seen a UFO and had no idea what it could be. + +Halfway around the world, in Australia, the UFO's were busy too. At +Canberra Airport the pilot of an RAAF Hawker Sea Fury and a ground +radar station teamed up to get enough data to make an excellent radar- +visual report. + +In early 1955 the flap began to die down about as rapidly as it had +flared up, but it had left its mark--many more believers. Even the +highly respected British aviation magazine, _Aeroplane_, had +something to say. One of the editors took a long, hard look at the +over-all UFO picture and concluded, "Really, old chaps--I don't know." + +Probably the most unique part of the whole European Flap was the +fact that the Iron Curtain countries were having their own private +flap. The first indications came in October 1954, when Rumanian +newspapers blamed the United States for launching a drive to induce a +"flying saucer psychosis" in their country. The next month the +Hungarian Government hauled an "expert" up in front of the microphone +so that he could explain to the populace that UFO's don't really +exist because, "all 'flying saucer' reports originate in the +bourgeois countries, where they are invented by the capitalist +warmongers with a view to drawing the people's attention away from +their economic difficulties." + +Next the U.S.S.R. itself took up the cry along the same lines when +the voice of the Soviet Army, the newspaper _Red_ _Star_, denounced +the UFO's as, you guessed it, capitalist propaganda. + +In 1955 the UFO's were still there because the day before the all- +important May Day celebration, a day when the Soviet radio and TV are +normally crammed with programs plugging the glory of Mother Russia to +get the peasants in the mood for the next day, a member of the Soviet +Academy of Sciences had to get on the air to calm the people's fears. +He left out Wall Street and Dulles this time--UFO's just don't exist. + +It was interesting to note that during the whole Iron Curtain Flap, +not one sighting or complimentary comment about the UFO's was made +over the radio or in the newspapers; yet the flap continued. The +reports were obviously being passed on by word of mouth. This fact +seems to negate the theory that if the newspaper reporters and +newscasters would give up the UFO's would go away. The people in +Russia were obviously seeing something. + +While the European Flap was in progress, the UFO's weren't entirely +neglecting the United States. The number of reports that were coming +into Project Blue Book were below average, but there were reports. +Many of them would definitely be classed as good, but the best was a +report from a photo reconnaissance B-29 crew that encountered a UFO +almost over Dayton. + +About 11:00A.M. on May 24, 1954, an RB-29 equipped with some new +aerial cameras took off from Wright Field, one of the two airfields +that make up Wright-Patterson AFB, and headed toward the Air Force's +photographic test range in Indiana. At exactly twelve noon they were +at 16,000 feet, flying west, about 15 miles northwest of Dayton. A +major, a photo officer, was in the nose seat of the '29. All of the +gun sights and the bombsight in the nose had been taken out, so it +was like sitting in a large picture window--except you just can't get +this kind of a view anyplace else. The major was enjoying it. He was +leaning forward, looking down, when he saw an extremely bright +circular-shaped object under and a little behind the airplane. It was +so bright that it seemed to have a mirror finish. He couldn't tell +how far below him it was but he was sure that it wasn't any higher +than 6,000 feet above the ground, and it was traveling fast, faster +than the B-29. It took only about six seconds to cross a section of +land, which meant that it was going about 600 miles an hour. + +The major called the crew and told them about the UFO, but neither +the pilot nor the copilot could see it because it was now directly +under the B-29. The pilot was just in the process of telling him that +he was crazy when one of the scanners in an aft blister called in; he +and the other scanner could also see the UFO. + +Being a photo ship, the RB-29 had cameras--loaded cameras--so the +logical thing to do would be to take a picture, but during a UFO +sighting logic sometimes gets shoved into the background. In this +case, however, it didn't, and the major reached down, punched the +button on the intervalometer, and the big vertical camera in the aft +section of the airplane clicked off a photo before the UFO sped away. + +The photo showed a circular-shaped blob of light exactly as the +major had described it to the RB-29 crew. It didn't show any details +of the UFO because the UFO was too bright; it was completely +overexposed on the negative. The circular shape wasn't sharp either; +it had fuzzy edges, but this could have been due to two things: its +extreme brightness, or the fact that it was high, close to the RB-29, +and out of focus. There was no way of telling exactly how high it was +but if it were at 6,000 feet, as the major estimated, it would have +been about 125 feet in diameter. + +Working with people from the photo lab at Wright-Patterson, Captain +Hardin from Project Blue Book carried out one of the most complete +investigations in UFO history. They checked aircraft flights, +rephotographed the area from high and low altitude to see if they +could pick up something on the ground that could have been reflecting +light, and made a minute ground search of the area. They found +absolutely nothing that could explain the round blob of light, and +the incident went down as an unknown. + +Like all good "Unknown" UFO reports, there are as many opinions as +to what the bright blob of light could have been as there are people +who've seen the photo. "Some kind of light phenomenon" is the +frequent opinion of those who don't believe. They point out that +there is no shadow of any kind of a circular object showing on the +ground--no shadow, nothing "solid." But if you care to take the time +you can show that if the object, assuming that this is what it was, +was above 4,000 feet the shadow would fall out of the picture. + +Then all you get is a blank look from the light phenomenon theorists. + +With the sighting from the RB-29 and the photograph, all of the +other UFO reports that Blue Book has collected and all of those that +came out of the European Flap, the big question--the key question-- +is: What have the last two years of UFO activity brought out? Have +there been any important developments? + +Some good reports have come in and the Air Force is sitting on them. +During 1954 they received some 450 reports, and once again July was +the peak month. In the first half of 1955 they had 189. But I can +assure you that these reports add nothing more as far as proof is +concerned. The quality of the reports has improved, but they still +offer nothing more than the same circumstantial evidence that we +presented to the panel of scientists in early 1953. There have been +no reports in which the speed or altitude of a UFO has been measured, +there have been no reliable photographs that show any details of a +UFO, and there is no hardware. There is still no real proof. + +So a public statement that was made in 1952 still holds true: "The +_possibility_ of the existence of interplanetary craft has never been +denied by the Air Force, _but_ UFO reports offer absolutely no +authentic evidence that such interplanetary spacecraft do exist." + +But with the UFO, what is lacking in proof is always made up for in +opinions. To get a qualified opinion, I wrote to a friend, Frederick +C. Durant. Mr. Durant, who is presently the director of a large Army +Ordnance test station, is also a past president of the American +Rocket Society and president of the International Astronautical +Federation. For those who are not familiar with these organizations, +the American Rocket Society is an organization established to promote +interest and research in space flight and lists as its members +practically every prominent scientist and engineer in the +professional fields allied to aeronautics. The International +Astronautical Federation is a world-wide federation of such societies. + +Mr. Durant has spent many hours studying UFO reports in the Project +Blue Book files and many more hours discussing them with scientists +the world over--scientists who are doing research and formulating the +plans for space flight. I asked him what he'd heard about the UFO's +during the past several years and what he thought about them. This +was his reply: + +This past summer at the Annual Congress of the IAF at Innsbruck, as +well as previous Congresses (Zurich, 1953, Stuttgart, 1952, and +London, 1951), none of the delegates representing the rocket and +space flight societies of all the countries involved had strong +feelings on the subject of saucers. Their attitude was essentially +the same as professional members of the American Rocket Society in +this country. In other words, there appear to be no confirmed saucer +fans in the hierarchy of the professional societies. + +I continue to follow the subject of UFO's primarily because of my +being requested for comment on the interplanetary flight aspects. My +personal feelings have not changed in the past four years, although I +continue to keep an objective outlook. + +There are many other prominent scientists in the world whom I met +while I was chief of Project Blue Book who, I'm sure, would give the +same answer--they've not been able to find any proof, but they +continue to keep an objective outlook. There are just enough big +question marks sprinkled through the reports to keep their outlook +objective. + +I know that there are many other scientists in the world who, +although they haven't studied the Air Force's UFO files, would limit +their comment to a large laugh followed by an "It can't be." But "It +can't be's" are dangerous, if for no other reason than history has +proved them so. + +Not more than a hundred years ago two members of the French Academy +of Sciences were unseated because they supported the idea that +"stones had fallen from the sky." Other distinguished members of the +French Academy examined the stones, "It can't be--stones don't fall +from the sky," or words to that effect. "These are common rocks that +have been struck by lightning." + +Today we know that the "stones from the sky" were meteorites. + +Not more than fifty years ago Dr. Simon Newcomb, a world-famous +astronomer and the first American since Benjamin Franklin to be made +an associate of the Institute of France, the hierarchy of the world +science, said, "It can't be." Then he went on to explain that flight +without gas bags would require the discovery of some new material or +a new force in nature. + +And at the same time Rear Admiral George W. Melville, then Chief +Engineer for the U.S. Navy, said that attempts to fly heavier-than- +air vehicles was absurd. + +Just a little over ten years ago there was another "it can't be." Ex- +President Harry S. Truman recalls in the first volume of the Truman +_Memoirs_ what Admiral William D. Leahy, then Chief of Staff to the +President, had to say about the atomic bomb. "That is the biggest +fool thing we have ever done," he is quoted as saying. "The bomb will +never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives." + +Personally, I don't believe that "it can't be." I wouldn't class +myself as a "believer," exactly, because I've seen too many UFO +reports that first appeared to be unexplainable fall to pieces when +they were thoroughly investigated. But every time I begin to get +skeptical I think of the other reports, the many reports made by +experienced pilots and radar operators, scientists, and other people +who know what they're looking at. These reports were thoroughly +investigated and they are still unknowns. Of these reports, the radar- +visual sightings are the most convincing. When a ground radar picks +up a UFO target and a ground observer sees a light where the radar +target is located, then a jet interceptor is scrambled to intercept +the UFO and the pilot also sees the light and gets a radar lock-on +only to have the UFO almost impudently outdistance him, there is no +simple answer. We have no aircraft on this earth that can at will so +handily outdistance our latest jets. + +The Air Force is still actively engaged in investigating UFO +reports, although during the past six months there have been definite +indications that there is a movement afoot to get Project Blue Book +to swing back to the old Project Grudge philosophy of analyzing UFO +reports--write them all off, regardless. But good UFO reports cannot +be written off with such answers as fatigued pilots seeing a balloon +or star; "green" radar operators with _only_ fifteen years' +experience watching temperature inversion caused blips on their +radarscopes; or "a mild form of mass hysteria or war nerves." Using +answers like these, or similar ones, to explain the UFO reports is an +expedient method of getting the percentage of unknowns down to zero, +but it is no more valid than turning the hands of a clock ahead to +make time pass faster. Twice before the riddle of the UFO has been +"solved," only to have the reports increase in both quantity and +quality. + +I wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to what the final outcome of +the UFO investigation will be, but I am sure that within a few years +there will be a proven answer. The earth satellite program, which was +recently announced, research progress in the fields of electronics, +nuclear physics, astronomy, and a dozen other branches of the +sciences will furnish data that will be useful to the UFO +investigators. Methods of investigating and analyzing UFO reports +have improved a hundredfold since 1947 and they are continuing to be +improved by the diligent work of Captain Charles Hardin, the present +chief of Project Blue Book, his staff, and the 4602nd Air +Intelligence Squadron. Slowly but surely these people are working +closer to the answer--closer to the proof. + +Maybe the final proven answer will be that all of the UFO's that +have been reported are merely misidentified known objects. Or maybe +the many pilots, radar specialists, generals, industrialists, +scientists, and the man on the street who have told me, "I wouldn't +have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself," knew what they +were talking about. Maybe the earth is being visited by +interplanetary spaceships. + +Only time will tell. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN + +And They're Still Flying + +[Transcriber's Note: The following three chapters were added to the +second edition text in 1960.] + +Four years have passed since the first seventeen chapters of this +book were written. During this period hundreds of unidentified flying +objects have been seen and reported to the Air Force. Pilots, with +thousands of hours of flying time are still reporting them; radar +operators, experts in their field, are still tracking them; and +crews on the missile test ranges are photographing them. + +UFO's are not just a fad. + +The Air Force's Project Blue Book is still very active. Not a week +passes that one of the many teams of its nation wide investigation +net is not in the field investigating a new UFO report. + +To pick up the history of the UFO the best place to start is +Cincinnati, Ohio, in the late summer of 1955. For some unknown +reason, one of those mysterious factors of the UFO, reports from this +Hamilton County city suddenly began to pick up. Mass hysteria, the +old crutch, wasn't a factor because neither the press, the radio nor +TV was even mentioning the words "flying saucer." + +The reports weren't much in terms of quality. Some lady would see a +"bobbing white light"; or a man, putting his car away, would see a +"star jump." These reports, usually passed on to the Air Force +through the Air Defense Command's Ground Observer Corps, merely went +on the UFO plotting board as a statistic. + +But before long, in a matter of a week or two, the mass of reports +began to draw some official attention because the Ground Observer +Corps spotters themselves began to make UFO reports. At times during +the middle of August the telephone lines from the GOC observation +posts in Hamilton County (greater Cincinnati) to the filter center in +Columbus would be jammed. Now, even the most cynical Air Force types +were be-grudgingly raising their eyebrows. These GOC observers were +about as close to "experts" as you can get. Many had spent hundreds +of hours scanning the skies since the GOC went into the operation in +1952 to close the gaps in our radar net. Many held awards for +meritorious service. They weren't crackpots. + +But still the cynics held out. This was really nothing new. The +Project Blue Book files were full of similar incidents. In 1947 there +had been a rash of reports from the Pacific Northwest; in 1948 there +had been a similar outbreak at Edwards Air Force Base, the +supersecret test center in the Mojave Desert of California; in 1949 +the sightings centered in the midwest. None had panned out to be +anything. + +Then came the clincher. + +On the night of August 23rd, shortly before midnight, reports of a +UFO began to come in from the Mt. Healthy GOC observation post +northwest of Cincinnati. Almost simultaneously, Air Defense Command +radar picked up a target in that area. A minute or two later the +Forestville and Loveland GOC posts, also in Hamilton County, made +sightings. Now, three UFO's, described as brilliant white spheres, +swinging in a pendulum-like motion, were on the ADC plotting boards- +confirmed by radar. All pretext of ignoring the UFO's was dropped and +at 11:58P.M., F-84's of the Ohio Air National Guard were scrambled. +They were over Cincinnati at 12:10A.M. and made contact. Boring in at +20,000 feet, at 100% power, they closed but the UFO's left them as if +they were standing still. + +The battle in the Cincinnati sector was on. + +Almost every night more UFO's were reported by the GOC. Attempts +were made to scramble interceptors but there were no more radar +contacts and a jet interceptor without ground guidance is worthless. + +At the height of this activity it was decided that more information +was needed by the Air Defense Command. Maybe from a mass of data +something, some kind of clue, could be sifted out. The answer: +establish a special UFO reporting post. The man to operate this post +was tailor-made. + +On September 9, Major Hugh McKenzie of the Columbus Filter Center +contacted Leonard H. Stringfield in Cincinnati. Stringfield, besides +being a very public minded citizen, was also known as a level-headed +"saucer expert." Sooner or later, usually sooner, he heard about +every UFO sighting in Hamilton County. He was given a code, "Foxtrot +Kilo 3-0 Blue," which provided him with an open telephone line to the +ADC Filter Center in Columbus. He was in business but he didn't have +to build up a clientele--it was there. + +For the next few months Stringfield did yeoman duty as Cincinnati's +one-man UFO center by sifting out the wheat from the chaff and +passing the wheat on to the Air Force. As he told me the other day, +half his nights were spent in his backyard clad in shorts and +binoculars. Fortunately his neighbors were broad-minded and the UFO's +picked relatively warm nights to appear. + +Most of the reports Stringfield received were duds. He lost track of +the number. The green, red, blue, gold and white; discs, triangles, +squares and footballs which hovered, streaked, zigzagged and jerked, +turned out to be Venus, Jupiter, Arcturus and an occasional jet. A +fiery orange satellite which hovered for hours turned out to be the +North Star viewed through a cheap telescope, and the "whole formation +of space ships" were the Pleiades. + +Then it happened again. + +On the evening of March 23rd Stringfield's telephone rang. It was +Charles Deininger at the Mt. Healthy GOC post. They had a UFO in +sight off to the east. Could Stringfield see it? He grabbed his +extension phone and ran outdoors. There, off to the east, were two, +large, low flying lights. One of the lights was a glowing green and +the other yellow. They were moving north. + +"Airplane!" + +This was Stringfield's first reaction but during World War II he had +made the long trek up the Pacific with the famous Fifth Air Force and +he immediately realized that if it was an airplane it would have to +be very close because of the large distance between the lights. And, +as a clincher, no sound came through the still night. + +He dialed the long distance operator and said the magic words, "This +is Foxtrot Kilo Three Dash Zero Blue." Seconds later he was talking +to the duty sergeant at the Columbus Filter Center. A few more +seconds and the sergeant had his story. + +Another jet was scrambled and this time Stringfield, via a +radiotelephone hookup to the airplane, gave the pilot a vector. +Stringfield heard the jet closing in but since it was a one-way +circuit he couldn't hear the pilot's comments. + +Once again the UFO took off. + +This was a fitting climax for the Cincinnati flap. As suddenly as it +began it quit and from the mass of data that was collected the Air +Force got zero information. + +In the mystery league the UFO's were still ahead. + +Although the majority of the UFO activity during the last half of +1955 and early 1956 centered in the Cincinnati area there were other +good reports. + +Near Banning, California, on November 25, 1955, Gene Miller, manager +of the Banning Municipal Airport and Dr. Leslie Ward, a physician, +were paced by a "globe of white light which suddenly backed up in +midair," while in Miller's airplane. It was the same old story: +Miller was an experienced pilot, a former Air Force instructor and +air freight pilot with several thousand hours flying time. + +Commercial pilots came in for more than their share of the sightings +in 1956. + +On January 22, UFO investigators talked to the crew of a Pan +American airliner. That night, at 8:30P.M., the Houston to Miami DC- +7B had been "abeam" of New Orleans, out over the Gulf of Mexico. +There was a partial moon shining through small wisps of high cirrus +clouds but generally it was a clear night. The captain of the flight +was back in the cabin chatting with the passengers; the co-pilot and +engineer were alone on the flight deck. The engineer had moved up +from his control panel and was sitting beside the co-pilot. + +At 8:30 it was time for a radio position report and the co-pilot, +Tom Tompkins, leaned down to set up a new frequency on the radio +controls. Robert Mueller, the engineer, was on watch for other +aircraft. It was ten, maybe twenty seconds after Tompkins leaned down +that Mueller just barely perceived a pinpoint of moving light off to +his right. Even before his thought processes could tell him it might +be another airplane the light began to grow in size. Within a short +six seconds it streaked across the nose of the airliner, coming out +of the Gulf and disappearing inland over Mississippi or Alabama. +Tompkins, the co-pilot, never saw it because Mueller was too +astounded to even utter a sound. + +But Mueller had a good look. The body of the object was shaped like +a bullet and gave off a "pale, luminescent blue glow." The stubby +tail, or exhaust, was marked by "spurts of yellow flame or light." + +The size? Mueller, like any experienced observer, had no idea since +he didn't know how far away it was. But, it was big! + +One sentence, dangling at the bottom of the report was one I'd seen +many, many times before: "Mr. Mueller _was_ a complete skeptic +regarding UFO reports." + +During 1956 there was a rumor--I heard it many times--that the Air +Force had entered into a grand conspiracy with the U.S. news media to +"stamp out the UFO." The common people of the world, the rumor had +it, were not yet psychologically conditioned to learn that we had +been visited by superior beings. By not ever mentioning the words +"unidentified flying object" the public would forget and go on their +merry, stupid way. I heard this rumor so often, in fact, that I began +to wonder myself. But a few dollars invested in Martinis for old +buddies in the Kittyhawk Room of the Biltmore Hotel in Dayton, or the +Men's bar in the Statler Hotel in Washington, produces a lot of +straight and reliable information--much better than you get through +official channels. There was no "silence" order I learned, only the +same old routine. If the files at ATIC were opened to the public it +would take a staff of a dozen people to handle all the inquiries. + +Secondly, many of the inquiries come from saucer screwballs and +these people are like a hypochondriac at the doctor's; nothing will +make them believe the diagnosis unless it is what they came in to +hear. And there are plenty of saucer screwballs. + +One officer summed it up neatly when he told me, "It isn't the UFO's +that give us the trouble, it's the people." + + +As a double check I called several newspaper editors the other day +and asked, "Why don't you print more UFO stories?" The answers were +simple, it's the old "dog bites man" bit--ninety-nine per cent have +no news