The CIA UFO Papers

by Dan Wright

  Conclusion drawn56

  The Aerial Phenomena Section also deals directly with the Public Information Office at USAF headquarters, regarding information for public release. For about the past year, approximately ten percent of the reported sightings have been tagged as unsolved.57

  Odarenko explained why Bluebook was transferred to the Air Defense Command. ADC had been the go-to military entity for the project's hands-on investigative work. Per Lieutenant Colonel Harry Johnston, Chief of the Electronics Branch of P&E, “... if it turns out that these things (UFOB's) are spaceships or long range aircraft from another country, ADC is the (Air Force) Command that would have to take action.” He then injected his own thinking into the transfer.

  It is undoubtedly true that ADC is the Air Force Command primarily concerned with UFOB's at the present time in that their interceptors are occasionally dispatched “against” UFOB's and that their reporting stations and communications systems are involved in a considerable portion of the UFOB activity. ATIC will maintain liaison with the project.58

  As related by Odarenko, sometime in the spring or summer of 1952, ATIC initiated a program to situate cameras at “selected ADC radar sites and AACS control towers in locations where consistent UFOB reports were received in the hopes of photographing UFOB's.” In all, 74 cameras were distributed and installed. But a failure in attendant equipment negated the possibility of spectrographic analysis by most of the cameras. A recall and retrofit was expected.59

  Other nuggets dropped by Odarenko in his insightful December 17, 1953, memo:

  ATIC had planned to concentrate instrumentation in the Albuquerque area; that effort was abandoned.

  Project STORK, with a Secret designation, was a comprehensive statistical UFOB report, prepared at ATIC's request, covering the years 1947 through 1952. It was expected to be completed that December.

  ATIC continued to issue quarterly Blue Book statistical reports—twelve in all since its inception. The Navy's effort regarding aerial anomalies consisted of one intelligence analyst part time.

  The Army, meanwhile, “evidenced little or no interest in UFOB's except to cooperate with the Air Force in reporting sightings and pertinent data . . .”

  Under the header “Investigations or Interests of Foreign Governments,” three topics were entirely redacted.

  An IFDRB was distributed several months after an event at 10:25 p.m., August 11, 1953, originating in the town of Drama, Greece. The anomaly was described by villagers as luminous and rocket-shaped. It hovered low in the sky for 3-4 minutes before leaving.60

  Another latent IFDRB covered sightings over several previous months. On May 26, 1953, a doctor driving from Capetown to Uppington, South Africa, at 5:10 a.m. noticed yellowish-green light penetrating the cloud cover. It then emerged as a light 10 times brighter than any star and emitted three streaks of light. It paced the driver until 6:00, often moving up and down. Whenever he stopped the car it ascended. In Djougou, Benin, on October 11, 1953, at 11:30 p.m., many residents observed an oblong luminous object at high speed. On the night of December 21, 1953, two brilliant objects emitting red and green flames were seen over Peshawar, Pakistan.61

  Kinross Intercept

  Readers may find it puzzling that no CIA evaluation and no recorded correspondence to, from, or within the Agency resulted from a reprise of the 1948 Mantell incident, this one taking place on the evening of November 23, 1953, over Lake Superior. Air Defense Command radar tracked an unknown traveling at 500 mph over this the northernmost Great Lake. In minutes an F-89C Scorpion jet interceptor was dispatched from Kinross AFB in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Lieutenant Felix Moncla Jr. was at the controls along with radar observer Lieutenant Robert Wilson. As ADC radar tracked the jet closing on the unknown, the two blips on the radar screen appeared to merge into one, which then faded from view completely. Communication with the interceptor ceased. An extensive search of the lake and surrounding land masses afterward found no trace of the aircraft or its two crewmen.

