Within a couple of weeks of Kenneth Arnold’s sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington, Army Air Forces requested that the FBI assist them in the investigation. The Army didn’t want the FBI to investigate the UFO sightings, but instead investigate the people who were reporting them. In a letter dated July 10, 1947, with the topic of “Flying Discs,” FBI agent E. G. Fitch wrote:
General Schulgen indicated to Reynolds that the Air Corps has taken the attitude that every effort must be undertaken in order to run down and ascertain whether or not the flying disks are a fact, and, if so, to learn all about them. According to General Schulgen, the Air Corps Intelligence are utilizing all of their scientists in order to ascertain whether or not such phenomenon could in fact occur. He stated that this research is being conducted with the thought that the flying objects might be a celestial phenomenon and with the view that they might be a foreign body mechanically devised and controlled.
General Schulgen also indicated to Reynolds that all Air Corps installations have been alerted to run out each reported sighting to obtain all possible data to assist in this research project. In passing, General Schulgen stated that an Air Corps pilot who believed that he saw one of these objects was thoroughly interrogated by General Schulgen and scientists, as well as a psychologist, and the pilot was adamant in his claim that he saw a flying disk.
General Schulgen advised Reynolds that the possibility exists that the first reported sightings of the so-called flying disks are fallacious and prompted by individuals seeking personal publicity, or were reported for political reasons. He stated that if this was so, subsequent sightings might be the result of mass hysteria. He pointed out that the thought exists that the first reported sightings might have been by individuals of Communist sympathies with the view to causing hysteria and fear of a secret Russian weapon.
General Schulgen indicated to Reynolds that he is desirous of having all the angles covered in this matter. He stated that reports of his scientists and findings of the various Air Corps installations will be available in his office. He advised that to complete the picture he desired the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in locating and questioning the individuals who first sighted the so-called flying disks in order to ascertain whether their statements were prompted by personal desire for publicity or political reasons. General Schulgen assured Reynolds that there are no War Department or Navy Department research projects presently being conducted which could in any way be tied up with the flying disks. General Schulgen indicated to Reynolds that if the Bureau would cooperate with him in his matter, he would offer all the facilities of his office as to the results obtained in the effort to identify and run down this matter.
Reynolds advised General Schulgen that his request would be made known to the Bureau and an answer made available to him as soon as possible.
Reynolds also discussed this matter with Colonel L. R. Forney of MID. Colonel Forney indicated that it was his attitude that in as much as it has been established that the flying disks are not the result of any Army or Navy experiments, the matter is of interest to the FBI. He stated that he was of the opinion that the Bureau, if at all possible, should accede to General Schulgen’s request.
It is clear from this letter that the Army, at the highest levels, did not know what the flying disks were, only that they weren’t a product of anyone’s secret experimentation inside the United States. Although it was possible that they were of Soviet manufacture, no one believed this explanation because the Soviets would not risk exposing the technology to the Americans if one of the objects crashed or was shot down. Any advantage held by the Soviets would be easily lost through reverse engineering.
It is interesting that Schulgen suggested that the sightings might be some sort of Soviet trick to create hysteria. There was no information that those reporting these objects had any real political agenda and it quickly became clear that such a theory was without merit.
Even with some of the outrageous claims in the letter, there were a number of comments on it that made sense. David Ladd, an assistant director at the FBI, recommended that they not become involved in the investigations. Even at that early stage, Ladd believed that there was nothing to the sightings. He wrote, “I would recommend that we advise the Army that the Bureau does not believe it should go into these investigations, it being noted that a great bulk of those alleged discs reported found have been pranks.”
But Clyde Tolson, the number two man at the FBI, wrote on July 15, “I think we should do this.”
And most important, J. Edgar Hoover wrote, “I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in the L.A. case the Army grabbed it & would not let us have it for cursory examination.”
This document establishes two things. First, there was a real interest in finding out what the flying discs were, and who they belonged to, and second, that the government was taking all of this very seriously. The tone of the letter and its contents suggest that all available resources were being used. It also hints that there was a real sense of urgency by the U.S. government, especially the Army.
But it also says something else. Ladd thought that the reports, referring specifically to those of flying disc crashes, were made up of hoaxes and pranks. Looking at the newspaper reports and the government files of the time, this was a legitimate conclusion at that time.
Starting on July 6, 1947, or four days before the Fitch letter was written, there were a number of UFO crash reports in the press. Some of them received national attention while others were of more regional or local interest. But the Army, tasked with learning something about the flying discs, certainly would have been gathering information from around the country.
On July 6, 1947, it was reported in the San Diego Union that John Kuder had seen a “luminous flying disc” circling about a half mile off Mission Beach. It then dipped into the ocean. There was a sudden ball of fire that faded out rapidly. While there are no indications that the military thought this sighting was a hoax, there was nothing in the government files about it, either.
One of the stories to receive national attention appeared on July 7. Vernon Baird, a pilot flying over the Tobacco Root Mountains in western Montana, claimed that he had seen a formation of “clamshell-shaped” objects. He was flying at 32,000 feet and at about 360 miles an hour when one of the craft that was pearl gray, with a Plexiglas dome on top, was caught in his prop wash and went spiraling to the ground.