value any more. + +On May 10, 1956, the man bit the dog. + +A string of UFO sightings in Pueblo, Colorado, hit the front pages +of newspapers across the United States. Starting on the night of May +5th, for six nights, the citizens of Pueblo, including the Ground +Observer Corps, saw UFO's zip over their community. As usual there +were various descriptions but everyone agreed "they'd never seen +anything like it before." + +On the sixth night, the Air Force sent in an investigator and he saw +them. Between the hours of 9:00P.M. and midnight he saw six groups of +triangular shaped objects that glowed "with a dull fluorescence, +faint but bright enough to see." They passed from horizon to horizon +in six seconds. + +The next day this investigator was called back to Colorado Springs, +his base, and a fresh team was sent to Pueblo. + +The man _really_ chomped down on the dog in July and the UFO +_really_ made headlines. + +Maybe it was because a fellow newspaper editor was involved, along +with the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Navy and the Air Force. Or, maybe +it was simply because it was a good UFO sighting. + +About the time Miss Iowa was being judged Miss USA in the 1956 Miss +Universe Pageant at Long Beach, the city editor of _Arkansas_ _City_ +_Daily_ _Traveler_, and a trooper of the Kansas State Highway Patrol +were sitting in a patrol cruiser in Arkansas City. It was a hot and +muggy night. Occasionally the radio in the cruiser would come to +life. An accident near Salina. A drunk driving south from Topeka. +Another accident near Wichita. But generally South Central Kansas was +dead. The newspaper editor was about ready to go home--it was 10 +o'clock--when the small talk he and the trooper had been making was +brought to an abrupt finale by three high pitched beeps from the +cruiser's radio. An important "all cars bulletin" was coming. Twenty- +five years as a newspaperman had trained the editor to always be on +the alert for a story so he reached down and turned up the volume. +Within seconds he had his story. + +"The Hutchinson Naval Air Station is picking up an unidentified +target on their radar," the voice of the dispatcher said, with as +much of an excited tone as a police dispatcher can have. "Take a look." + +Then the dispatcher went on to say that the target was moving in a +semi-circular area that reached out from 50 to 75 miles east of +Hutchinson. A B-47 from McConnell AFB at Wichita was in the area, +searching. The last fix on the object showed it to be near Emporia, +in Marion County. + +The two men in the patrol cruiser looked at each other for a second +or two. Like all newspaper editors, this man had had his bellyful of +flying saucer reports--but this was a little different. + +"Let's go out and look," he said, fully doubting that they would see +anything. + +They drove to a hill in the north part of the city where they could +get a good view of the sky and parked. In a few minutes an Arkansas +City police car joined them. + +It was a clear night except for a few wispy clouds scattered across +the north sky. + +They waited, they looked and they saw. + +Shortly before midnight, off to the north, appeared "a brilliantly +lighted, teardrop shaped, blob of light." "Prongs, or streams of +bright light, sprayed downward from the blob toward the earth." It +was big, about the size of a 200 watt light bulb. + +As the group of men silently watched, the weird light continued to +drift and for many minutes it moved vertically and horizontally over +a wide area of the sky. Then it faded away. + +As one of the men later told me, "I was glad to see it go; I was +pooped." + +The next morning literally hundreds of people spent hours +conjecturing and describing. After all these years of talk they'd +actually seen one. Several photos, showing the big blob of light, +were shown around, and two fishermen readily admitted they'd packed +up their poles and tackle boxes and headed home when they saw it. + +Editor Coyne summed up the feeling of hundreds of Kansans when he +said: "I have tended to discount the stories about flying objects, +but, brother, I am now a believer." + +What was it? First of all it was confusion. Early the next morning +Air Force investigators flooded the area asking _the_ questions: +"What size was it in comparison to a key or a dime?" "Would it +compare in size to a light bulb?" "Was there any noise?" + +As soon as they left, the military tersely announced that no radar +had picked up any target and no B-47's had been sent out. Then they +pulled the plugs on the incoming phone lines. The confusion mounted +when newsmen tapped their private sources and learned that a B-47 +_had_ been sent into the area. + +A few days later the Air Force told the Kansans what they'd seen: +The reflection from burning waste gas torches in a local oil field. + +This was greeted with the Kansan version of the Bronx Cheer. + +Nineteen hundred fifty-six was a big year for Project Blue Book. +According to an old friend, Captain George Gregory, who was then +Chief of Blue Book, they received 778 reports. And through a lot of +sleepless nights they were able to "solve" 97.8% of them. Only 17 +remained "unknowns." + +Digging through the reports for 1956, outside of the ones already +mentioned, there were few real good ones. + +In Banning, California, Ground Observer Corps spotters watched a +"balloon-like object make three rectangular circuits around the +town." In Plymouth, New Hampshire, two GOC spotters reported "a +bright yellow object which left a trail, similar to a jet, moving +slowly at a very high altitude." At Rosebury, Oregon, State Police +received many reports of "funny green and red lights" moving slowly +around a television transmitter tower. And in Hartford, Connecticut, +two amateur astronomers, looking at Saturn through a 4-inch +telescope, were distracted by a bright light. Turning their telescope +on it they observed a "large, whitish yellow light, shaped like a ten +gallon hat." Many other people evidently saw the same UFO because the +local newspaper said, "reports have been pouring in." + +In Miami, a Pan American Airlines radar operator tracked a UFO at +speeds up to 4000 miles an hour. Five of his skeptical fellow radar +operators watched and were confirmed. + +At Moneymore, Northern Ireland, a "level-headed and God fearing" +citizen and his wife captured an 18-inch saucer by putting a headlock +on it. They started to the local police station, but put the saucer +down to climb over a hedge, and it went whirling off to the +hinterlands of space. + +The 27th Air Defense Division that guards the vast aircraft and +missile centers of Southern California was alerted on the night of +September 9. In rapid succession, a Western Airlines pilot making an +approach to Los Angeles International Airport, the Ground Observer +Corps, and numerous Los Angeles citizens called in a white light +moving slowly across the Los Angeles basin. When the big defense +radars on San Clemente Island picked up an unknown target in the same +area that the light was being reported two F-89 jet interceptors were +scrambled but saw nothing. + +A few days later investigators learned that a $27.65 weather balloon +had caused the many thousand dollars' worth of excitement. + +The matter of scrambling interceptors has been a sore point with the +UFO business for a long time. Many people believe that the mere fact +the Air Force will send up two, three, or even four aircraft that +cost $2000 an hour to fly is proof positive that the Air Force +doesn't believe its own story that UFO's don't exist. + +The official answer you'll get, if you ask the Air Force, is that +they scramble against _any_ unknown target as a matter of defense. +But over coffee you get a different answer. They write the UFO +scrambles off as training cost. Each pilot has to get so much flying +time and simulating intercepts against an unidentified light is more +interesting than merely "burning holes in the air." + +If appropriations are ever cut to the point where training must be +curtailed, and Heaven forbid, there will be no more scrambles after +flying saucers. + +And the colonel who told me this was emphatic. + +The year 1957 was heralded in by a startling announcement which +ended a long dry spell of UFO news. + +At a press conference in Washington, D.C., Retired Admiral Delmer S. +Fahrney made a statement. Newspapers across the country carried it +complete, or in part, and people read the statement with interest +because Admiral Fahrney is well known as a sensible and knowledgeable +man. He had fought for and built up the Navy's guided missile program +back in the days when people who talked of ballistic missiles and +satellites _had_ to fight for their beliefs. + +First, Admiral Fahrney announced that a non-profit organization, the +National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) had +been established to investigate UFO reports. He would be chairman of +the board of governors and his board would consist of such potent +names as: + +Retired Vice Admiral R. H. Hillenkoetter, for two years the director +of the supersecret Central Intelligence Agency. + +Retired Lieutenant General P. A. del Valle, ex-commanding general of +the famous First Marine Division. + +Retired Rear Admiral Herbert B. Knowles, noted submariner of World +War II. + +Then Admiral Fahrney read a statement regarding the policies of +NICAP. It was as follows: + +"Reliable reports indicate that there are objects coming into our +atmosphere at very high speeds . . . No agency in this country or +Russia is able to duplicate at this time the speeds and accelerations +which radars and observers indicate these flying objects are able to +achieve. + +"There are signs that an intelligence directs these objects because +of the way they fly. The way they change position in formations would +indicate that their motion is directed. The Air Force is collecting +factual data on which to base an opinion, but time is required to +sift and correlate the material. + +"As long as such unidentified objects continue to navigate through +the earth's atmosphere, there is an urgent need to know the facts. +Many observers have ceased to report their findings to the Air Force +because of the seeming frustration--that is, all information going +in, and none coming out. It is in this area that NICAP may find its +greatest mission. + +"We are in a position to screen independently all UFO information +coming in from our filter groups. + +"General Albert C. Wedemeyer will serve the Committee as Evaluations +Adviser and complete analyses will be arranged through leading +scientists. After careful evaluation, we shall release our findings +to the public." + + + +Donald Keyhoe, a retired Marine Corps Major, and author of three top +seller UFO books, was appointed director. The mere fact that another +civilian UFO investigative group was being born was neither news nor +UFO history because since 1947 well over a hundred such organizations +had been formed. Many still exist; many flopped. But none deserve the +niche in UFO history that does NICAP. NICAP had power and it raised a +storm that took months to calm down. + +NICAP got off to a fast start. Dues were pegged at $7.50 a year, +which included a subscription to the very interesting magazine _The_ +_UFO_ _Investigator_, and the operation went into high gear. + +With such names as Fahrney, Wedemeyer, Hillenkoetter, Del Valle and +Knowles for prestige, and Keyhoe for intrigue, saucer fans all over +the United States packaged up their seven-fifty and mailed it to +headquarters. Each, in turn, became a "listening post" and an +"investigator." + +Keyhoe set up a Panel of Special Advisors, all saucer fans, to +"impartially evaluate" the UFO reports ferreted out by the "listening +posts," based on facts uncovered by the "investigators." + +Even though the "leading scientists" Fahrney mentioned in his +statement never materialized NICAP was cocked, primed, and ready. + +To get things off to a gala start Keyhoe, as director of NICAP, +wrote to the Air Force and set out NICAP's Eight Point Plan. In +essence this plan suggested (some say demanded) that the Air Force +let NICAP ride herd on Project Blue Book. + +First of all, NICAP wanted its Panel of Special Advisors to review +and concur with all of the conclusions on the thousands of UFO +reports that the Air Force had in its files. + +This went over like a worm in the punch bowl. + +First of all, the Air Force didn't feel it was necessary to review +its files. Secondly, they knew NICAP. If every balloon, planet, +airplane, and bird that caused a UFO report