  The next day, Wisconsin's Truax AFB (which handled public information matters for bases in the Upper Midwest) released a statement claiming the jet was still miles from the unknown when it disappeared from radar. That release did not account for the absence of communication from the F-89 that the plane or crew was in trouble. A day later, a USAF spokesman at the Pentagon issued a brief statement: The F-89 assigned to the task had indeed located the unknown—a Royal Canadian Air Force twin-engine cargo plane, a Douglas C-47. The jet did not actually collide with that prop aircraft, the spokesman said, but something unspecified happened, resulting in the interceptor's crash. This explanation, of course, implied gross incompetence by the F-89's pilot or radar man. The RCAF, in turn, vehemently and repeatedly denied that any such incident involving one of its aircraft took place.62

  Beyond those Canadian denials, the US Air Force's resolution of the matter suffered from a fatal flaw. As originally determined by the ADC, the unknown on its radar screen was moving at 500 mph. By comparison, the C-47, a venerable aircraft in use from World War II through Vietnam, was more than substantially slower. Even a souped-up model introduced in the late forties, the Super C-47, had a top speed of 250 mph, not the 500 mph recorded at the ADC.63 Surely, the radar jockey there would have recognized such a stark difference as he plotted the unknown's velocity.

  Unlike the 1948 Mantell incident, which received nationwide media coverage, the failed intercept from Kinross AFB garnered minimal newspaper attention. As importantly, while the event was never explained satisfactorily, it did result in an unnecessary dustup with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

  From a CIA perspective, one might well conclude that, five years after Mantell, “the fix was in.” The Agency had made an effort to abandon the UFO subject after the writing of the Robertson Panel Report, and no peculiar circumstance—even one costing two servicemen their lives—could drag it back into that muck and mire. The Central Intelligence Agency had washed its hands of unidentified flying objects, period ... sort of.

  At 4:20 a.m., December 7, 1953, a pilot for Sabena Airlines, preparing to land at Melsbroek, Belgium, spotted a fireball on the horizon—white edged in green with a long trail and illuminating the whole sky. It was assumed he saw the same type of anomaly identified a few weeks later at Dieppe, France (see page 75), which French astronomers concluded was a very large meteor. Seven minutes later, at 4:27, a fiery object with a long trail was seen at Arras, France. A witness said it was motionless for an instant then flew over the horizon. In that general time period, residents of Gemeaux, Nouvelles-les-Champlitte, and Langras, France, reported an airborne red ball surmounted by a triangle, which flew past without leaving a trail.64

  In France, on December 9, 1953, at 3:45 p.m., an Emilion man observed a round, luminous golden object motionless in the sky. After some 10 minutes it changed position and assumed the form of several horseshoes, 100 meters in diameter, enveloped in smoke trails. The display then disappeared. Near the same time a couple in Surgeres observed a round object glowing in all colors and flying at great speed. 65

  On December 12 at 9:00 p.m, a man in Montluçon, France, saw a luminous white disc. After two minutes it moved off at great speed. Shortly, the man observed a red crescent shape, which likewise flew away at high speed. Five days later on December 17, a commercial airline pilot flying over Hassleholm, Sweden, spotted what he discerned was a saucer. Then, back in France, on January 4, 1954, just after 9:00 p.m., a man saw a luminous object land at the Marignane airfield. It left while he was phoning the control tower. At 10:45 p.m. a man driving to Marseilles saw a large, round, reddish fiery ball in the sky.66

  From a December 10, 1953, news report (no sighting date or time shown), thousands over several parts of Algeria witnessed a cigar-shaped object with a smoke trail, high overhead and moving northeast. Near Constantine, Algeria, on December 12, 1953, 10:30 a.m., a school's director, staff, and students saw a luminous disc move overhead, leaving ribbon-like trails. Not especially swift, it
continued beyond the horizon. In the same general time frame, Algiers residents witnessed a yellow-orange object in the sky. Its apparent size grew to 2–3 times that of the sun, then it diminished and soon passed seemingly into the sea.67

  On the afternoon of December 17, 1953, a Swedish pilot and his flight mechanic, in a Transair commercial aircraft, were flying over the town of Skaane when they noticed a round metallic object, about 10 meters in diameter, suddenly approaching. It flew past them at what they considered roughly the speed of sound.68

  Afterward, the pilot detailed their experience: “What I saw was a completely unorthodox, metallic, symmetric, round object ... a ‘flying lozenge.’” Its surface, the pilot continued, had a metallic luster. It left no exhaust or condensation trail. The sighting lasted about 10 seconds. The next day, Sweden's Defense Staff postulated a Geminids meteor, though a balloon or unknown foreign aircraft was not ruled out. On the 19th a Swedish perfume manufacturer announced that it had released more than 300 small (15–30 cm) promotional balloons of various colors and that some had reached the Skanne area.69

  While you were away from your desk . . .