Clyde Tolson (left) is shown here with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. He encouraged Hoover to have the FBI assist in UFO investigations.
With him was one witness, George Sutton, a professional photographer. Suttin did not do anything when the objects appeared, photographing nothing that would provide any corroboration for the story. The next day, J. J. Archer, Baird’s boss, said that the whole thing was a hoax.
Finally, on July 7, Lloyd Bennett said that he heard something fall through the trees and found a small disk about six or seven inches in diameter and about an eighth of an inch thick. He said that he was going to notify the Army and claim the reward. Over the July 4 weekend there had been reports of three offers, by three separate and private organizations, of a thousand dollars each for answers to the flying disc mystery. All of the reward offers expired quickly and no one ever made a serious claim for any of them.
Each of these cases was vague, without any real detail, other than the fact that someone observed something in the distance. Importantly, none of them fit the note made by Hoover about the “La. case” when the “Army grabbed it” and didn’t allow the FBI to take a look at it.
This report did make it into the government files, and it sparked something of a controversy with the Roswell UFO crash case, which was not mentioned in the government files until much later. It was the handwritten “La.” which, given the sloppy nature of Hoover’s handwriting, could be interpreted a number of ways including Sw, Sov or 2a.
According to the government files, on July 7, 1947, near Shreveport, Louisiana, a man named Harston said that he:
… had heard the disc whirling through the air and had looked up in time to see it when it was approximately two hundred feet in the air and was coming over a sign board adjacent to the used car lot where he was standing…. [Harston] stated that smoke and fire were coming from the disc and that it was traveling at a high rate of speed and that it fell into the street.
The following day, on July 8, 1947, Army investigators talked to another witness who told them that it was all a joke that he had played on his boss. He had made the disc from parts that included a florescent light and two condensers from electric fans. He said that he had thrown the disc so that it sailed over his boss’ car but the man failed to see it and drove away. He said that he believed that anyone who saw the disc would know that it was harmless.
Interestingly, there is another document in the government files dated “10 July 47—Major Carlau … says the FBI advises this was a hoax.” This suggests that the FBI had not been cut out of the investigation, making it difficult to ascertain what Hoover meant when he said that the Army had grabbed it and wouldn’t let the FBI have it.
In fact, a document in the government files said, “FBI resident agent cma [meaning comma] Shreveport cma was informed and contacted FBI officer cma New Orleans cma by phone cma made initial report and later informed that office that discovery was a hoax and rendered complete report of investigation pd [period].”
The controversy over the interpretation of the notation by Hoover was cleared up by another document in the FBI files. On July 24, 1947, E. G. Fitch sent an “Office Memorandum” to D. M. Ladd. The note by Hoover was now typed and it said, “La.” It is quite clear from the evidence that Hoover is referring to the Shreveport hoax of July 7.
In that same memo, the FBI was assured by Schulgen that they would be granted access to all the discs recovered and that, from time to time “make the results of the studies of his scientists available to the Bureau for the assistance of the FBI Field Officers.”
The memo noted, “General Schulgen indicated to Mr. [name redacted, but is probably Reynolds] that here has been a decrease in the reported sightings of the discs which might be because of the fact that it has lost much of its publicity value.”
The problem here, however, is that on July 9, 1947, the day after the announcement that a flying saucer had been recovered in Roswell, and after Brigadier General Roger Ramey’s declaration in Fort Worth that it was just a weather balloon, both the Army and the Navy issued new instructions. Newspapers from all over the nation published a United Press story that announced, “Reports of flying saucers whizzing through the sky fell off sharply today as the Army and the Navy began a concentrated campaign to stop the rumors.” Schulgen was apparently unaware of this.
While the FBI was negotiating with General Schulgen about the role they would play in UFO investigations, some of their agents were already involved with a photographic case from Phoenix, Arizona. On July 7, 1947, the Rhodes photographs were announced in a Phoenix newspaper.
As noted earlier, the government files reveal a long investigation into the Rhodes photographs, including evidence of assistance by the FBI and attempts by the government to smear his name. According to the government files, on July 14, 1947, Lynn C. Aldrich, a special agent in the Army’s counterintelligence corps (CIC), wrote, “On 8 July 1947, this agent obtained pictures of [an] unidentifiable object….”
Later, when Fugate asked for the negatives, Rhodes said that he would deliver them to the FBI. Rhodes apparently went to the FBI office on August 20, 1947, to provide the negatives. The FBI made it clear that they were acting on behalf of the Army and that the negatives would be sent on to the Fourth Army Headquarters.
To complicate matters, the negatives were not returned to Rhodes for the next several years. He believed that they had been confiscated by the FBI. On October 9, 1966, Dr. James McDonald seemed to confirm this when he wrote to Rhodes, “About all one can say is that the timing is (2-3 weeks after the FBI confiscation of your negatives) to make the story entirely plausible.”
To be fair, it must be noted that the failure to return the negatives was most probably a mistake rather than an attempt to “confiscate” them by the government. However, when Rhodes asked for the negatives back in 1952, some five years later, the Air Force decided that “we have concluded that the photos were probably not authentic. It seems as if Mr. Rhodes attempted to get on the “picture selling band wagon” and if he can prove he sent the negatives to ATIC or to the Air Force and they were never returned, it may lead to a touchy situation.”