hadn't been captured and +a signed confession wrung out, the UFO would be a visitor from outer +space. + +The Air Force decided to ignore NICAP. + +But NICAP wouldn't be ignored. They bombarded everyone from the +Secretary of the Air Force on down with telephone calls, telegrams +and letters. + +Still the Air Force remained silent. + +Then NICAP headquarters called in the troops and members from all +corners of the nation cut loose. The barrage of mail broke the log +jam and just enough information to constitute an answer dribbled out +of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. + +But this didn't satisfy Keyhoe or his UFO hungry NICAPions. They +wanted blood and that blood had to taste like spaceships or they +wouldn't be happy. The cudgel they picked up next was powerful. + +The Air Force had said that there was nothing classified about +Project Blue Book yet NICAP hadn't seen every blessed scrap of paper +in the Air Force UFO files. This was unwarranted censorship! + +While Congress was right in the middle of such important and crucial +problems as foreign policy, atomic disarmament, racketeering, +integration and a dozen and one other problems, NICAP began to +bedevil every senator and representative who was polite enough to +listen. + +It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and in November 1957, +the United States Senate Committee on Government Operations began an +inquiry concerning UFO's. + +I gave my testimony and so did others who had been associated with +Project Blue Book. + +A few weeks later the inquiry was dropped. + +But NICAP had made its name. Of all of the thorns that have been +pounded into the UFO side of the Air Force, NICAP drove theirs the +deepest. + +In the midst of all this mess Admiral Fahrney, General Wedemeyer and +General del Valle, politely, and quietly, resigned from NICAP's board +of governors. + +Neither the loss of these famous names nor the defeat at the hands +of the Air Force has stopped NICAP. They continue to forge ahead, +undaunted. + +In many UFO incidents they have actually uncovered additional, and +sometimes interesting, information. + +NICAP Director Don Keyhoe has taken a beating, being accused of +profiteering, trying to make headlines, and other minor social +crimes. But personally I doubt this. Keyhoe is simply convinced that +UFO's are from outer space and he's a dedicated man. + +While the big NICAP-Air Force battle was going on the UFO's were not +waiting to see who won. They were still flying. + +At Ellington AFB, Texas, a Ground Observer Corps team spotted a UFO +and passed it on to a radar crew. Although the radar crew couldn't +pick it up on their sets they saw it visually. The lieutenant in +charge told investigators how it crossed from horizon to horizon in +45 seconds. + +On March 9, several passengers on a New York to San Juan, Porto Rico +airliner were injured when the pilot pulled the big DC-6 up sharply +to miss a "large, greenish white, clearly circular-shaped object" +which was on a collision course with the plane. The pilots of several +other airliners in the same airway confirmed the sighting. + +Two weeks later jet interceptors were scrambled over Los Angeles to +look for a UFO. + +According to the records, the first report of the brilliant and +mysterious, flashing, red light came from a man in the east part of +Pasadena. But his report was quickly lost in the shuffle as more and +more calls began to come in. As the flashing light crossed the Los +Angeles Basin from southeast to northwest hundreds of people saw it. +Traffic was tied up on the Rose Parade famous Colorado Boulevard as +drivers stopped their cars to get out and look. As it neared the Air +Defense Command Filter Center in Pasadena the filter center +personnel, those that could be spared, went out and looked. They saw +it. Police switchboards lit up a solid red as it crossed the San +Gabriel Valley. + +Near midnight a CAA radar picked up unidentified targets near the +Oxnard AFB, at Oxnard, California (northwest of Los Angeles), and at +almost that identical time people on the airbase saw the light + +This did it, and two powerful jets, equipped with all weather radar, +came screaming into the area. + +But it was the same old story--no contact--the UFO was gone. + +The midwest was visited on the morning of May 23rd, when five +observers in Kansas City saw four silver, disc-shaped objects flying +in formation at extremely high speed. At one point during their +flight two of the objects broke formation and veered off but soon +rejoined. It took the objects only four minutes to cross the sky. + +There were other reports during the first half of 1957, 250 of them +to be exact, and many could be classified as "good." But they were +nothing compared to those that were to come. + +On November 3, 1957, a rash of sightings broke out in Texas and they +had a brand new twist. To do things up right the powers that guide +the UFO picked the town of Levelland only 27 miles west of Lubbock, +the home of the now traditional "Lubbock Lights." + +It was with a tug of nostalgia that I read about these reports +because five years before, almost to the day, Lubbock had plunged the +Air Force, and me, into the UFO mystery on a grand scale. + +According to the best interpretation of the maze of conflicting +stories, facts and rumors about these famous sightings the only +positive fact is that there were scattered storm clouds across West +Texas on the night of November 4, 1957. This was unusual for November +and everyone in the community was just a little edgy. + +It was early in the evening, at least early for West Texas on a +Saturday night, when Pedro Saucedo, a farm worker, and his friend Joe +Salaz, started out in Saucedo's truck toward Pettit, ten miles +northwest of Level-land. They had just turned off State Highway 116 +and were heading north on a country road when the two men saw a flash +of light in an adjacent field. Saucedo, a Korean War Veteran, and +Salaz didn't pay much attention to the light at first. They only +noticed that it was coming closer. "It seemed to be paralleling us +and edging a little closer all the time," Saucedo later recalled. +Still neither man paid any attention to the light. They drove on, +Saucedo watching the road and Salaz talking. + +Then it hit. + +The first signal of something wrong was when the truck's headlights +went out; then the engine stopped. Before Saucedo could hit the +starter again he glanced over his left shoulder. A huge ball of fire +was "rapidly drifting" toward the truck. Without a second's +hesitation Saucedo did what the Korean War had taught him to do when +in doubt, he shoved open the car door and hit the dirt. + +Salaz just sat. + +"The 'Thing' passed directly over my truck with a great sound and +rush of wind," Saucedo later told County Sheriff Weir Clem, after +he'd started his truck and had driven back to Levelland. "It sounded +like thunder and my truck rocked from the blast. I felt a lot of heat." + +The "Thing," which disappeared across the prairie, looked like a +"fiery tornado." + +Five years before and a little east of where Saucedo and Salaz were +"buzzed" I had talked to two women who described almost an identical +UFO. And it remains "unknown" to this day. + +In Levelland, the two men's story would have been enough to keep +Sheriff Clem busy for the rest of the night but between the hours of +8:15P.M. and midnight on the 2nd the "Levelland Thing" struck five +more times. + +James D. Long, a Waco truck driver, came upon "it" four miles west +of Levelland and fainted as it roared over his truck. Ronald Martin, +another truck driver, was stopped east of Levelland, as was Newell +Wright, a Texas Tech student. Jim Wheeler, Jose Alvarez and Frank +Williams added their stories to the melee. + +All of those who had been attacked told Sheriff Clem a similar +story: "The 'Thing' was shaped something like an egg standing on end. +It was fiery red, more like a red neon light. It was about 200 feet +long and was about 200 feet in the air. When it came close to cars +the engines would stop and the lights would go out." + +"Everyone," Sheriff Clem said, "seemed very excited." + +That night everyone in West Texas saw UFO's. Sheriff Clem saw a +brilliant light in the distance. Highway patrolmen Lee Hargrove and +Floyd Cavin reported similar brilliant lights at the same time but +from a different location. The control tower operators at the +Amarillo Airport, to the north, saw a "blue, gaseous object which +moved swiftly and left an amber trail." + +There were dozens more. It was a memorable Saturday night in +Levelland. + +But unbeknown to Sheriff Clem or the residents of West Texas, they +weren't alone on the visitor's list. + +At 2:30A.M. on Sunday morning, only a few hours after the "Thing" +raised havoc around Levelland, an army military police patrol was +cruising the supersecret White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. + +Here is their report as they gave it to Air Force UFO investigators: + +"At approximately 0230, 3 November 1957, Source, together with PFC +------, were on a routine patrol of the up range area of the White +Sands Proving Ground when Source noticed a 'very bright' object high +in the sky. This object slowly descended to an altitude estimated to +be approximately 50 yards where it remained motionless for about 3 +minutes, then it descended to the ground where the light went out. +The object was not blurred or fuzzy, emitted no vapor or smoke. The +object was in view for about 10 minutes, and Source estimated that it +was approximately 2 or 3 miles away. It was estimated to be between +75 and 100 yards in diameter and shaped like an egg. Source stated +that it was as large as a grapefruit held at arm's length. The +weather was cold, drizzling and windy, and Source stated no stars +were visible. After the light went out Source and PFC ------ +continued north to the STALLION SITE CAMP and reported the incident +to the Sergeant of the Guard who returned to the area but failed to +find anything." + +The flap was on. + +On Monday, the 4th, the "Levelland Thing" struck again near the +White Sands Proving Ground. James Stokes, a 20-year Navy veteran, and +an electronics engineer, had the engine of his new Mercury stopped as +"a brilliant, egg-shaped" object made a pass at the highway. As it +went over, Stokes said, "it felt like the radiation of a giant sun +lamp." + +Stokes said there were ten other carloads of people stopped but if +this is true no one ever found out who they were. + +The Air Force wrote off Stokes' story as, "Hoax, presumably +suggested by the Levelland, Texas, reports." + +Maybe the Air Force didn't believe James Stokes but when the Coast +Guard Cutter _Seabago_ radioed in their report from the Gulf of +Mexico wheels began to turn--fast. + +On Tuesday morning, the 5th, the _Seabago_ was about 200 miles south +of the mouth of the Mississippi River on a northerly heading. At +5:10A.M. her radar picked up a target off to the left at a distance +of about 14 miles. This was really nothing unusual because they were +under heavily traveled air lanes. + +The early morning watch is always rough and as the small group of +officers and men in the Combat Information Center quietly watched the +target, with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, it moved south, made a +turn, and headed back to the north again. A few of the men noticed +that the turn looked "a little different," but this early in the +morning they didn't give it much thought. + +At 5:14 the target went off the scope to the north. + +At 5:16 it was back and the lassitude was instantly gone. Now the +target was 22 miles _south_ of the ship. No one in the CIC had to +draw a picture. Something, in two minutes, had disappeared off the +scope to the north, made a big swing around the ship, out of radar +range, and had swung in from the south! + +Word went up to the lookouts. They tensed up and began to scan the +sky. + +The radar contacts continued. + +This second contact, south of the ship, was held for two full +minutes as the target moved out from 22 to 55 miles. Then it faded. + +At 5:20 the target was back but now it was _north_ of the ship +again, and it was hovering! + +Again the lookouts were called. Could they see anything now? Their +"No" answers didn't hold for long because seconds later their terse +reports began to come into the CIC. A "brilliant light, like a +planet" was streaking across the northwest sky about 30 degrees above +the horizon. Unfortunately the radar had lost contact for a moment +when the visual report came in. + +At 5:37 the target