  The Robertson Report and its aftermath may perhaps have dominated the Agency's attention, time, and efforts, but a few other matters would perhaps have been expected to capture some interest. The incidents to follow were not found in 2017's major release of files to the CIA website.

  January 8, 1953

  From the ground at Larson Air Force Base, Washington, a round, glowing green object was observed from 7:15 to 7:30 a.m. by the commander and men of the 82nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. The vehicle exhibited a bobbing motion and sideways movements below the cloud cover. It could not be explained by USAF Project Blue Book.70

  January 10, 1953

  Around 4:00 p.m. in Sonoma, California, retired Colonel Robert McNab along with a Federal Security Agency employee observed a flat object high in the sky. It performed three 360-degree loops and abrupt 90-degree turns to the left and right. After pausing to hover, the vehicle ascended out of sight in a vertical climb at great speed. USAF Project Blue Book files left this anomaly unidentified as well.71

  February 11, 1953

  A month later, about 10:00 p.m., a Marine Corps lieutenant on intercept-ready status was scrambled aloft in his F9F Panther to check out an unknown blip on Norfolk Naval Station radar. He was ordered to “run black” (without running lights). Finding nothing, he was returning to base at 20,000 feet when he noticed a blob of light at or near the water. Momentarily, it rose in an instant to his altitude. As the pilot approached, he discerned a disc shape with red blinking lights on the hull. Suddenly, blue-white light bathed his cockpit. Glancing down, he saw through his gloves and flesh to the bones of his hands. “It was like an X-ray.” For several seconds he seemed motionless in his surroundings; all sound had ceased, even the roar of the engine. Then, with a flash of light, the intruder moved away at great speed as sounds and motion returned to normal. A second pilot sent to investigate spotted the unknown in the distance, receding along the North Carolina coast. On his return, the lieutenant with the close encounter was extensively debriefed. When finally released, he was warned sternly to “say absolutely nothing” about the matter.72

  March 27, 1953

  Near Mount Taylor, New Mexico, an Air Force F-86 fighter chased a bright orange circle for 4 minutes. The jet's 700 mph speed was not enough to catch the intruder traveling at an estimated 900 mph. The case was left unidentified in the USAF Project Blue Book files.73

  June 7, 1953

  A sworn statement (non-sourced, with redactions) by Arthur Stansel, a former member of the US Air Force, concerned his involvement in a May 21, 1953, recovery effort following a flying saucer crash:

  ... I assisted in the investigation of a crashed unknown object in the vicinity of Kingman, Arizona.... The object was constructed of an unfamiliar metal which resembled brushed aluminum. It had impacted 20 inches into the sand without any sign of structural damage. It was oval and about 30 feet in diameter.... [Inside were] 2 swivel seats, an oval cabin, and a lot of instruments and displays.... A tent pitched near the object sheltered the dead remains of the only occupant of the craft. It was about 4 feet tall, dark brown complexion, and had 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 2 ears, and a small round mouth. It was clothed in a silvery metallic suit and wore a skull cap of the same type of material. It wore no face covering or helmet.74

  October 19, 1953

  At midnight, an American Airlines DC-6 was passing over Conowingo Dam, north of Baltimore, on its way to Washington, D.C. Without warning it confronted an unknown on a collision course. The pilot executed a dive, which threw passengers into the aisle, injuring some. The object streaked overhead and into the night. The captain described it as having a size similar to the length and breadth of his own plane's fuselage. Ground control insisted that no other known aircraft was within a 100-mile area.75

  November 3, 1953

  Two weeks hence, an RAF lieutenant and his navigator, piloting a de Havilland Vampire fighter jet at 30,000 feet from their base at West Malling, England, confronted a bright circular object straight ahead. The glow was more intense around its periphery. In about ten seconds, it flew away and out of sight. The object did not appear on their onboard radar.76

  December 16, 1953

  Lockheed aircraft engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson (designer of the F-104, U-2, and SR-71), along with his wife, observed an enormous flying wing over the Santa Barbara Channel from their home in Los Angeles County. One of Johnson's test crews, coincidentally in flight aboard a Lockheed EC-121 surveillance aircraft, spotted the intruder from Long Beach.

