PROJECT 1947

The UFO Wave of 1947 represents the heart of our project.  While we have researched large numbers of newspapers (about 5000 newspapers out of 11,000 for North America), there are still many that have not been checked.  Ted Bloecher's "The UFO Wave of 1947" covered 850 incidents.  Subsequent research by Bloecher and Project 1947 has increased the number of reports to nearly 3000.  Project 1947 will include these significant accounts in an upcoming compilation.

Project 1947 primarily deals with UFO reports from 1900 through to 1965, but we are interested in UFO material from all eras.

Early Close Encounters
Both Edward Ruppelt and Donald Keyhoe were skeptical of reports of UFO landings and close approaches.  They influenced one another in this area.  Keyhoe's editors at True magazine published two exposés of Frank Scully's writings.  (Scully claimed that dead extraterrestrial beings were recovered from a crashed flying saucer in New Mexico in 1948.) 

Head of Project Blue Book, Edward Ruppelt, said that reports of landed UFOs were routinely thrown in the trash as a matter of policy.  Attitudes represented by Ruppelt and Keyhoe changed over time, but in the early days only a few researchers thought these stories were important.  Capt. William Nash of Pan-American Airlines and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) collected some of these early accounts.  Project 1947 will publish details of these early close encounters, approaches, near flybys etc., from the files of Nash, APRO and other sources.  Many of these incidents are not well known and we welcome additional early close encounter reports from newspapers and other sources.

Compiling a database of such encounters would be most helpful.  We are approximately 10% done in cataloging the material we have on this subject.

The 1950 UFO Flap was experienced world-wide and is not very well known.  After finishing his collection of 1947 reports, Ted Bloecher compiled a 50-page report on the 1950 flap which he submitted to Dr. James McDonald.  McDonald interviewed a number of the witnesses from this report and from related sources.  The extent of this wave in the US and internationally is astonishing and requires much more research and documentation.

US Official Ghost Rocket Documents
Project 1947 has over 100 official ghost rocket documents from Army, Navy, Army Air Forces and State Department sources from between 1946-1950 which were classified from Restricted to Top Secret.  These documents in turn refer to over 100 additional documents which are yet to be found.  There is no known single US collection of Ghost Rocket documents and most are found dispersed in various non-related files.  We would appreciate assistance in converting the current listing of Ghost rocket documents and references into an Excel file.

UFOs and Governments
We continue to screen large amounts of US government documents for UFO material.  US Civil Defense organizations sometimes functioned as auxiliary investigators for official UFO projects.  Locating foreign government records presents a problem, however.  The UK destroyed most of its documents prior to 1962.  Some official documents are still found in other files not dealing with UFOs, but generally these are the same material found in newspaper articles.  This is also true for other countries such as Canada, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, etc.  Again, newspaper sources in the early days of UFO reports are especially useful.  Miscellaneous official and semi-official sources have been found in unexpected places.  (Publications such as "News From Sweden," "Egyptian News," and the "Southern Rhodesian Newsletter" contained various UFO accounts.  Some of these journals were found in small libraries where they were least expected.)

Foreign libraries might contain information and even official statements and records.  We would like to collect reports from authorities, or accounts involving officials or military personnel for the early days from as many countries as possible. Some online research opportunities exist for this endeavor.

NAVCAT
Catalog of Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and other government seagoing services is not complete and we continue to collect material from various sources.  We are currently gathering additional reports and summarizing accounts for the next update.  About 66% done.

1952 Flap
There is voluminous material available on this UFO wave and yet at the same time, leads from these items indicate the amount of material still to be found is staggering.  We have just started to give priority to collections of reports from this particular year.  While the flap was worldwide, it seemed centered in North America.

Electromagnetic Effects (EME)
Project 1947 continues to collect all CEII cases with an emphasis on EME incidents.  We especially need help creating an updated catalog of Electromagnetic Effect cases.

1954 Wave
According to the late Richard Hall, the 1954 Wave started in the summer of 1953 and continued through the summer of 1955.  Substantial new data and details continue to be found on this UFO wave.

Korean War
Significant reports continue to be collected.  New online collections of various documents is now available which might be screened for UFO reports.  Creating a database of known reports in the Far East Air Force area of operations is an important task still to be undertaken.

Vietnam War
Vietnam war records indicate there were numbers of UFO cases which were never reported to Project Blue Book.  Records are now being made available online and could be an invaluable resource for researchers willing to spend the time to explore them for official documentation.

Orphans
We are starting a catalog of cases allegedly reported to authorities but not appearing in Project Blue Book records.  Many times news accounts supplied the names and units of the investigators concerned so we have solid starting points for enquiry.

Compile databases/Indices of material appearing in FBI, CIA, DIA, and other government agencies and determine which are or are not in the Project Blue Book files.

Patrick Gross compiled a short listing of UFO events in Africa.  Project 1947 has found many additional early UFO cases which we would like to assemble into a catalog.  Much more research is needed in this neglected area.

UFO reports by law enforcement personnel
Police, border patrol, custom officers, Coast Guard, etc. are all considered law enforcement for this catalog of cases observed by these officials.  After the closure of Project Blue Book the task of answering complaints about UFOs fell to the police, Coast Guard, and other law enforcement agencies.

Airships to Arnold
Project 1947 proposes a third edition of the late Richard Hall's book "Airships to Arnold."  A snap count shows that 65 cases not in the last edition could easily be added.  At least 100 new cases would be the goal here.  About 30% done

Catalogs
Project 1947 continues initiating and updating various catalogs of UFO activity, appearances, effects, maneuvers, etc.  Examples of some of the catalogs exist in Volumes I and II of "The UFO Evidence".

Catalog of UFO Reports in Oceania
(Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia excluding Australia and New Zealand). About 5% done.

Dr. James McDonald collected reports from weather observers, meteorologists, aerographers and atmospheric physicists.  We have a catalog of these items that is about 70% done.

Dr. James Doerter has collected reports from Forest Fire Watchers and other Forest Service employees.  About 80% done.

White Sands and Holloman Missile Range summaries of reports.  20% done.  One could easily do catalogs for Cape Canaveral/Kennedy, China Lake, Edwards AFB and other ranges and test areas.