PURSUE-RELEASE-03 Serial 2e4280f2-864c-4e63-89fa-e8a6d68db135

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Approved for Release 2026 Under Section 1842 of the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

Form No. 81
Introduced May, 1966

# DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

# FILE
CLOSED

Subsequent correspondence has been placed on
File No: <empty>

6216/66

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# DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

KA

JOINT INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION

# MINUTE PAPER

REFERENCE:

3092/2

SUBJECT: SCIENTIFIC AND INTELLIGENCE ASPECTS OF THE UFO PROBLEM

DIRECTOR: <signature>
(Through DST) Director
DST! When you are ready. <signature>
after you have read the attachments.
I would like to discuss this matter
with you, phone RMM 2715

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Bay M

## SUMMARY

# MINUTE PAPER (cont.)

## SUMMARY (cont.)

The carly analyses of UFO reports by USAF intelligence indicated that real phenomena were being reported which had flight characteristics so far in advance of U.S. aircraft that only an extra-terrestial origin could be envisaged. A government agency, which later events indicated to be the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI), studied the UFO reports with the intention of determining the UFO propulsion methods. At that time, OSI was responsible for intelligence on foreign research and development in nuclear and missile matters.

# MINUTE PAPER (cont.)

## SUMMARY (cont.)

2. The CIA became alarmed at the overloading of military communications during the mass sightings of 1952 and considered the possibility that the USSR may take advantage of such a situation. As a result, OSI acting through the Robertson-panel meeting of mid-January 1953, persuaded the USAF to use Project BLUE BOOK as a means of publicly "debunking" UFO's, and at a later stage to allocate funds for the Avro advanced "saucer" aircraft and the launching of crash programme into anti-gravity power. To initiate such programmes decades ahead of normal scientific development would indicate that the U.S. Government acknowledged the existence of advanced "aircraft" which presumably used a gravity-control method of propulsion. An additional motivation could have been the fear that the USSR would achieve this goal before the U.S.

# MINUTE PAPER (cont.)

## SUMMARY (cont.)

3. By erecting a facade of ridicule, the U.S. hoped to allay public alarm, reduce the possibility of the Soviet taking advantage of UFO mass sightings for either psychological or actual warfare purposes, and act as a cover for the real U.S. programme of developing vehicles that emulate UFO performances. The RAAF together with many other countries of the world give credence only to the USAF public facade and appear to have uncritically accepted the associated information. This information has been widely discredited by retiring U.S. service personnel formerly engaged on UFO investigations, as well as by scientists and private citizens.

4. The conclusions of the Condon report conflict with its own contents and has been discredited by many reputable scientists including the UFO scientific consultant to the USAF. In accordance National Archives of Australia NAA: A13693, 3092/2/000

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with the recommendations of the Condon report, Project BLUE BOOK was terminated, but presumably this would have little effect on the main programme.

5. It would appear wrong for Australia to remain ignorant of the true situation. We lack an intelligence viewpoint that can assess the nature and possible consequences of the problem, a scientific viewpoint that could derive scientifically valid data from the reports and a public relations viewpoint that can honestly satisfy public interest. To overcome these deficiencies in the Australian investigation of UFO's, it would seem that a strong case exists for the acceptance of the RAAF suggestion that another government department assume responsibility for the investigation. and analysis of UFO reports.

National Archives of Australia

NAA:  A13693, 3092/2/00Q

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# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

In June of 1947 the Air Technical Intelligence Centre (ATIC) near Dayton, Ohio, assumed a responsibility to investigate the initial sports of 'flying saucers', Within a month it was considered that the phenomena were real and probably of Soviet origin. By the end of the year, when ATIC was officially authorised to investigate under the project code name of SIGN and with a high priority, most of the investigators were focussing on an inter- planetary rather than a Soviet origin. These opinions were crystallized into a written estimate that was sent to the Pentagon. in September 1948. When the interplanetary conclusions were rejected on the grounds of insufficient hard evidence, a reaction set in at ATIC against trying to unravel the UFO problem.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

2. In February 1949, ATIC personnel on Project SIGN were replaced with new personnel to form Project GRUDGE. A definite attempt was made during 1949 to use Project GRUDGE to destroy any acceptance of UFO's. The motives for this are not clear: possibly Air Force embarrassment at being incapable of controlling the situation and/or a fear of national panic prompted USAF to try and remove the problem by denying its existence. Another possible motive may have been to provide a breathing space for another "investigative agency" to reach some conclusion; the agency had been assisting ATIC through 1948 and, contrary to official USAF policy, was maintaining a high level of interest during 1949. This governmental agency was not the FBI, and had rocket, nuclear and intelligence experts; their purpose was to study UFO reports in an effort to gather design data on interplanetary spaceships. In the light of later developments, this agency was almost certainly the CIA.