  In due course, the Air Force—presumably Blue Book—concluded these trained observers had misidentified a lenticular cloud. During the observation Johnson considered and ruled out that explanation.77

  Chapter 7

  1954: Through a Long Winter's Night

  Following a brief holiday break, the strangeness returned in Europe. On France's northern coast at Dieppe on January 7, 1954, residents were awakened by a loud crash and saw a dazzling airborne light in the night sky. The powerful sound shattered windows and set doors ajar. A railwayman near the Belgian border claimed to see a luminous saucer cross the sky at great speed.1

  Two days later at 4:16 p.m., a fireball crossed the west coast of Sweden, emitting a long trail of sparks. Observers speculated it exploded over Copenhagen. The Swedish Air Force received many calls.

  On March 1, numerous beachgoers near Montevideo, Uruguay, saw a metallic disc reflecting the sunlight. The anomaly reportedly remained stationary for two minutes at high altitude before leaving the area.2

  In an untitled communication from OSI Director Chadwell to his general counsel, Walter Pforzheimer, May 4, 1954, Chadwell returned to the Agency's unwritten but firm policy of anonymity in all matters related to aerial phenomena. He attached a draft letter for the OSI attorney to review. It was in reply to a letter from Senator Edwin Johnson who had forwarded a constituent concern. The reply asked the senator not to mention the CIA in his response to the citizen. Within the text was sample wording to state that most sighting reports had been resolved and with better information the rest would be.3

  A monthly French periodical by the Study Committee on Military Aeronautics—headed by the Air Force chief of staff—included an article postulating supersonic interstellar ships powered by cosmic energy. A Paris newspaper speculated that the mere appearance of the article indicated the French Air Force was admitting the existence of flying saucers.4

  Renowned German aircraft engineer Georg Klein, in a German newspaper interview, described his work on experimental flying saucers from 1941 to 1945. He claimed the first piloted craft reached 1,300 mph in 3 minutes. Three large designs evolved, two of which he described: a non-rotating disc, 135 feet in diameter; and a rotating ring surrounding a stationary circular crew cabin. He named other designers (only surnames given) Miethe, Habermohl, and Schreiver. Before the Soviets occupied
Prague, Germans destroyed everything saucer-related at a research facility there. However, in Breslau, Poland, Klein claimed, Soviets captured a saucer of Miethe's design.5

  A Genoa, Italy, inventor was given a patent for a flying disc, which he claimed could reach 3,000 km/hr. The vehicle would weigh 5 tons and take off from an 18-meter tower. In construction, it would consist of a plastic disk-shaped wing, an aluminum central sphere, and a cockpit containing two jet engines. The gentleman offered his plans to the Italian government but he was turned down. As a result he intended to emigrate and offer them elsewhere.6

  Given design-construction efforts underway in Canada and England and by the US Air Force, OSI assumed responsibility to initiate and exploit “all intelligence measures required to identify, to assess, and to report the use by any foreign power or nation of non-conventional types of air vehicles, such as or similar to the ‘saucer-like’ planes presently under development ...” The OSI project on UFOs would retain and keep up its central file and make material available to assess non-conventional vehicles developed by other countries relative to certain potential weapons systems.7

  In another Memorandum for the Record penned June 14, 1954, OSI's Assistant Director Herbert Scoville Jr. shifted internal arrangements. The text of the document, “Office Responsibilities for Non-Conventional Types of Air Vehicles,” called for a transfer to the Applied Science Division. “Henceforth, the ASD will conduct all surveillance of available information on this subject.” OSI branches would be instructed to forward all such files to the ASD, terminate their own filing, and offer consultation if and when necessary.8