disappeared from the scopes and was gone for good. + +The _Seabago_ Case was ended but the UFO's continued to fly. + +Reports continued to come into the Air Force and a lot of +investigators lost a lot of sleep. + +The next day at 3:50P.M. the C.O. of an Air Force weather detachment +at Long Beach, California, and twelve airmen watched six saucer- +shaped UFO's streak along _under_ the bases of a 7000 foot high cloud +deck. + +On the same day, also in Long Beach, officers and men at the Los +Alamitos Naval Air Station saw UFO's almost continuously between the +hours of 6:05 and 7:25P.M. + +Long Beach police reported "well over a hundred calls" during this +same period. + +During November and December of 1957 it was a situation of you name +the city and there was a UFO report from there. Trying to sift them +out and put them in a book would be like sorting out a plateful of +spaghetti. And if you succeeded you would have a document the size of +the New York City telephone directory. + +Most of the reports were explained. + +The Levelland, Texas, sightings were written off as "St. Elmo's +Fire." The military police at the White Sands Proving Ground saw the +moon through broken clouds and the crew of the Coast Guard ship +_Seabago_ were actually tracking several separate aircraft. + +The 1957 flap was as great as the previous record breaking 1952 +flap. During 1957 the Air Force received 1178 UFO reports. Of these, +only 20 were placed on the "unknown" list. + +In comparison to 1957, the first months of 1958 were a doldrums. +Reports drifted in at a leisurely pace and the Air Force UFO +investigating teams, blooded during the avalanche of 1957, picked off +solutions like knocking off clay pipes in a shooting gallery. + +In Los Angeles, a few clear nights drove the Air Defense Command +nuts. People could actually see the sky and the sight of so many +stars frightened them. + +Unusual atmospherics in Georgia made stars jump and radars go crazy; +and a balloon, hanging over Chicago at dusk, cost the taxpayers +another several thousand dollars but the pilots made their flight pay. + +A statement by Dr. Carl Jung, renowned Swiss psychologist, was +widely publicized in July 1958. Dr. Jung was quoted as saying, in a +letter to a U.S. saucer club, "UFO's are real." When Dr. Jung read +what he was supposed to have written the Alps rang with screams of +"misquote." + +No one got excited until the early morning of September 29th. + +Shortly before dawn on that day a confusing mess of reports began to +pour into the Air Force. Some came from the Washington, D.C., area. +People right in NICAP's backyard told of seeing a "large, round, +fiery object" shoot across the sky from southeast to northwest. A few +excited observers, all from the country northwest of Washington, "had +seen it land" and even as they telephoned in their reports they could +see it glowing behind a neighbor's barn. + +Other reports, also of a "huge, round, fiery object," came in from +such places as Pittsburgh, Somerset, and Bedford, all in +Pennsylvania; and Hagerstown and Frederick in Maryland. To add to the +confusion, people in Pennsylvania reported seeing three objects +"flying in formation." + +When the dust settled Air Force investigators took the first step in +the solution of any UFO report. They plotted the sightings on a map, +and collated the directions of flight, descriptions and times of +observation. It was obvious that the object had moved along a line +between Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh. It was traveling about 7000 +miles an hour and everyone had obviously seen the same object. By the +time it had passed into Pennsylvania it had split into three objects. + +But the hooker was the reported landings northeast of Washington. +Too many people had reported a glow on the ground to write this +factor off even though an investigator, dispatched to the scene +shortly after dawn, had found nothing in the way of evidence. + +One possibility was that some unknown object had streaked across the +sky, landed and then took off again. + +Could be, but it wasn't. + +The next night the case broke. The glow from the landing was a +bright floodlight on a barn. No one had ever really noticed it before +until the object passed nearby. + +A few days later the object itself was identified. From the many +identical descriptions Project Blue Book's astrophysicist pinned it +down as a large meteor. The meteor had broken up near the end of its +flight to produce the illusion of three objects flying in formation. + +Of all the 590 UFO reports the Air Force received in 1958, probably +the weirdest was solved before it was ever reported. + +About four o'clock on the afternoon of October 2, 1958, three men +were standing in a group, talking, outside a tungsten mill at Danby, +California, right in the heart of the Mojave Desert The men had been +talking for about five minutes when one of them, who happened to be +facing the northwest, stopped right in the middle of a sentence and +pointed. The other two men looked and to their astonishment saw a +brilliant glow of light. It was so close to the horizon that it was +difficult to tell if it was on the horizon or in the air just above it. + +At first the men ignored the light but as it persisted they became +more interested. They'd all heard "flying saucer" stories and, they +later admitted, this possibility entered their minds. + +As they watched they speculated. It could be something natural but +all of them had been around this area for months and they'd never +seen this light before. About the time they decided to get a +telescope and take a closer look the light suddenly faded. + +All the next day the men kept glancing off toward the northwest as +they worked but the clear blue sky was blank. Then, at 4:00P.M., the +light was back. This time they had a telescope. + +All the men took turns looking at the object and all agreed that it +was about 15 feet long, 5 feet high and solid. It looked like the sun +reflecting off shiny metal. It was about four miles away, they +estimated, and almost exactly on the horizon. + +Now the men's curiosity was thoroughly whetted. Martian spaceship or +whatever, they were going after it. But a several-hour search of the +area produced nothing. And, as soon as they left the mill they lost +sight of the object. + +Darkness brought the search to a halt. + +The next day at 4:00P.M. a crowd had gathered and the UFO kept its +appointment. Again the men studied the object and tension ran high. + +Someone had resurrected the stories of UFO's landing in the desert. +At the time they'd sounded absurd but now, standing there looking at +a UFO, it was different. + +A party of men were all ready to jeep out into the desert to make +another search when one of them made a discovery. There were guy +wires coming out of the UFO and running down into the trees. Other +people looked. And then the solution hit like a fireball. + +Exactly in line with the UFO, and ten miles away, not four, was a +set of antennas for the California State Highway Patrol radio. The +sun's rays were reflecting from these antennas. They'd never seen +this before because on only a few days during the year was the sun at +exactly the right angle to produce the reflection. + +The men were right. In a few days the Danby UFO left and it never +came back. + +Nineteen hundred fifty-eight was not a record year for UFO's. The +590 reports received didn't stack up to the 1178 for 1957, or the 778 +for 1956, or the 918 for 1952. But a new record was set when the +percentage of unknowns was pared down to a new low. During 1958 only +9/10 of one per cent of the reports, or 5 reports, were classified as +"unknown." + +More manpower, better techniques, and just plain old experience has +allowed the Air Force to continually lower the percentage of +"unknowns" from 20%, while I was in charge of Project Blue Book, to +less than 1%, today. + +No story of the UFO would be complete without describing one of +these unknowns, so here's one exactly as it came out of the Project +Blue Book files: + +"On 31 October 1958, this Center received a TWX reporting an UFO +near Lock Raven Dam. A request for a detailed investigation was sent +to the nearest Air Force Base. The following is a summary of the +incident and subsequent investigation: + +"Two civilians were driving around near Lock Raven Dam on the +evening of 26 October 1958. When they rounded a curve about 200 to +300 yards from a bridge they saw what appeared to be a large, flat, +egg shaped object hovering about 100 to 150 feet above the bridge +superstructure. They slowed their car and when they got to within 75 +or 80 feet of the bridge their engine quit and their lights went out. +The driver immediately stepped on the brakes and stopped the car. +Attempts were made to start the car and when this was unsuccessful +they became frightened and got out of the car. They put the car +between them and the object and watched for approximately 30 to 45 +seconds. The object then seemed to flash a brilliant white light and +both men felt heat on their faces. Then there was heard a loud noise +and the object began rising vertically. The object became very bright +while rising and its shape could not be seen as it rose. It +disappeared in five to ten seconds. + +"After the object disappeared, the car was started and they turned +it around and drove to where a phone was located and contacted the +Towson Police Department. Two patrolmen were sent to meet them. The +two men told the patrolmen of their experience. The witnesses then +noticed a burning sensation on their faces and became concerned about +possible radiation burns. They went to a Baltimore Hospital for an +examination. Both witnesses were advised by the doctor that they had +no reason for concern. + +"An extensive investigation was made concerning this incident. +However, no valid conclusion could be made as to the possible nature +of the sighting and it remains unidentified." + +So ended 1958 and in its final tally of sightings for the year +Project Blue Book added a new space age touch--earth satellites had +accounted for eleven UFO reports. + +Nineteen hundred fifty-nine came in with a good one. We used to call +these reports "Ground-air-visual-radar" sightings and they make +interesting reading. + +At Duluth, Minnesota, in March, it's dark by five o'clock in the +evening. It's cold. The temperature hovers around zero and it's so +clear you have a feeling you can almost reach up and touch the stars. + +It was this kind of a night on March 13, 1959, and as the officers +and men of the Air Defense Command fighter squadron at the Duluth +Municipal Airport moved, they shuffled along slowly because the heavy +parkas and arctic clothing they wore were heavy. + +Then came the UFO report and things speeded up. + +At 5:20P.M., exactly, the operations officer noted the time, word +came in over the comm line that someone had sighted an unidentified +flying object off to the north. Word flashed around the squadron and +as people rushed out of buildings to look they were joined by those +already outside. + +And there it was: big, round and bright, and it was moving at high +speed. Some observers thought it was "greenish," others "reddish," +but it was something and it was there. + +The bearing was 300 degrees from the base. + +It was an awesome sight and it became even more awesome when a quick +call to an adjacent radar site brought back the word that they had +just picked up a target on a bearing of 300 degrees from the air +base. They were tracking it and taking scope photos. + +In the alert hangar, the two pilots standing the alert had been +listening to a running account of the sighting so when the scramble +bell rang they took off for their airplanes like a couple of sprinters. + +As the two big alert hangar doors swung up the whining screech of +the jet starters, followed by thunder of the engines, filled the +airfield. The atmosphere around the Duluth Municipal Airport was +closely akin to Santa Anita the instant the starting gates open. + +I've been around when jet interceptors scramble and you can twang +the tension with your finger. + +As the people on the ground watched they could first see the flame +of the jet's afterburner disappear into the night. Then the jet's +navigation lights faded out on a bearing of 300 degrees. + +At the radar site they still had the target and there were many +excited people watching the big pale, orange scopes as two little +bright points of light began to close on a bigger blob of light. + +Then the pilots gave the "Tally-ho"--they were in visual contact. + +But the "Tally-ho" had no more been given than the big blob of light +on the target began to pull away from the fighters and was soon off +the scope. + +The pilots kept visual contact, though, and the radio provided the +details of the chase to the now blind crew in the radar room. + +The two jets bored north, with afterburner on, and the needles on +their machmeters passed the "1.0" mark. But still the UFO was just as +far away as it had ever been. + +The chase went on for a few minutes more before the pilots pulled +their throttles back into the cruise position, turned, and came home. + +Even before they landed, the people at the airbase saw the big, +round and bright UFO rapidly begin to fade and then it was gone. + +So ended the glamour and the dog work began. + +Each man who had seen the UFO visually was carefully interrogated. +Weather reports were collected. Radarscope photos were developed. The +two pilots received special attention. The exact bearing of the UFO +was measured and 300 degrees magnetic was correct. + +The bundle of data was packed up and sent to Project Blue Book. The +panel of experts convened. + +First, the radarscope photos were examined. + +"Those targets could be interference from other radars," said the +radar expert, and he mentally ticked off a dozen and one other +similar cases of known interference. The weather data, and locations +and frequencies of other radars were checked out. + +Beyond doubt it was interference from another radar that caused the +target. + +Now, the visual sighting. + +Balloon? No, the fighters could have caught a balloon in seconds. + +Airplane? Same answer. These jets were the fastest things in the air. + +Planet or star? Out came the almanacs and the puzzle went to the +astrophysicist. Venus was on a bearing of 300 degrees from the Duluth +Municipal Airport at 5:20P.M. on March 23rd. _But_ Venus was just +below the horizon at that time and the observers said the UFO was +"moving fast." + +Once again the weather charts were studied. The atmospheric +conditions were such that it was very possible that due to refraction +Venus would have been visible just on the horizon. The fact that the +UFO faded so fast would bear this out because the conditions for such +refraction are critical and a slight change in atmospheric conditions +could easily have caused the planet to disappear. + +The speed--a common illusion. Further interrogation of the observers +showed it had never moved. + +So, the history of the UFO is almost brought up to date. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN + +Off They Go into the Wild Blue Yonder + +At 12:30P.M. on Thursday, November 20, 1952, history was made. + +At least, so says George Adamski, lecturer on philosophy and student +of technical matters and astronomy. + +At 12:30P.M. on Thursday, November 20, 1952, George Adamski was the +first man on earth to talk to a Venusian. + +At least, so says George Adamski. + +I was chief of Project Blue Book at the time and the name "Professor +Adamski"--he had a title then--wasn't new to me. He, or some of his +followers had been showering the Air Force with photos of flying +saucers. Letters by the gross were coming in demanding recognition of +the great professor and an analysis of his photos. + +We obliged and the photos were examined by the experts at Wright- +Patterson Photo Reconnaissance Labs. The verdict came back: "They +could be genuine, of course, but they also could have been easily +faked by a ten year old with a Brownie camera." + +For a few weeks we forgot George Adamski. But then the press began +to clamor at our gates. The news was leaking out of Southern +California. George Adamski had talked to a Venusian! We held out for +a long time but the pressure mounted and I headed for California to +find out what it was all about. + +As far as George Adamski was concerned I was just another thirsty +sight-seer from the famous observatory on Mt. Palomar when I walked +into the little restaurant at the foot of this famous mountain one +day in 1953. + +The four stool restaurant, with a few tables, where Adamski worked +as a handyman, was crowded when I arrived and he was circulating +around serving beer and picking up empty bottles. There was no doubt +as to who he was because his fame had spread. To the dozen almost +reverently spoken queries, "Are you Adamski?" he modestly nodded his +head. + +Small questions about the flying saucer photos for sale from +convenient racks led to more questions and before long the good +"professor" had taken a position in the middle of the room and was +off and running. + +In his slightly broken English he told how he was the son of poor, +Polish immigrants with hardly any formal education. + +To look at the man and to listen to his story you had an immediate +urge to believe him. Maybe it was his appearance. He was dressed in +well worn, but neat, overalls. He had slightly graying hair and the +most honest pair of eyes I've ever seen. + +Or maybe it was the way he told his story. He spoke softly and +naively, almost pathetically, giving the impression that "most people +think I'm crazy, but honestly, I'm really not." + +Adamski started his story by telling how he had spent many long and +cold nights at his telescope "at the request of the government" +trying to photograph one of the flying saucers everyone had been +talking about. He'd been successful, as the full photograph racks on +the wall showed, and he thought the next step would be to actually +try to contact a saucer. + +For some reason, Adamski didn't know exactly why, on November 19th +he'd decided to go out into the Mojave Desert. He'd called some +friends and told them to meet him there. + +By noon the next day the party, which consisted of Adamski and six +others, had met and were eating lunch near the town of Desert Center +on the California-Arizona border. + +They looked for saucers, but except for an occasional airplane, the +cloudless blue sky was empty. They were about ready to give it up as +a bad day when another airplane came over. Again they looked up, but +this time, in addition to seeing the airplane, they saw a silvery, +cigar-shaped "flying saucer." + +For some reason, again he didn't know why, the group of people moved +down the road where Adamski left them and took off into the desert +alone. + +By this time the "space ship" had disappeared and once again Adamski +was about to give up. + +Then, a flash of light caught his eye and a smaller saucer (he later +learned it was a "scout ship") came drifting down and landed about a +half mile from him. He swung his camera into action and started to +take pictures. Unfortunately, the one picture Adamski had to show was +so out of focus the scout ship looked like a desert rock. + +He took a few more pictures, he told his audience, and had stopped +to admire the little scout ship when he suddenly noticed a man +standing nearby. + +Now, even those in the crowded restaurant who had been smirking when +he started his story had put down their beers and were listening. +This is what they had come to hear. + +You could actually have heard the proverbial pin drop. + +Adamski told what went through his mind when he first saw the man-- +maybe a prospector. But he noticed the man's long, shoulder-length, +sandy-colored hair, his dark skin, his Oriental features and his ski- +pant type trousers. He was puzzled. + +Then it came into his mind like a flash, he was looking at a person +from some other world! + +Through mental pictures, sign language, and a few words of English, +Adamski found out the man was from Venus, he was friendly, and that +they (the Venusians) were worried about radiation from our atomic +bombs. + +They talked. George pointed to his camera but the man from Venus +politely refused to be photographed. Adamski pleaded to go into the +"ship" to see how it operated but the Venusian refused this, too. + +They talked some more--of spaceships and of solar systems--before +Adamski walked with his new found friend to the saucer and saw the +Venusian off into space. + +At this point Adamski recalled how he had glanced up in the sky to +see the air full of military aircraft. + +Needless to say, the rest of Adamski's party, who had supposedly +seen the "contact" from a mile away, were excited. They rushed up to +him and it was then that they noticed the footprints. + +Plainly imprinted in the desert sand were curious markings made by +ridges on the soles of the Venusian's shoes. + +At the urging of the crowd in the restaurant Adamski took an old +shoe box out from under the counter. One of his party, that day, had +just happened to have some plaster of paris and the shoe box +contained plaster casts of shoe prints with strange, hieroglyphic- +like symbols on the soles. No one in the restaurant asked how the +weight of a mere man could make such sharp imprints in the dry, +coarse desert sand. + +Next he showed the sworn statements of the witnesses and the crowd +moved in around him for a better look. + +As I left he was graciously filling people in on more details and +the cash register was merrily ringing up saucer picture sales. + +I didn't write the trip off as a complete loss, the weather in +California was beautiful. + +Adamski held the UFO spotlight for some time. + +The Venusians paid him another visit, this time at the restaurant, +and he photographed their "ship." This, whether by Venusian fate or +design, increased the flow of traffic to the restaurant at the base +of Mt. Palomar. + +It also had its side effects. + +An astronomer from the observatory that houses the world famous 200- +inch telescope on top of Mt. Palomar told me: "I hate to admit it but +the number of week end visitors has picked up here. People drive down +to hear George and decide that since they're down here they might as +well come up and see our establishment." + +But George Adamski didn't hold the front center of the stage for +long. In rapid succession others stepped forward and hesitantly +admitted that they too had been contacted. + +Truman Bethurum, a journeyman mechanic of Redondo Beach, California, +was next up. + +Actually, he admitted, _he_ had been the first earthman to talk to a +person from another world. Back on the night of July 26, 1952, four +months before Adamski, a group of eight or ten, short, olive-skinned +men with black wavy hair, had awakened him while he was asleep in a +truck in the desert near Mormon Flats, Nevada. + +These little men, unlike Adamski's, spoke any language. + +"You name it," they'd quipped to Bethurum, "we speak it." + +In a newspaper article that was voted "Best Read of 1953," Bethurum +told how the little men he met had been more cooperative and had +actually taken him into their saucer, a huge job 300 feet in diameter +and 16 feet high. + +Once inside, Bethurum had met the captain of the "scow"--a true +leader of men. Aura Rhanes was her name and she was a Venus de Milo +with arms and warm blood. "When she spoke her words rhymed." They +chatted and Bethurum learned that he was on the "Admiral's scow" the +command ship of Clarion's fleet of saucers. + +All in all, Bethurum made eleven visits to Aura's scow. Each time +they'd sit and talk. Bethurum told her about the earth and she told +of the idyllic, Shangri-La type planet of Clarion--a yet undiscovered +planet which is always opposite the moon. + +But before too long, both Truman Bethurum and George Adamski had to +move over. Daniel Fry, an engineer, stepped in. + +At a press conference to kick off the International Saucer +Convention in Los Angeles, Fry told how he had not only contacted the +spacemen _two_ _years_ _before_ Adamski and Bethurum, he had actually +_ridden_ in a flying saucer. + +It had all started on the night of July 4, 1950, when engineer Fry +was temporarily employed at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. + +It was a hot night, and with nothing else to do, Fry decided to take +a walk across the desert. He hadn't traveled far when he saw a bluish +light hovering over the mountains which rim this famous proving +ground. He paid no attention. He'd heard flying saucer stories before +and just plain didn't believe them. + +But as he watched, the light came closer and closer and closer, +until a weird craft came silently to rest on the desert floor not +seventy feet away. + +For seconds, Fry, who had seen missile age developments at White +Sands that would have dumfounded most laymen, merely stood and stared. + +The object, Fry told newsmen, was an "ovate spheroid about thirty +feet at the equator." (Fry has a habit of drifting off into the +technical). Its outside surface was a highly polished silver