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2.

sorting  machines.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

4.0 The summer of 1952 saw a more than twenty-fold rise in the normal rate of reporting and included the two extensive July sightings involving Washington D.C. This marked increase in sightings had diverse effects. A component of USAF intelligence considered that UFO's were interplanetary spaceships which were about to make closer contact. To prepare the public for this possibility, 41 previously classified reports were released for publication between August 1952 and February 1953. These reports contradicted the earlier official USAF policy of dismissing the reports as mis- identifications etc. On the other hand, the CIA regarded the summer UFO activity as a threat to national security mainly because the resulting crowded communications and defence forces involvement lessened the level of national alertness against possible enemy attack.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

5. A scientific panel chaired by H.P. Robertson was convened by the Office of Scientific Intelligence of CIA during mid-January 1953 for the purpose of recommending future action on the UFO problem. Briefings were made both by CIA and USAP. ATIC personnel showed the then classified two movie films of UFO's and the early results of statistical analysis of 3,200 reports. Because of the vital issues involved, the panel felt restricted to recommending that the investigation be continued, but with increased personnel and equipment. The USAF responded promptly with an instruction to comply with these recommendations.

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3.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

Dr J. Allen Hynek, staying at about this level until it was closed down in December 1969. During this time BLUE BOOK served mainly as a means of supplying unclassified summaries of UFO identifications to the public, and did not form a vital link in collection or serious analysis.

7. Control of public awareness of the UFO situation was tightened by the issuing of JANAP 146 in 1953 which prohibited service personnel from discussing UFO's by threatening defaulters with up to 10 years gaol and up to a $10,000 fine. When service personnel resigned or retired, however, it was possible to reveal USAF attitudes or opinions even if actual data was still restricted. In this way many Intelligence Officers associated with the UFO problem, including Major D. Fournet who was BLUE BOOK Project Officer at the Pentagon until late 1952, Captain E. Ruppelt who headed Project GRUDGE and Project BLUE BOOK until September 1953 and Admiral Hillenkoetter who directed CIA from its inception until October 1950, on retiring from the services, all publicly stated that the U.S. Government knew UFO's were extra-terrestial but was withholding this fact from the public.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

8. When the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) was formed in 1956 to counter the publicly suppressed USAF investigation of UFO's, the first Chairman was Admiral D.S. Fahrney who had directed the Navy's guided missile programme from its inception. Apart from Admiral Hillenkoetter, Major Keyhoe and Major Fournet, other Directors have included Rear Admiral H.B. Knowles, General A. Wedemeyer and Col J.J. Bryan (who was a special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force). To reduce the effect of these and similar defections from official policy after retirement, the revised JANAP 146E, passed in 1960, made it an offence under the Espionage Act if data on UFO's were revealed.

9. The change in style of USAF reporting before and after the Robertson panel meeting is clearly indicated in the Project BLUE BOOK Special Report No. 14. The body of the report prepared between March 1952 and early 1953, although biased in favour of a natural explanation for UFO's, nevertheless showed mathematically that the evidence favoured an explanation that was scientifically unknown. This section of the 316 page report was not released to the public other than as a copy to be consulted, assuming the reader knew of

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its existence. Public distribution was made, however, of a so- called "summary" which in fact did not summarise, nor scarcely allude to the 1947-52 data, but concentrated on 1953-55 reporting which was clearly designed to reduce the residual unknowns to an insignificant number, no matter how senseless the identification became.