It happened again in 2012. Someone unfamiliar with the history of FBI investigations into UFO sightings and UFO crashes came across a memo dated March 22, 1950, and thought that it had not been seen before. The news media wondered if this was proof that something had crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
The Memorandum was written by Guy Hottel, the SAC (Special Agent in Charge) in Washington, and was sent to the Director, FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, with a subject line of “Flying saucers, information concerning.” It said:
An investigator for the Air Forces [sic] stated that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico. They were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed flyers and test pilots.
According to Mr. [redacted], informant, the saucers were found in New Mexico due to the fact that the Government has a very high-powered radar set-up in that area and it is believed the radar interferes with the controling [sic] mechanism of the saucers. No further evaluation was attempted by SA [redacted] concerning the above.
Scully’s claims in his 1950 book have been largely discredited.
This memo however, has nothing to do with the Roswell case, but refers to the Aztec, New Mexico, crash of March 25, 1948. The information about the three crashes, about the radar interference, and the bodies being tiny humans comes from Scully’s claims in his 1950 book have been largely discredited. Saucers. The book, and the information in it, was discredited by several investigations, including that by J. P. Cahn in 1952, Mike McClelland in 1976, and several others. Very few inside the UFO community believe that Aztec reflects a real UFO crash. Most believe it to be a hoax.
The Hottel memo is actually not about Roswell, but rather the Aztec, New Mexico, crash, and the information in it comes from Scully’s discredited book.
In a few years someone else, new to UFO investigation, will again find this memo in the FBI files and believe he or she has discovered something new and important. At that time, we’ll have to, once again, provide the information that this memo refers to a well-known hoax.
Rhodes told columnist Drew Pearson that the FBI had borrowed his negatives and when he asked for their return, he was told that they were not available.
The FBI responded that they didn’t have the negatives and that “in fact Rhodes knew full well that the FBI turned them over to Air Force Intelligence representatives, Hamilton Field, on 30 August 1947, with the understanding that he might never have them returned.” This would be the Fourth Air Force, which had also investigated the Arnold sighting.
At this point in time, the FBI had a limited role in both the general investigation into the flying disks and the Rhodes case specifically. The physical evidence, in this case, the photographic negatives, had been passed on to the Army, then forwarded to ATIC in Dayton, Ohio. There, the photographs were examined, and though there was nothing in them to suggest hoax, it is clear from the government files that something about Rhodes offended the officers investigating the case. The truth was that Rhodes had a somewhat abrasive personality, but he was a smart man who held several patents and earned money from them. He did specialized scientific work and while he might have attempted to sell his photographs of the UFO in 1952, it is clear that in 1947 that thought had not occurred to him.
Journalist Drew Pearson (left) with President Lyndon Johnson. Rhodes went to Pearson to tell the columnist that the FBI had taken his negatives and would not return them.
After a number of memos were exchanged at the highest levels of the FBI, they developed a policy. According to a July 30, 1947 document:
The Bureau, at the request of the Army Air Forces Intelligence, has agreed to cooperate in the investigation of flying discs. The Air Forces have confidently advised that it is possible to release three or more discs in odd numbers, attached together by a wire, from an airplane in high altitudes and that these discs would obtain tremendous speed in their descent and would descend to the earth in an arc. The Army Air Forces Intelligence has also indicated some concern that the reported sightings might have been made by subversive individuals for the purpose of creating mass hysteria.
You should investigate each instance which is brought to your attention of a sighting of a flying disc in order to ascertain whether or not it is a bona fide sighting, an imaginary one, or a prank. You should also bear in mind that individuals might report seeing flying discs for various reasons. It is conceivable that an individual might be desirous of seeking personal publicity, causing hysteria, or playing a prank.
The Bureau should be notified immediately of all reported sightings and the results of your inquiries. In instances where the report appears to have merit, the teletype should be followed by the letter to the Bureau containing in detail the results of your inquiries. The Army Air Forces have assured the Bureau complete cooperation in the matters and in any instances where they fail to make information available to you to make the recovered discs available for your examination, it should promptly be brought to the attention of the Bureau.
This spirit of cooperation didn’t last very long. On September 3, 1947, there was a letter from the Air Defense Command Headquarters stationed at Mitchell Field in New York. This letter suggests the first rift between the FBI and the Army Air Forces.
The subject was the “Cooperation of FBI with AAF on Investigations of ‘Flying Disc’ Incidents” and was directed to the commanding generals of the various numbered Air Force commands. It said:
1. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to assist the Air Force Intelligence personnel in the investigation of “flying disc” incidents in order to quickly and effectively rule out what are pranks and to concentrate on what appears to be a genuine incident.
2. It was the original intent of the AC/AS-2 [Assistant Chief of Staff/Air Staff—Intelligence], Headquarters, Army Air Forces that whereas the ADC [Air Defense Command] Air Forces would interview responsible observers whose names would be furnished by the AAF, the FBI would investigate incidents of so-called “discs” being found on the ground. The services of the FBI were enlisted in order to relieve the numbered Air Forces of the task of tracking down all the many instances which turned out to be ash can covers, toilet seats, and whatnot.