with a +slight violet iridescent glow. + +At first Fry wanted to run but his rigid technical training overrode +his common, natural urges. He decided to go over to the object and +see what made it tick. + +He circled it several times and nothing broke the desert silence. +Then he touched it. + +"Better not touch that hull, pal, it's hot," boomed a voice in a +Hollywoodian tone. + +Fry recoiled. + +The voice softened and added, "Take it easy, pal, you're among +friends." + +After politely reading off the spaceman, or whoever he was, for +scaring him, pal Fry and the voice settled down for a friendly +moonlight chat. Fry learned that the voice was indeed that of a +spaceman and they were down to pick up a new supply of air. After +about four years of earth air transfusions, according to the +spaceman, they would become adapted to our atmosphere, and our +gravity, and become "immunized to your bi-otics." The craft, Fry was +told, was a "cargo carrier," unmanned and built to zoom down and +scoop up earth air. + +The conversation went on, waxing technical at times, and ended with +an invitation to look into the ship. Then the spaceman, possibly +carried away by all the interest Fry was showing, offered a ride. + +Fry accepted and they antidemagnetized off for New York City. Thirty +minutes later they were back at White Sands. + +Over New York City they came down from 35 to 20 miles and Fry could +read the marquee of the Fulton Theater. "The Seven Year Itch" was +playing. + +He hadn't told the Air Force about his ride before because he was +afraid he'd lose his job. But, at the press conference, he did plug +his new book, _The_ _White_ _Sands_ _Incident_. + +By this time Adamski had already published his book _Flying_ +_Saucers_ _Have_ _Landed_ and it looked as if Fry was going to cut +him out. But Fry took a lie detector test on a widely viewed West +Coast television show and flunked it flat. + +His stock dropped as fast as it had risen but the decline was +somewhat checked when a well known Southern California medium wrote +to "her old friend" J. Edgar Hoover about the situation. Hoover, the +story goes, shot back an answer--lie detectors are no good. + +But the damage had been done. The "rigged" lie detector test had +unfortunately relegated Daniel Fry, "engineer," "missile expert," +"part owner of an engineering plant," and interplanetary hitchhiker +to the bush league. + +With Adamski and Bethurum on the stage and Fry peeking out of the +wings all hell broke loose. + +One could say that everyone tried to get into the act, but I'd +rather think that each colony of space people tried to promote their +own candidate. + +In England, one Cedric Allingham met a Martian on the moors. In +France, Germany, the United States, Portugal, Brazil, Spain-- +everywhere--people "too uneducated to pull a hoax" met green men, +dark men, white men, big men with little heads, little men with big +heads and men with pointed heads. They wore motorcycle belts, baggy +pants, diver suits, and were naked. + +One lady proudly announced that a Venusian had tried to seduce her +and within days another snorted in disgust. A Martian _had_ seduced +her. + +Then Adamski took a hop through outer space and back. + +Saucers poured forth words of wisdom via radio, light beams and +mental telepathy. All of these messages were duly recorded on tape +and sales were hot at $4.50 per 10-minute tape. + +Not to be outdone by any other lousy planet, the Venusians picked up +a young man from Los Angeles and actually took him to Venus. Not +once, but three times. + +He packed in audiences by telling how he had been contacted one +night and asked by a "strange man" if he would go on an important +mission. Afraid, but not one to shirk his patriotic duties, he met +the stranger at a prearranged spot and was whisked off to Venus. +During a high level conference up there he was given the word: Tell +the earthlings to lay off their atomic weapons, or else. They're +killing all our doves and we make our flying saucers out of the +feathers our live doves shed. + +The Venusians, this space traveler warned his audiences, were +already infiltrating the earth and he intimated that they were ready +to move in case we didn't cease atomic testing. + +His next two trips to Venus were purely social. + +The highlight of his lecture, when he awes his audience, is when he +whips out his proof: (1) a blood smear on a slide--genuine Venusian +blood, (2) an affidavit from his landlady stating he wasn't home on +three occasions, and (3) a photo of a Venusian walking in Los +Angeles' McArthur Park. The mere fact that the Venusian looks like +any Joe Doakes walking down the street is a picayunish point. +Venusians look just like us. + +And it hasn't stopped. During the big UFO flap of 1957 a man +stumbled onto a landed saucer and chatted awhile with its occupants. +A few months later, soon after the atomic powered _U.S.S._ _Nautilus_ +made its historic trip under the polar ice cap, this same man snorted +in disgust. He packed his suitcase and started on a lecture tour. +Months before _he'd_ been there in a flying saucer. + +Once again people shelled out hard cash to hear his story. + +Wherever you are, Mr. P. T. Barnum, you are undoubtedly grinning +from ear to ear. + +But there is a sober side to this apparently comical picture. The +common undertone to many of these stories "hot from the lips of a +spaceman" is Utopia. On these other worlds there is no illness, +they've learned how to cure all diseases. There are no wars, they've +learned how to live peaceably. There is no poverty, everyone has +everything he wants. There is no old age, they've learned the secret +of eternal life. + +Too many times this subtle pitch can be boiled down to, "Step right +up folks and put a donation in the pot. I'm just on the verge of +learning the spaceman's secrets and with a little money to carry out +my work I'll give _you_ the secret." + +I've seen a man, crippled by arthritis, hobbling out into the desert +in hopes that his "friend who talks to the Martians" could get them +to cure him on their next trip. I've seen pensioners, who needed +every buck they had, shell out money to "help buy radio equipment" to +contact some planet to find out how they'd solved their economic +problems. I saw a little old lady in a many times mended dress put +down a ten dollar bill to help promote a "peace campaign" backed by +the Venusians. She'd lost two sons in the war but had four grandsons +she wanted to keep alive. A couple died and left $15,000 to a man to +build a "longevity machine" so others could live. The Martians had +given him the plans. + +A woman died of thirst and exposure in the Mojave Desert trying to +reach the spot where a man told her he was going to "make a contact." + +Some of it isn't comical. + +Even though the field is becoming crowded, through thick and thin, +Martian and Venusian, the old Maestro, George Adamski, is still head +and shoulders above the rest. The hamburger stand is boarded up and +he lives in a big ranch house. He vacations in Mexico and has his own +clerical staff. His two books _Flying_ _Saucers_ _Have_ _Landed_ and +_Inside_ _the_ _Space_ _Ships_ have sold something in the order of +200,000 copies and have been translated into nearly every language +except Russian. To date, he's had eleven visits from people from +Mars, Venus and Saturn. Evidently Truman Bethurum's Aura Rhanes put +out the word about earthmen because two beautiful spacewomen have now +entered Adamski's life: an "incredibly lovely" blonde named Kalna, +and the equally beautiful Illmuth. + +Only a few months ago, while on one of his numerous nationwide +lecture tours, a saucer unexpectedly picked Adamski up in Kansas City +and took him on a galactic cruise before depositing him at Ft. +Madison, Iowa, where he had a lecture date. He "wowed" the packed +auditorium with his "proof"--an unused Kansas City to Ft. Madison +train ticket. + +Last week, in the Netherlands (Adamski's nationwide tours have +expanded to world-wide tours), he repeated his exploits to Queen +Juliana. + +But at Buckingham Palace, Mr. Barnum, all he saw was the changing of +the guard. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY + +Do They or Don't They? + +During the past four years the most frequent question I've been +asked is: "What do you personally think? Do unidentified flying +objects exist, or don't they?" + +I'm positive they don't. + +I was very skeptical when I finished my tour of active duty with the +Air Force and left Project Blue Book in 1953, but now I'm convinced. + +Since I left the Air Force the Age of the Satellite has arrived and +we're in it. Along with this new era came the long range radars, the +satellite tracking cameras, and the other instruments that would have +picked up any type of "spaceship" coming into our atmosphere. + +None of this instrumentation has ever given any indication of any +type of unknown vehicle entering the earth's atmosphere. + +I checked this with the Department of Defense and I checked this +through friends associated with tracking projects. In both cases the +results were completely negative. + +There's not even a glimmer of hope for the UFO. + +Then there's Project MOONWATCH, the Optical Satellite Tracking +Program for the International Geophysical Year. + +Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the director of MOONWATCH wrote to me: "I can +quite safely say that we have no record of ever having received from +our MOONWATCH teams any reports of sightings of unidentified objects +which had any characteristics different from those of an orbiting +satellite, a slow meteor, or of a suspected plane mistaken for a +satellite." + +Dr. Hynek should know. He has investigated and analyzed more UFO +reports than any other scientist in the world. + +And the third convincing point is that twelve years have passed +since the first UFO report was made and still there is not one shred +of material evidence of anything unknown and no photos of anything +other than meaningless blobs of light. + +The next question that always arises is: "But people are seeing +something. Experienced observers, like pilots, scientists and radar +operators have reported UFO's." + +To be very frank, we heard the words "experienced observer" so many +times these words soon began to make us ill. + +Everyone, except housewives with myopia, were experienced observers. + +Pilots, "scientists" (a term used equally as loosely), engineers, +radar operators, everyone who reported a UFO was some kind of an +"experienced observer." This man had taught aircraft recognition +during World War II. He was an experienced observer. That man spent +four years in the Air Force. He was an experienced observer. We soon +learned that everyone is an experienced observer as long as what he +sees is familiar to him. As soon as he sees something unfamiliar it's +a UFO. + +Pilots probably come as close to falling into this category as +anyone since they do spend a lot of time looking around the sky. But +even those who can rattle off the names and locations of stars, +planets and constellations don't know about a few relatively rare +astronomical phenomena. + +The bolide, or super meteor, is a good example. Few pilots have +ever, or will ever, see a deluxe model bolide but when they do +they'll never forget it. It's like someone shooting a flare in front +of your face. There are a number of reports of bolides in the Blue +Book files and each pilot who made each report called each bolide a +UFO. The descriptions are almost identical to the classic +descriptions of bolides found in astronomy books. + +While on the subject of meteors, if most people realized that +meteors can have a flat trajectory, they can go from horizon to +horizon, they can travel in "formation" (groups), and they can be +seen in daylight (as "large silver discs"), the work of UFO +investigators would be lighter. + +Enough of meteors and back to our experienced observers. + +The example of pilots and bolides holds true in many, many other +cases. + +Take high flying jets for example. To a person in an area where +there isn't much high altitude air traffic, a thin, blood red streak +in the sky at sunset, or shortly after, is a UFO. To anyone in an +area where there are a lot of high flying jets even our myopic +housewife, it's just another vapor trail. They're as common as the +sunset. + +When the flashing red strobe lights, now used on practically all +aircraft, were still in the experimental stage back in 1951 they gave +us fits. Every time an airplane with one of these flashing lights +made a flight people within miles, including