10. Within the body of the difficult-to-obtain report there is an interesting diagram. The product of the estimated observer reliability and the report reliability became the sighting reliability. The percentage of reports that had to be registered as "unknown" (i.e. incapable of being eve approximately identified as a known object) increased as the sighting reliability improved. Conversely, the percentage listed as "insufficient information" decreased with improving reliability.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

| ~ighting  Relia.bili <br />ty    | No.  of <br />Reports    | Uoknovn  (%)    | Insufficie111, <br />Informs.ti  (,t;)  en    |
|-|-|-|-|
| Poor                             | 435                      | 16.6            | 21.4                                          |
| Doubtful                         | 794                      | 13.0            | 14.0                                          |
| Good                             | 757                      | 24.8            | J.6                                           |
| Excellent                        | 213                      | 33.3            | '1.2                                          |

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

its existence. Public distribution was made, however, of a so- called "summary" which in fact did not summarise, nor scarcely allude to the 1947-52 data, but concentrated on 1953-55 reporting which was clearly designed to reduce the residual unknowns to an insignificant number, no matter how senseless the identification became.

10. Within the body of the difficult-to-obtain report there is an interesting diagram. The product of the estimated observer reliability and the report reliability became the sighting reliability. The percentage of reports that had to be registered as "unknown" (i.e. incapable of being eve approximately identified as a known object) increased as the sighting reliability improved. Conversely, the percentage listed as "insufficient information" decreased with improving reliability.

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5.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

system, the odds were ten thousand trillion trillion to one against the unknowns being the same as the knowns). Since the consultants had arbitrarily called all green fireballs and short duration (i.e. less than five seconds) night-time sightings as known astronomical objects there was an undue preponderance in that category. Hence, assuming that no astronomical objects were left in the unknowns, the statistical tests were repeated with astronomical identifications removed. The odds were reduced to ten trillion trillion to one. The analysts could not find a way to reduce these odds sufficiently further to warrant additional testing, and irrationally considered the results to be "inconclusive".

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

13. While PROJECT BLUE BOOK endeavoured to reduce the official number of unknowns in 1957 they claimed only 14 out of 1,006 sightings remained unidentified - the covert programme expanded considerably. The government agency (almost certainly CIA) that had been collecting data on UFO performance and propulsion methods during 1948-52 presumably influenced U.S. governmental funding of certain advanced projects. One project was the Canadian Avro saucer. A drawing of this saucer released in October 1955, showed a typical flying disc as described in many UFO reports. The Secretary of the Air Force, D.A. Quarles, appeared moderately confident that such a vehicle would be successfully developed by the U.S.

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6.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

of Indiana, Purdue University Research Foundation, University of North Carolina and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the (Roger Babson) Gravity Research Institute (New Boston N.H.). The latter institute is a non-profit organization founded in 1949 with George M. Rideout as President. It was believed that to make a gravity motor, a gravity differential was required which necessitated the discovery of an insulator, deflector or absorber of gravity. By 1955, 485 essays had been written on this subject and awards totalling $10,800 made for criginal contributions.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

16. The scientists involved included Teller from University of California, Oppenheimer and F.J. Dyson of the Institute of Advanced Studies, J.A. Wheeler and Richard Arnowitt of Princeton, Vaclay Hlavaty of University of Indiana (who had worked with Einstein in Prague) and Stanley Deser. The objective was to control gravity. During 1955 the following firms entered into gravity and/or electromagnetic programmes: Glenn L. Martin Aviation Co. (specifically Dr B. Heirn from Goettingen University and Dr P. Jordan from Hamburg University), Convair of San Diego, Bell Aircraft of Buffalo, Sikorsky Division, Lear Inc. of Santa Monica, Clarke Electronics of Palm Springs, California, and Sperry Gyroscope Division of Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y.

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7.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

28 September 1965 Maj. Gen. LeBailly, Director of Information, formally requested the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to review Project BLUE BOOK. The review suggested that the limited Project BLUE BOOK staff and the official investigating officers did not possess the technical competence to properly identify the phenomena and that university teams should be appointed to investigate selected sightings. This conclusion was supported by the House Armed Services Committee which met on April 5th 1966 in the shadow of a public furore consequent to the USAF identifying the well-publicised Michigan sightings as being swamp gas. The Colarado University was selected for the task and Dr Edvard U. Condon appointed to lead the project with an initial allocation of $313,000 later raised to $525,000.