3. It is requested that each A-2 informally coordinate and cooperate with the FBI, generally keeping the FBI informed of any proposed calls intelligence personnel will make on this subject. Very shortly, with the separation of the AAF from the War Department, a firm policy will be established to clarify the liaison arrangements between A-2’s and FBI Special Agents. Presently, it is considered inadvisable to promulgate a formal interim policy—only to have it replaced in a month of so by another.
This was signed by Colonel R. H. Smith, the Assistant Chief of Staff for intelligence and was written by the command of Lieutenant General Stratmeyer.
What was interesting in the letter, other than the AAF attitude, were the references to “incidents of so-called ‘discs’ being found on the ground.” During July 1947, there had been several of these reports. Those that had been reported in the press had been explained, for the most part. Shreveport was a hoax, the Montana crash was a hoax, and the Lloyd Bennett report, while probably not a hoax, was certainly not a recovered alien spacecraft.
In addition to those, on July 10 in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, Sigurd Hanson found a small flying saucer while he and two others were installing lights on the fairgrounds. He claimed to have found the object in some tall grass, but some believed that he had made it himself.
The saucer itself weighed about a pound and a half and was made of cardboard. It was fifteen inches in diameter and had a vertical fin that was topped by a propeller, which seemed to be connected to a small motor and powered by a photoelectric cell. There were scorch marks near the fin, suggesting there might have been a small rocket mounted there to power the craft, though no evidence of that was found.
A 1997 newspaper article suggested they knew the name of the person who had created the “saucer.” According to the article, he was still chuckling about it.
On July 11, 1947, a small saucer that was described as looking like cymbals was discovered and turned over to the FBI. The object was about thirty inches in diameter, was gold on one side and silver on the other. It had been anchored to the ground. Apparently the FBI sent it on to Fort Douglas where a “highranking officer” said that he could neither confirm nor deny that they had heard of the discovery.
Sometime in July 1947, the base commander at the Alamogordo Army Air Field ordered a master sergeant to print a special report about a crashed and recovered flying saucer. The commander, Colonel Paul F. Helmlek, is reported to have told the sergeant to print it himself and not show it to anyone else. Once the project was finished, according to the unidentified sergeant, Helmlek picked up everything about it and took it all away.
There was also the crash outside Roswell, New Mexico, but since that had received national attention, and was explained by the Army quickly, it doesn’t seem to have made an impression on anyone at the time. The government files available for 1947 show but a single reference to the case, in the middle paragraph of a three-paragraph newspaper article. This explained that the officers at Roswell had received a “blistering rebuke” for their premature press release. It wasn’t until 1978 that the true nature of the case was revealed.
The letter leaked to the FBI. It was supplied to the San Francisco office by the intelligence officers at Hamilton AAF. Dated September 19, 1947, the letter expressed Special Agent Harry M. Kimball’s annoyance with those in New York:
It is my understanding from recent Bureau instructions that we are to assist the Air Force Intelligence personnel in the investigation of flying disc incidents. However, it will be noted from the attached letter that it is the Army interpretation that it was their intent that the Bureau would investigate those incidents of the so-called “discs” being found on the ground and apparently not only those observed in flight. Further, the attention of the Bureau is respectfully called to paragraph two of this letter and to the last sentence therein which states, “The services of the FBI were enlisted in order to relieve the numbered Air Forces of the task of tracking down all the many instances which turned out to be ash can covers, toilet seats, and whatnot.”
In the first place, the instructions issued by the Army Air Forces in this letter appear to limit the type of investigations which the Bureau will be asked to handle and secondly it appears to me the wording of the last sentence in the second paragraph mentioned above is cloaked in entirely uncalled for language tending to indicate the Bureau will be asked to conduct investigations only in those cases which are not important and which are almost, in fact, ridiculous.
The thought has occurred to me the Bureau might desire to discuss this matter further with the Army Air Forces both as to the type of the investigations which we will conduct and also to object to the scurrilous wordage which, to say the least, is insulting to the Bureau in the last sentence of paragraph two.
In the event the Bureau decides to discuss the matter further with the Army Air Forces, it is recommended that no indication whatsoever be given indicating this letter was referred to me by Lieutenant Colonel Springer in as much as it would undoubtedly cause him serious embarrassment and would certainly cause the excellent personal relationship which exists between Lieutenant Colonel Springer and this office is endangered.
1. A number of letters in the government files discuss the “Cooperation” letter. On September 26, 1947, Assistant Director Ladd recommended that “the Bureau protest vigorously to the Assistant Chief of Air Staff. 2. It is also recommended that the Bureau discontinue all activity in this field and that the Bureau Field Offices be advised to discontinue all investigations and to refer all complaints received to the Air Forces.”
The next day, Hoover wrote to Major General George MacDonald, who was the Assistant Chief, Air Staff. Hoover followed Ladd’s suggestion, telling MacDonald that he “was advising the Field Divisions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discontinue all investigative activity regarding the reported sightings of flying discs, and am instructing them to refer all complaints received to the appropriate Air Force representative in their area.”