other pilots, called in +UFO reports. Now these strobe lights are common and no one even +bothers to look up. + +The same held true, and still does, for the odd array of lights used +on tanker planes during aerial refueling operations. + +Some phenomena are so rare and so little is known about them that +they are always UFO's. The most common is the disc following the +airplane. + +I've never heard an explanation for this phenomenon but it exists +and I've seen it on three occasions. Maybe a dense blob of air tears +off the airplane, floats along behind, and reflects the sunlight. +Whatever it is, it gives the illusion of a saucer "chasing" an +airplane. Sometimes it's steady and sometimes it darts back and +forth. It only stays in view a few seconds and when it disappears it +fades and looks for all the world as if it's suddenly streaking away +into the distance. + +Birds, bees, bugs, airplanes, planets, stars, balloons, and a host +of other common everyday objects become UFO's the instant they are +viewed under other than normal situations. + +Then there is radar. This poor inanimate piece of electronic +equipment has taken a beating when UFO proof is being offered. "Radar +is not subject to the frailties of the human mind," is the outcry of +every saucer fan, "and radar has seen UFO's." + +Radar is no better than the radar observer and the radar observer +has a mind. And where there's a mind there is the same old trouble. +If the presentation on the radarscope doesn't look like it has looked +for years a UFO is being tracked. + +Radar is temperamental. The scope presentation of each radar has +certain peculiarities and an operator gets used to seeing these. +Occasionally, and for some unknown reason, these peculiarities +suddenly change. For months a temperature inversion may cause 50 or +75 targets to appear on the radarscope. The operator has learned to +recognize them and knows that they are caused by weather. They are +not UFO's. But overnight something changes and now this same +temperature inversion causes only one or two targets. The operator +isn't used to seeing this and the targets are now UFO's. + +Many times we'd stumble across the fact that after the first report +of a UFO being tracked on radar the same identical type of target +would be tracked again, many times. But by this time the operator +would have learned that they were caused by weather and it wouldn't +be reported to us. + +It is interesting to note that, to my knowledge, there has never +been a radar sighting classed as "unknown" when radarscope photos +were taken. The reason is simple. The radar operator can take ample +time to re-examine what he had to interpret in seconds during the +actual sighting. Also, more experienced radar operators have a chance +to examine the scope presentation. + +Mixed in with the fact that there are few really qualified observers +on this earth is the power of suggestion. About the time someone +yells "UFO!" and points, all powers of reasoning come to a screeching +halt. + +We saw this happen day after day. + +Few people I ever talked to, once they had decided they were looking +at a UFO, stopped to calmly say to themselves, "Now couldn't this be +a balloon, star, planet, or something else explainable?" + +In one instance I traveled halfway across the United States to +investigate a report made by a high ranking man in the State +Department. An experienced observer. It was evening by the time I got +to talk to him and after he'd excitedly told me all the pertinent +facts, how this bright fight had "jumped across the sky," he said, +"Want to see it? It's still there but it's not jumping now." + +We went outside and there was Jupiter. + +Then, there was the UFO over Dayton, Ohio, in the summer of 1952. + +I first heard about it at home. It was about six in the evening when +the phone rang and it was one of the tower operators at Patterson +Field. + +The tower operators at Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, Ohio, 60 miles +east of Dayton, had spotted "three fiery spheres flying in a V- +formation" over their base. Two F-84's had been scrambled to +intercept and they were in the air right now. So far, the tower +operator told me, the intercept had been unsuccessful because the +objects were traveling "two to three thousand miles an hour" and were +too high for the old F-84's. + +He was monitoring the two jets' radio conversation and he put his +telephone near the speaker. + +I heard: + +"At 28,000 and still above us." + +"High speed." + +"Headed toward Wright-Patterson." + +"Low on fuel, going home." + +I made it to my car in record time and took off toward Wright- +Patterson, about twelve miles from where I was living. + +It was still light, although the sun was low, and as I drove I kept +looking toward the east. Nothing. I reached the gate, showed my pass +to the guard, and had just written the whole thing off as another UFO +report when I saw them. + +They convinced me. + +Off to the east of the airbase were three objects that can best be +described as three half-sized suns. + +By the time I arrived at base operations there were three or four +dozen people on the ramp, all looking up. + +The standard comment was: "Look at them go." + +About this time a C-54 transport taxied up and stopped. It was the +"Kittyhawk Flight" from Washington and I knew several people who got +off. + +One passenger, an officer from ATIC, ran up to me and handed me a +roll of film. + +"Here's some pictures of them," he said breathlessly. "I never +thought I'd see one." + +The next passengers I recognized were two other officers, Ph.D. +psychologists from the Aero Medical Laboratory. I knew them because +they had visited Blue Book many times collecting data for a paper +they were writing on UFO's. + +The title of the paper was to be: _The_ _Psychological_ _Aspects_ +_of_ _UFO_ _Sightings_. + +Almost climbing over each other in their effort to tell their story +they told me how they had watched the UFO's from the C-54. Both had +seen them "dogfighting" between themselves. + +"How fast were they going?" I asked. + +"Like hell," was their only answer but the way they said it and the +looks on their faces emphasized their statement. + +The crowd on the ramp had increased by now and some of the newcomers +had binoculars. The men with the binoculars were the focal point of +several individual groups as they watched and gave blow-by-blow +accounts. + +Some of the crowd were talking about jet fighters and it suddenly +dawned on me that just across the parking lot was the operations +office of the local ADC jet outfit, the 97th Fighter Interceptor +Squadron. + +I ran over to interceptor operations and went in. I knew the duty +officer because several times before the 97th people had chased +balloons over Dayton. When I told him about the UFO's all I received +was a rather uninterested stare. When I said they were over the base +he did me the courtesy of going out to look. + +He came running back in and hit the scramble button. Three minutes +later two F-86's were headed UFOward. They soon disappeared but their +vapor trails kept the tense crowd informed of their progress. + +And believe me there was tension. + +As the vapor trails spiraled up, first as two distinct plumes, and +later only one--as they blended at altitude--more than one pilot +standing on the ramp expressed his thankfulness for his unenviable +position--on the ground watching. + +The vapor trails thinned out and disappeared right under the three +UFO's and it was obvious that the two jets had closed in. + +Here were three that didn't escape. + +That night the 97th Fighter Interceptor Squadron added three more +balloons to their record. The F-86's had been able to climb higher +than the F-84's. + +The next morning photos confirmed the balloons. They had been +tethered together and carried an instrument package. + +I had been fooled. Two Ph.D psychologists who had studied UFO's had +been fooled. A C-54 load of "experienced observers" (many pilots) had +been fooled. The tower operators had been fooled and so had a hundred +others. + +This was an interesting sighting and we used to discuss it a lot. +All of the observers later agreed that what made them so excited was +the tower operator's announcement: "F-84's from Lockbourne are chasing +three high speed objects." This set the stage and from then on no one +even considered the fact that if the objects had been traveling 2000 +or 3000 miles an hour they would have been long gone in the fifteen +minutes we watched them. + +Secondly, I found out that the C-54, a slow airplane, had actually +overtaken and passed the balloons between Columbus and Dayton but +none of the passengers I talked to had stopped to think of this. + +And I'm positive that in our minds the balloons, which were about 40 +feet in diameter and at 40,000 feet, looked a lot larger than they +actually were. + +I know the power of suggestion plays an important role in UFO +sightings. Once you're convinced you're looking at a UFO you can see +a lot of things. + +But then there's the "unknowns." + +Any good saucer fan--wild eyed or sober--will magnanimously +concede that a certain percentage of the UFO sightings are the +misidentification of known objects. They drag out the "unknowns" +as the "proof." + +Technically speaking, an "unknown" report is one that has been made +by a reliable observer (not necessarily experienced). The report has +been exhaustively investigated and analyzed and there is no logical +explanation. + +To this, the Air Force says: "The Air Force emphasizes the belief +that if more immediate detailed objective observational data could +have been obtained on the 'unknowns' these too could have been +satisfactorily explained." + +I think the Case of the Lubbock Lights is an excellent example of +this. It is probably one of the most thoroughly investigated reports +in the UFO files and it contained the most precise observational data +we ever received. Scientists from far and near tried to solve it. It +remained an "unknown." + +The men who made the original sightings stuck by the case and +furnished the "more detailed objective observational data" the Air +Force speaks of. + +The mysterious fights appeared again and instead of looking for +something high in the air they looked for something low and found the +solution. + +The world famous Lubbock Lights were night flying moths reflecting +the bluish-green light of a nearby row of mercury vapor street lights. + +I will go a step further than the Air Force, however, and quote from +a letter from ex-Lieutenant Andy Flues, once an investigator for +Project Blue Book. Flues' statement sums up my beliefs and, I'm quite +sure, the beliefs of everyone who has ever worked on Projects Sign, +Grudge or Blue Book. + +Flues wrote: "Even taking into consideration the highly qualified +backgrounds of some of the people who made sightings, there was not +one single case which, upon the closest analysis, could not be +logically explained in terms of some common object or phenomenon." + +The only reason there are any "unknowns" in the UFO files is that an +effort is made to be scientific in making evaluations. And being +scientific doesn't allow for any educated assuming of missing data or +the passing of judgment on the character of the observer. However, +this is closely akin to being forced to follow the Marquis of +Queensbury rules in a fight with a hood. The investigation of any UFO +sighting is an inexact science at the very best. Any UFO +investigator, after a few months of being steeped in UFO lore and +allowed a few scientific rabbit punches, can make the best of the +"unknowns" look like a piece of well-holed Swiss cheese. + +But regardless of what I say, or what the Air Force says, or what +anyone says, we are stuck with flying saucers. And as long as people +report unidentified objects in the air, it's the Air Force's +responsibility to explain them. + +Project Blue Book will live on. + +No responsible scientist will argue with the fact that other solar +systems may be inhabited and that some day we may meet those people. +But it hasn't happened yet and until that day comes we're stuck with +our Space Age Myth--the UFO. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Report on Unidentified Flying +Objects, by Edward Ruppelt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS *** + +***** This file should be named 17346.txt or 17346.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/3/4/17346/ + +Produced by The Blue Book Archive + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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