# U.S. OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TO U.F.O's (cont.)

19. The Colorado project became discredited when Dr Condon stated publicly on 25th January 1967 that "my attitude right now is that there's nothing to it, but I'm not supposed to reach a conclusion for another year”. The revealing of a memorandum outlining a method to trick the public, combined with a general dissatisfaction at Condon's biassed attitude, led to the dismissal and resignation of most of the staff after most of the investigations had been made but not completely written up. The final report of 965 pages lacked coherence. Condon's conclusions were at variance with individual staff conclusions, although only Condon's conclusions were publicised. As a result of the Condon report, USAF closed down Project BLUE BOOK shortly before the American Association for the Advancement of Science held a special meeting to counter-act the effect of the Condon report. The Chairman of the Special Committee, Dr Thornton Page, was one of the signatories to the Robertson report.

# RAAF ATTITUDE TO UFO's

The Directorate of Air Force Intelligence is the component of the RAAF that is responsible for the analysis of all official reporting of Unidentified Flying Objects. At no stage has there been more than one part-time officer allocated to this task. Initial investigation of reports is often undertaken by a part-time investigator from near-by air bases. The RAAF admits that its interests lie solely in the area of air defence and it lacks both interest and competence to consider the scientific aspects. A 1957 request for the Scientific Intelligence section of JIB to accept UFO responsibility was rejected by JIB. In 1968, the Department of Air stated that it intended "to take up further the question of Commonwealth departments, e.g. Defence, Supply, Education and Science, Prime Minister's Department etc. to see whether some other Commonwealth Agency is better placed to assume responsibility for Unidentified Flying Objects. At the same time we would maintain our interest in the matter and work with any other Commonwealth agency who is considered to be more appropriate as a co-ordinating agency for the Commonwealth as a whole". There does not appear to have been any fulfillment of this intention to seek Commonwealth assistance.

# RAAF ATTITUDE TO UFO's (cont.)

2. In support of the RAAF's admission of scientific disinterest, an identification list of all sightings made between 1960 and 1965 contains 15 identifications of Venus, not one of which is valid. In every case Venus was in a totally different part of the sky or not even above the horizon. Out of 37 meteor identifications, only 9 could possibly be meteors and even several of those cases would be doubtful.. This off-hand unscientific attitude to identification did not escape the notice of the press or various scientists.

3. In general, the RAAF attitude has been guided by the USAF public releases which were aimed at allaying public interest by denying the reality of UFO's. Consequently, most of the Australian reports were given identifications without a great concern for rational correlation. Most investigators and collectors regarded their UFO tasks as an intrusion into their more legitimate tasks. As a result, there has been a negligible scientific analysis of the data and most opinions expressed by DAFI have been largely a reflection of the USAF public attitude. With the present reduced staff of DAFI

National Archives of Australia

NAA: A13693, 3092/2/000

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9.

it is unlikely that UFO reports will receive any treatment beyond filing.

than

4. If Australia is to follow the U.S. lead, instead of following the public USAF attitude, it would he preferable to follow the USAP/CIA role of concentrating on gaining a knowledge of the power sources involved. However, it may be preferable to act independently of the U.S. and initiate a programme that is scientifically sound and intellectually honest towards unravelling the UFO mystery. In such a venture, it may be worthwhile working somewhat closer to the public than is usual in the U.S. and U.K.

0

National Archives of  Australia

NAA: A13693, 3092/2/000

[page 15]
APPENDIX "A"

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA

Date

24.6.47

6.47

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event

Arnold sighting of nine "saucers" creates public interest.

Investigations initiated by Air Technical Intelligence Centre (ATC) of Air Material Command (AMC, Army Air Forces) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Initially Soviet advanced aircraft were suspected.

26.7.47 National Security Act creates both the USAF and CIA.

23.9.47 Lt Gen. Twining (AMC) requested the Commander Army Air Forces to issue an authority, priority and code name for the investigation of "flying discs". Preliminary conclusions by AMC were that the phenomen. were "real and not visionary or fictitious", that the objects were mostly disc-shaped about the size of man-made aircraft and were intelligently controlled. Any U.S. attempt to design aircraft of similar performance would be costly, time-consuming and detrimental to other projects. Investigations by AMC would continue pending further advice.

[ ]

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

30.12.47 Authority given to AMC to investigate the phenomena on a priority 2A basis under the code-name Project Sign. Minimum classification was Restricted, reports were to be made quarterly and data exchanged with interested parties.

15.1.48 USAF officially a separate service.

22.1.48 Project Sign starts officially.

24.7.48 Near-collision between DC3 and UFO prompt ATIC to write an Estimate of the Situation.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

9.48 The Top Secret Estimate was forwarded to the Pentagon. The conclusion that UFO's were of interplanetary origin was not acceptable to the Air Force Chief of Staff (General Vandenberg) who insisted on demonstrable proof not circumstantial evidence. ATIC was unable to provide UFO hardware or detailed photographs.