And then, on October 1, 1947, according to the government files, the FBI ceased its cooperation with Bureau Bulletin 59: It said, “FLYING DISCS—Effective immediately, the Bureau has discontinued its investigative activities as outlined in Section B of the Bureau Bulletin No. 42, Series 1947, dated July 30, 1947 … All future reports connected with flying discs should be referred to the Air Forces and no investigative action should be taken by Bureau Agents.”
Even with the end of the cooperation, and the suggestion that UFO sightings be referred to the Air Force, the FBI maintained an interest in them. On January 31, 1949, there was a letter sent to the Director that referred to the Weekly Intelligence Conference of the G-2 [Army Intelligence], ONI [Office of Naval Intelligence], OSI, and FBI, in the Fourth Army Area [which was along the west coast] in which they all discussed “Unidentified Aircraft” or “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” which was called the “Flying Discs” or the “Flying Saucers.” That document from the government files suggested that it was “well known that there have been, during the past two years, reports from various parts of the country of the sighting of unidentified aerial objects.…” It then lists the information on several events including:
In July 1948, an unidentified aircraft was “seen” by an Eastern Airlines Pilot and Co-pilot [Chiles and Whitted] and one or more passengers of the Eastern Airlines plane over Montgomery, Alabama. This aircraft was reported to be of an unconventional type without wings and resembled generally a “rocket ship” of the type depicted in the comic strips. It was reported to have windows; to have been larger than the Eastern Airlines plane, and to have been travelling at an estimated speed of 2700 miles an hour. It appeared out of a thunderhead ahead of the Eastern Airlines plane and immediately disappeared in another cloud narrowly missing a collision with the Eastern Airlines plane. No sound or air disturbance was noted in connection with the appearance. [See the Sidebar in the Estimate of the Situation, Chapter 3]….
There have been day time sightings which are tentatively considered to possibly resemble the exhaust of some type of jet propelled object. Nighttime sightings have taken the form of lights usually described as brilliant green, similar to a green traffic signal or green neon light. [See Chapter 5: The Green Fireballs.] Some reports indicated that the light began and ended with a red or orange flash. Other reports have given the color as red, white, blue-white, and yellowish green. Trailing lights sometimes observed are said to be red. The spectrum analysis of one light indicates that it may be a copper compound of the type known to be used in rocket experiments and which completely disintegrated upon explosion, leaving no debris. It is noted that no debris has ever been known to be located anywhere resulting from the unexplained phenomena [Emphasis added]….
In every case but one the shape of the objects has been reported as round in a point of light with a definite area to the light’s source. One report gives a diamond shape; another indicates that trailing lights are elongated. The size is usually compared to one-fourth the diameter of the full moon, and they have also been compared in size to a basketball with trailing lights the size of a baseball….
Some nine scientific reasons are stated to exist which indicated that the phenomena observed are not due to meteorites. The only conclusions reached thus far are that they are either hitherto unobserved natural phenomena or that they are man-made. No scientific experiments are known to exist in this country which could give rise to such phenomena.
It needs to be remembered that the document was created in 1949, and much of the information contained within had been superseded by newer and better information. As noted earlier, the Chiles-Whitted sighting was probably a fireball. But it is also clear that these various agencies, while suggesting that there was nothing to the flying saucers, or fighting among themselves about who to investigate with and what to investigate, were in fact taking the topic seriously.
It is important to note that there were several agencies involved, including the Army Air Forces, the Navy, and the FBI. The other important thing is to note that this was held in concert with the Fourth Army Area, but that this did not include Roswell. The comment about “no debris has ever been known to be located anywhere resulting from the unexplained phenomena,” is interesting even though there were a number of cases in which physical evidence had been recovered. These just weren’t in the Fourth Army Area.
J. Edgar Hoover was famous for attempting to expand his investigative empire and during his tenure, FBI jurisdiction seemed to expand beyond the borders of the United States. However, when it came to UFOs, once Hoover was convinced there might be nothing of importance there, FBI interest in them weakened.
Government files show a number of sightings over the Oak Ridge, Tennessee’s Atomic Energy Commission’s testing facilities. A summary of the sightings was found in the government files. Although there had been sightings reported there as early as June 1947, a series began on October 12, 1950 and ran through November 5, 1950. The following is based on both the FBI files and those of Project Blue Book:
At 2325 hours (11:25 P.M.) on October 12, the Knoxville Airport Radar Unit reported a series of unknown targets over the “Restricted Zone” at Oak Ridge.
At 2347 hours (11:47 P.M.) on October 12, a fighter was sent to investigate and made “three perfect intercepts” but could find nothing.
At midnight to about 0100 hours (1:00 A.M.) on October 13, or some thirteen minutes after the failed intercepts, there was additional radar targets spotted. There were no corresponding visual sightings.
Sometime after 1500 hours (3:00 P.M.) on October 15, a fighter made unsuccessful passes at a “good” radar target four miles from the East Boundary, identified as the Kerr Hollow Gate.
At 1520 hours (3:20 P.M.) on October 15, “SUBJECT” was seen at Kerr Hollow Gate by “Troopers Rymer and Zarzecki, Mr. Hightower, and Mr. Moneymaker.
Control panel operators at the Y-12 Plant at the Oak Ridge facility, which was involved in the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear bombs. Was it a coincidence that UFOs were also spotted over Oak Ridge?
From 1455 hours (2:55 P.M.) to 1530 hours (3:30 P.M.) on October 16, objects were seen by Troopers Isabell, Briggs, and Clark.
Also at 1520 hours on October 16, the radars at McGhee-Tyson Airport indicated unidentified targets.
From 1956 hours (7:56 P.M.) to 2004 hours (8:04 P.M.) on October 16, NEPA Guards Brown, Herron, and Davis reported peculiar sounds.
At 1655 hours (4:55 P.M.) on October 20, Larry Riordan sighted an object overhead. This sighting was detailed in a memorandum dated October 25.
At 1630 hours (4:30 P.M.) on October 23, Francis J. Miller sighted an object. At the same time Geiger counters in that same area had unexplained readings.
From 1855 hours (6:55 P.M.) to 1900 hours (7:00 P.M.), October 24, Major Dallveg and Mr. Fry made visual sightings. There were additional sightings made at the radar station. This series of sightings was detailed in the memorandum dated October 25.
From 1823 hours (6:23 P.M.) to 1920 hours (7:20 P.M.), October 24, several small targets were tracked by radar. This series of sightings was detailed in the memorandum dated October 25.
On October 26, Robert W. Lassell and five others sighted several objects near the Knoxville Airport.
From 1155 hours (11:55 A.M.) to 1200 hours (Noon) on November 5, Don Patrick made a sighting.
The FBI made no analysis of these sightings and the listing was just that, a list of sightings. It contained basic information about who had seen what, plus additional information that suggested instruments were involved in some of those sightings.
On October 25, 1950, the FBI provided some additional details on a few of these sightings. That memorandum said:
At 1655 hours, on 20 October 1950, Mr. Larry P. Riordan, AEC Badge No. 522, Superintendent of Security at X-10 in the “Control Zone” at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, while enroute from X-10 to the Oak Ridge residential area, on Benton Valley Road, saw an object in the sky which appeared to be directly over the University of Tennessee Agricultural Research Farm. This object gave the general appearance of an aerial balloon which had lost its “basket.” In other words, the object was generally round, appeared to come together at the bottom in wrinkles (rather indistinct), and something was hanging below. The balloon was described as being from eight to ten feet long; of a lead pipe or gunmetal color; and seemed to be approximately one-fourth(¼) mile from the observer, at thirty (30) degrees elevation…. Mr. Riordan is certain that the object was not a weather balloon but his first impression was that this object was an experimental “gab” being utilized by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Research Farm.…
At 1845 hours, on October 24, 1950, Mr. William B. Fry, Assistant Chief of Security, NEPA Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, while attending a Drive-in theater with his wife and child, at Oak Ridge, noticed an object in the sky North-Northwest of his position, at thirty (30) to forty (40) degree elevation. This object was moving gently in a horizontal plane, back and forth, within thirty (30) degrees of his line of sight. This object emitted a glow, varying in color from red to green, to blue-green, to blue, and to orange. The variations were checked on the vertical window post of Mr. Fry’s vehicle and were witnessed by Mr. Fry’s wife. The attention of another observer, the Projectionist at the Drive-in theater, was also called to the object and verification of this sighting was made. The object disappeared from his sight at 1920 hours.
At 1855 hours, on October 24, 1950, an Air Force Major, Lawrence Ballweg, NEPA Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, also saw from his residence an object which he described similarly. The object disappeared from the sight of Mr. Ballweg at 1920 hours, which coincides with the time of disappearance of the object from Mr. Fry’s sight.…
On 24 October 1950, at 1823 hours, several small, slow targets were seen on the Radar screen at the Knoxville Airport Radar Site. These targets appeared in the Southwest sector of the “Restricted Flying Zone” and over the city of Oak Ridge. These targets moved from the city area to and along the East boundary of the area. At 1826 hours, the fighter aircraft was “scrambled” and preceded to the area where it was vectored among the targets but the pilot reported no visual contact with said targets. At 1920 hours the targets disappeared from the Radar Screen and the fighter was vectored toward another target believed to be one of three (3) aircraft enroute from Andrews Field to Steward Field. (Note: 1920 hours is also the time that the object sighted by Mr. Fry and Major Ballweg disappeared from their view).
In an interesting discrepancy, the Project Blue Book files have additional information on some of these cases but not on all of them. Although the sightings were made at or near the Oak Ridge laboratories, which, of course brought in the FBI, they were of objects in the sky. Air Force fighters were scrambled in attempts to intercept and identify the objects. Only a few were investigated and all but one of the sightings was “identified” by the Air Force.
The index page from Project Blue Book for October 1950 provides limited information. From October 12 to October 16 there are five sightings. The radar sightings are written off as “radar peculiarities,” the sighting on October 15 involving Moneymaker and Rymer is unidentified, and the others were either balloons or aircraft.