13.12.48 Dr J.E. Lipp of the Rand Corporation replied to the Director or Research and Development, USAF, that if the flying objects were inter-planetary they would most likely originate from Mars although intelligent life as we know it would "be more occupied with survival than we are on Earth". Our present technology cannot conceive as to how an inter-stellar race. could reach Earth, even though it is conceded that there is a high probability that intelligent life does exist within say 16 light-years from Earth.

1.49 USAF orders Project Sign to become Project Grudge which should terminate before the end of 1949.

2.49 Final report of Project Sign (TR-2274-IA of the Technical Intelligence Division AMC) recommended that orly a minimum effort be devoted to recording, analyzing and evaluating reports, but on the other hand where factual

National Archives of  Australia

NAA: A 13693, 3092/2/000

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2.

evidence such as photographs, radar, physical evidence and data on size and shape is involved, every effort should be made to collect this evidence. Radio alerts to other nilitary units should be made.

11.2.49 Project Sign officially becomes Project Grudge. According to Ruppelt, Sign personnel either volunteered to leave or were compelled to leave, after which they were replaced by personnel willing to ridicule the concept of UFO's. During 1949, Grudge personnel did not follow up reports.

8.49 Secret Technical Report No. 102 AC 49/15-100 "Unidentified Flying Objects - Project Grudge of about 600 pages issued, with the conclusion that all reports were the result of misidentifications, mass hysteria and hoaxes even though they admit to 23% of the reports as being "unknown". The report was declassified 1 August 1952.

27.12.49 Department of Defense news release stated that the Air Force's flying saucer project had been terminated.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

3.50 Publication of a report, previously cleared by the U.S. Army, describing the tracking of a UFO by an official team led by Commander McLaughlin at the White Sands (missile) proving ground. From the tracking data, it was concluded that the UFO required an extraterrestial origin.

14.9.51 On learning that ATIC was not investigating UFO reports, the USAF Director of Intelligence (General Cabell) ordered Project Grudge to be revitalized. This was acted upon at once.

27.10.51 Project Grudge now headed by Capt. Ruppelt.

3.52 Project Grudge renamed Project Blue Book. By this stage the staff had built up to 10, all with Top Secret clearances. and a highly qualified research group of consultants provided expertise. As part of Project Stork, this research group (RAND is a possibility) started to transcribe data onto IBM cards for future analysis.

29.4.52 Air Force Letter 200-5 ordered all USAF units to wire UFO reports direct to ATIC with a copy to the Pentagon. Project Blue Book was permitted to contact any USAF unit directly, allowing rapid investigation.

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.3.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

21.8.52 USAF started releasing ATIC reports to the UFO author, Major Keyhoe, for publication. This was a completely unexpected change of policy. The contents of these reports refuted the public pronouncements made by the USAF. In addition a USAF spokesman agreed that the attempt to explain the Washington sightings as due to anomalous propagation could not be upheld.

21.11.52 CIA arranged four government scientists to meet at ATIC for three days as a preliminary review panel to decide on recommendations for a higher-level panel of six scientists.

14/17.1.53 The Office of Scientific Intelligence, CIA, convened in Washington D.C., a panel of six scientists, Drs H.P. Robertson (Chairman), Luis Alvarez, Lloyd Berkner, Samuel A. Goudsmit, Thornton Page and one other. After three days of evidence, a two-page secret report that was prepared on the fourth day, concluded that there was no direct threat to national security but that there was an indirect threat to "the orderly functioning of the protective organs of the body politic". It was recommended that national security agencies should "strip the UFO's of the special status they have been given" and to educate the public accordingly.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

16.2.53 CIA issued a larger but still secret report on the meeting, summarising the eight half-day sessions and outlining panel members' individual viewpoints. The lack of artifacts of clear extra-terrestial origin was a strong argument against acceptance of the extra-terrestial hypothesis. The panel agreed with CIA concern that enemy artifacts may be misidentified by U.S. defence personnel, that emergency reporting channels be overloaded and that the public may become vulnerable to enery psychological warfare. The public should be educated to recognise balloons, meteors etc. and a policy of "debunking" should be introduced in order to reduce public interest. This "training and debunking" programme would be required for "a minimum of one and one half to two years". "Some expansion of the ATIC effort would certainly be required to support such a programme". A professional staff of 12 supported by an administrative staff was suggested.