In a letter dated December 4, 1950, that referenced another letter, this one from the Headquarters of the Third Army, the answer for the radar sightings are provided. It said, “It appears that some form of unexplained radar phenomena has occurred at Oak Ridge which gives false targets on the screen…. It appears that the radar difficulties are due either to: a. Chemical impurities in the air, b. Radioactive particles, c. some form of radar phenomena.”
These answers are of little use, ranging from explanations that include chemical impurities, radiation, or some form of radar phenomena that we don’t understand and apparently haven’t seen before. In other words, they did not have an answer and were throwing out explanations to see if one made any sense. In the end, without a real conclusion, they wrote the case off as “radar peculiarities.” This, while not very helpful, does eliminate the case from the “unidentified” category list.
In another report in the government files, it was noted that, “The spurious radar echoes described in Inclosure [sic] 1 are believed to have been caused by atmospheric conditions. Atmospheric conditions causing spurious microwave echoes usually consist of rain, heavily water-laden clouds and ice-laden clouds.”
They also noted that it was impossible to explain the visual sightings, which followed the pattern of reports of other incidents. In other words, they were using past explanations to solve the sightings in and around Oak Ridge. These included weather balloons, peculiar clouds, or aircraft seen through a layer of thin or broken clouds. Given all that, Colonel Harold A. Watkins believed that the visual sightings were not all that important.
There is another document in the government files which attempted to refine these conclusions. It said:
The trend of opinions seem to follow three patterns or thoughts. The first is that the objects are physical phenomenon which have a scientific explanation; the second is that the objects are experimental objects (from an undetermined source) guided by electronics; and the third is similar to the second except that an intended demoralization or harassment is involved. The fantastic is generally rejected.
In the end, no real solutions were offered. It is clear, looking back on this, that no experimental craft were linked to the sightings. After more than half a century, there are no experiments that would still be classified, and if the experimental aircraft explanation was accurate, it would be known to everyone today.
The telling phrase is the last one. They have rejected the fantastic out of hand. They simply did not consider that the sightings might have been of alien spacecraft. This is one of those fantastic explanations.
The unidentified sighting made by Rymer and Moneymaker was referenced in a document dated October 16. It said:
Description of object seen by Atomic Energy Commission Security Patrol Trooper Edward D. Rymer; who approached the object as close to Fifty (50) feet, at about 1520 hours on 15 October 1950, is substantially as follows: When first seen at an estimated altitude of twelve (12) to fifteen (15) thousand feet, the object appeared to be an aircraft starting to “sky-write.” The “streamer” left behind is estimated to be approximately one-fourth (¼) of a mile long. The object then started a controlled descent, almost vertical, at a slower speed than an aircraft would dive, and the “tail” followed the object. “It” then appeared to take the shape of a large bullet with a streamer, or ribbon, as thick as the bullet, trailing the path of the object but connected to it. The object then levelled [sic] off parallel to the horizon, decreased its speed, and passed within seventy (70) yards of Rymer and another observer whom Rymer had stopped (John Moneymaker). Rymer had reported via telephone that this object was a “falling object.” As the object decreased its speed to less than a man’s normal walk, Rymer attempted to approach the object, but when he got within fifty (50) of it, the object moved toward the Southeast at about six feet altitude above the terrain; made almost a mechanical maneuver to go over a nine (9) foot chain link cyclone fence; then another similar maneuver to pass over a willow tree and a telephone line; and finally gained altitude and speed and went over a hill about one mile distance.
When Rymer was within fifty (50) feet of the object it appeared to be a two (2) by five (5) card (similar to the ones issued to vehicles entering the “Control Zone” at Oak Ridge) with a twenty (20) foot ribbon tail, the first two feet of which were easily visible and the last eighteen (18) feet of which was almost transparent and divided into several sections. The sections of the tail would pulsate a dim “glow” alternately. Through the entire length of the tail, was a black line which might be described as a “wire.” The entire color was bluish-gray similar to the color of the top of a “wood cooking range.” The “body” of the object was gently moving up and down, and the tail waved in the breeze light a ribbon or a worm and followed the path of the “body” of the object. There was no breeze at the time! (Knoxville Airport reports a high breeze of eight (8) miles per hour). Further, from fifty (50) feet away, the object looked no bigger than it did from two hundred and ten (210) feet away; and when it disappeared over the hill, one (1) mile away, it still looked the same size that it had appeared at only fifty (50) feet, but the “body” was then “bladder” or “pear-shaped.”
When questioned further, Rymer stated that the object had to change size from the time they first observed it until it came near the ground; and it had to get larger as it went over the hill or they would not have been able to see it at such distances.
Object appeared two more times within the next ten (10) minutes and Rymer was able to get two other observers to verify that they could see the same “thing.”
The three observers, other than Rymer, were E. W. Hightower, Maxon Construction Corporation, Badge No. 6633; John Moneymaker, caretaker of small animals at the University of Tennessee Agricultural Research Farm, Oak Ridge; and Joe Zarzecki, Captain of the AEC Security Patrol, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At no time were [there] any noises from this object.
It should be noted here that while there is no explanation for the sighting, it did have a high strangeness factor. Something that can shrink and expand seems to take the sighting out of the realm of alien visitation, but that same description also eliminates nearly everything else. Rymer was within fifty feet of it, and it was in sight long enough for him, and the other witnesses, to get a good look at it. That they couldn’t identify it, and that they had an opportunity to observe it carefully is the likely reason that the Air Force labeled the case as “unidentified.”
There has always been the rumor that the government had sent representatives to various UFO lectures. Some speakers on the lecture circuit were so outrageous it would seem that no one in the government would care what they were saying. Such is not the case. Government files prove that agents from various departments attended these lectures and sent on reports to their higher headquarters.
In a Memorandum to the Director of the FBI dated May 4, 1960, and with the subject of “Flying Discs,” an agent in Denver described his attendance of a lecture in Denver. According to the cover letter, the Special Agent, whose name was redacted, “attended this lecture on Sunday, 4/17/60, after hearing of its impending presentation over the radio. He recognized no one at this meeting and was known to no one at the meeting.”
At the bottom of the document is the note, “PROPERTY OF FBI—This memorandum is loaned to you by the FBI, and neither it nor its contents are to be distributed outside the agency to which it is loaned.” In other words, at one time the document was classified.
The lecture was held at the Phipps Auditorium in Denver and was attended, according to the government documents, by 250 people. The audience was “comprised of a majority of older individuals and also a majority of the audience was female.”
The presentation began with a forty-five-minute movie “which included several shots of things purported to be flying saucers, and then a number of interviews with people from all walks of life regarding sightings they had made of such unidentified flying objects.”
From that point the speaker, whose name had been redacted, but who clearly was contactee George A. Van Tassel, told the audience and the FBI that he had been in the “flying game” for thirty years, referring to the fact that he had owned and operated the Giant Rock Airport near Landers, California. When that was identified in the FBI Memorandum, it provided the clue to the name of the lecturer.
George Van Tassel (left) is seen here at flying saucer convention. He was an aircraft mechanic who, in 1953, said that he had been contacted by aliens from Venus.
According to the government files, the majority of the lecture “was devoted to explaining the occurrences in the Bible as they related to the space people.”
Van Tassel explained that when Earth was created, all the animals were acclimated to a temperature of 105 degrees, but then there was a polar shift. The temperature changed to 98.5 degrees to sustain life. With the animals now gone, the space people returned with new animals now able to live in the new, nontropical environment. This was, of course, Noah’s Ark.
He continued with the other contactee message of the era, which was that the space people were worried about the atomic bomb. He said that the detonation of the bombs had upset the Earth’s rotation and caused earthquakes. He claimed that various governments were aware of this and that they were in some kind of negotiations with the space people.
From the tone of the document, it seems that the FBI agent attempted to listen to the lecture and to report on what was said. According to the report, it was noted that “He also mentioned he was not advocating or asking for any action on the part of the audience because he said the evil was destroying itself.”
Or, in other words, he was not advocating the overthrow of the government or any other subversive activity. This would, of course, be within the scope of FBI jurisdiction but then who believed a man who claimed to have ridden a flying saucer and who had met with a council of “discarnate” humans?
What this government file does show is that the FBI in 1960, years after it had rejected investigation of UFOs, was still investigating some aspects of them. And it proves that the claims that the FBI attended UFO lectures, no matter how outrageous the message, are true.
In 1977, one of President Carter’s staff, Jody Powell, asked about how the FBI handled UFOs. The FBI response said, “I advised him [Powell] that as far as the FBI is concerned there appears to be no conceivable jurisdiction for us to conduct any inquiries upon the receipt of information relating to a UFO sighting and, in absence of some investigation, be referred to the Department of the Air Force without any action being taken by the Bureau.”
Although there is a history of FBI investigation of UFOs, much of it from 1947, but some of it extending into the 1960s, and the FBI was routinely copied on various reports about UFOs. The director denied that the FBI had ever investigated UFOs. On September 1, 1989, the Director of the FBI at that time, William S. Sessions, wrote, “I have discussed your request with my colleagues, and I would first like to explain that the investigation of UFOs is not now nor has it ever been the responsibility of the FBI. The Department of the Air Force conducted investigations and studies of UFO reports from 1947 to 1969.”
Jody Powell (left) was on President Jimmy Carter’s staff in 1977 when he queried the FBI about its involvement in UFO investigations. The FBI denied it had much to do with them and would refer such cases to the Air Force.
Sessions explained the Air Force position, that the official investigation ended in 1969 and that all the records were available at the National Archive in Washington, D.C., for review. Sessions even suggested that the Modern Military Branch would be able to answer any questions about UFOs.
Sessions also noted that NASA had been asked by President Carter to “look into the possibility of resuming UFO investigations in 1977. After studying all the facts available, it decided that nothing would be gained by further investigation, and the Department of the Air Force agreed with that decision.”
This seems to be the official policy throughout the government. They all, including the Air Force, have adopted that attitude. The FBI has no reason or jurisdiction to investigate UFOs. Given the history of UFO investigations over the last half century, it is clear that the FBI has no desire to become entangled in UFO investigations. Sessions’ 1989 letter simply underscores that position.