.53 Section III, Title 18 of the Joint Army, Navy and Air Force Publication (JANAP 146) legislated that service personnel talking about UFO sightings were liable to 1-10 years gaol and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

Headquarters USAF will release summaries of evaluated data to the public.

9.53 When the head of Project Blue Book departed, the staff was reduced to just one airman (first-class). AIL instrumentation plans had been negated except for diffraction cameras which had been shown to be useles..

1.12.53 The distribution of 275 diffraction-grating cameras (200 to U.S. bases and 75 to overseas bases) was completed.

17.2.54 Airline pilots at a meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood were coerced by military intelligence using JANAP 146 to agree to not informing the public of their sightings, and confine their reporting to official channels.

15.5.54 USAF Chief of Staff, General Nathan Twining, stated "The best brains in the Air Force are working on this problem of Unidentified Flying Objects, trying to solve this riddle". General Twining, was not referring to Project Blue Book.

10.6.54 Deputy Commander of Intelligence at ATIC, Colonel O'Mara, stated that more than a thousand people were working on the problem.

2.2.55 William P. Lear, Chairman of Lear Inc., Santa Monica stated that because of flying saucers, serious efforts were being made in the U.S. to prove the existence of anti-gravitational foices.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

23.8.55 Revealed that the U.S. Government had taken over the Canadian Avro 'flying saucer project. This was a circular aerofoil powered by jets and designed to take-off and land vertically, hover, travel at 1500 mph and change direction rapidly. The design specifications for performance and shape were clearly directly related to UFO reporting. The project was started in 1951-52 and in 1954 after $400,000 had been spent, the Canadian Government withdrew its financial backing. When the U.S. assumed control over the project it imposed a high level of security, preventing ever Canadian officials from inspecting the premises. At the press release meeting on 25 October 1955 fer the Special Report No. 14, photographs of a drawing of the proposed version showed a typical flying disc.

[page 19]
5.

9.4.58

24.12.59

First sanitized version of Robertson (short) report released.

Inspector-General of Air Force circulates classified "UFO's Serious Business" in an effort to stimulate and improve the reporting of UFO's. Investigating officers. are to be equipped with geiger counters as well as a camera, binoculars and sampling containers.

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

.60 JANAP 146E invokes espionage laws to prevent the revealing
of UFO data.

28.9.65 Following the August peak of UFO activity, the USAF Office of Information requests a review of Project Blue Book,

3.2.66 USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee reviewed Project Blue Book. Although the Committee considered most. unidentifieds were due to inadequate analysis, they also accused Blue Book of identifying objects "when the evidence collected was too meagre or too indefinite". It was recommended that University contracts be made and that more scientifically trained investigators be used.

5.4.66 U.S. Congress House Committee on Armed Services recommends
that Project Blue Book reports be investigated by University
contract.

6.6.66 Dr Mc Donald reads Robertson (complete) report which had been declassified under 12 year rule.

20.6.66 Robertson report reclassified. Second sanitized version.
issued.
19.9.66 AFR 80-17 replaces APR 200-2 and transfers responsibility
from Intelligence to Research and Development. Para 12(b)
states "Air Force echelons receiving suspected or actual
UFO material will safeguard it to prevent any defacing or
alterations which might reduce its value for intelligence
examination and analysis".

# CHRONOLOGY OF U.S. INVESTIGATION INTO U.F.O. PHENOMENA (cont.)

## Event (cont.)

6.10.66 Contract signed with Colorado University.

29.7.68 U.S. Congress House Committee on Science and Astronautics held a one-day symposium on UFO's at which many prominent scientists testified in favour of UFO's being real and requiring international investigation.

8.1.69 Condon report published. Condon's conclusions were not
supported by the staff conclusions.

.69 J. Allen Hynck's contract as Scientific Consultant on UFO's to the USAF Project Blue Book was not renewed (after 21 years)

17.12.69 Project Blue Book closed down.

26/31.12.69 The American Association for the Advancement of Science met at Boston to discuss UFO's. One outcome was a resolution appealing for Blue Book data to be released.

National Archives of Australia

NAA:  A13693, 3092/2/000