Site Update
7 May, 2023
The Lost And Missing Keyhoe Files.
Major Donald Keyhoe had access to many official sources who were sympathetic to his efforts to inform the public about UFO cases. In the course of time many of these original documents and testimony supplied by those sources have gone missing.
Jan Aldrich discusses the status of these items, the efforts to recover them, and invites those who might have access to them to join in the effort to preserve these essential historical chronicles of the phenomenon.
26 April, 2023
AARO–Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, April 19, 2023
Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) recently appeared before the US Senate Armed Services Subcommittee to discuss his mission to investigate the origins and provenance of UAPs.
Project 1947 founder, Jan Aldrich, shares his thoughts on Dr. Kirkpatrick's presentation and offers some insights from an historical perspective.
21 November, 2022
UFO Research And Archives Report
The mission to gather and preserve valuable historical UFO materials is ongoing. Throughout 2021, Project 1947 founder Jan Aldrich joined with fellow researchers Barry Greenwood, and CUFOS and National UFO Historical Records Center archivist David Marler, to scan and digitize vast amounts of UFO documents, images and audio recordings.
Modern research techniques such as utilizing AI data extraction to determine possible connections among datasets are dependant on preserving and digitizing UFO records before they succumb to the ravages of time.
Jan Aldrich's 2021 Research Trip report documents the process of preserving this vital information and gives us a look into the future of computer-assisted 21st century UFO research.
National UFO Historical Records Center
The National UFO Historical Records Center is a new endeavor to create the largest historical archive dedicated to the preservation and centralization of UFO/UAP information in the United States. Headed by David Marler, NUFOHRC members include Jan Aldrich, Rod Dyke, Barry Greenwood, Dr. Mark Rodeghier, Rob Swiatek, and others.
Read the NUFOHRC Press Release.
19 August, 2021
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena 2021
The recent Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Preliminary Assessment on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena has created an interesting opportunity to further research into UFOs/UAPs. Project 1947 has created a collection of items to help put the latest official UAP research plans into context as the various agencies move forward with their assigned tasks.
The ODNI UAP page contains a copy of the original ODNI Preliminary Assessment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and an extract of the Intelligence Authorization Act detailing Support for and Oversight of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.
Project 1947 founder and coordinator Jan Aldrich provides an overview of past UFO/UAP data gathering exercises and demonstrates that a great deal of information is already available to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force if they choose to ask for it.
18 August, 2021
David Marler and the CUFOS Digitization Project
David Marler recently joined the board of CUFOS and as the official CUFOS Archivist is now in charge of a massive digitization effort to preserve and make widely available decades of UFO files and recordings for the worldwide UFO community.
Please read more about David's efforts here . If you're keen to assist in this important effort in safeguarding important historical documents, please be aware that financial contributions can be made via CUFOS and may be tax deductible.
18 August, 2021
CUFOS File Collection Repository
Collecting historically important files is pointless unless we can guarantee a safe location where they can be stored and accessed by other researchers. Project 1947 has transferred about 30 boxes of UFO material to the CUFOS file collection now located in the Zimmerman library at the University of New Mexico.
Project 1947 founder Jan Aldrich details the history of his collection and asks that anyone with UFO-related material, documents, clippings, etc., who may wish to donate them to the CUFOS repository please contact him.
17 August, 2021
I Remember Blue Book by Jennie Zeidman
The late Jennie Zeidman, long-time CUFOS board member and researcher relates her time working as Dr J. Allen Hynek's first secretary and research assistant in the early days of Project Blue Book.
I Remember Blue Book by Jennie Zeidman
28 September, 2019
2019 Documents and Research Trips Report
The pursuit of knowledge is never-ending and so is the ongoing quest to locate and safeguard historical documents and personal recollections before they disappear through the ravages of time and neglect.
Project 1947 founder and coordinator, Jan Aldrich, assisted by researcher Tom Tulien of the Sign Oral History Project, recently returned from two extensive research trips to gather documents and information to be preserved and shared by future generations of researchers.
Read Jan's account of his recent research trips and the detailed methods of cataloging and ensuring the survival of valuable historical records.
12 December, 2018
Preliminary Catalogue Of Analysis of Alleged “fragments” Reportedly Associated With Sightings Of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - UAP.
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has produced a compilation documenting the results of analyses of alleged “fragments” and other materials found in association with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena incidents.
This is a “Work in Progress” as Keith continues to bring together scattered accounts of possible physical “evidence” as reported in the UAP literature.
13 October, 2018
Project 1947 Current and Long-range Plans
Project 1947 continues collecting information as it creates and updates new and existing catalogs as well as exploring new avenues for research.
Please read this summary of current and planned projects and contact Project 1947 coordinator, Jan Aldrich, if you'd like to take part in these potentially exciting new discoveries and research.
23 June April, 2018
Holloman AFB UFO Reports EHO-15 and MTHT-150
“Due to the large number of observations of unexplained aerial phenomena in the vicinity of Holloman Air Force Base by reliable individuals, the Commanding Officer, Holloman Air Force Base, deemed it advisable to establish a scientific system of observation.”
These sightings of “unexplained aerial phenomena” feature in two official US Air Force reports — EHO-15 and MTHT-150. The observations and technical aspects of the events are documented in this record of “UFOs” over America's primary location for the testing and development of unmanned aircraft, guided missiles, and other aerial research programs during the 1950s.
Read Jan Aldrich's Introduction here:
Holloman Air Force Base Reports EHO-15 and MTHT-150
25 April, 2018
Seattle FBI Bureau UFO Reports
The FBI only investigated UFO reports for a short period in 1947. After that time, any UFO reports that came in to the FBI were forwarded to the US Air Force to process, the exception being those cases which involved sightings around nuclear weapons facilities.
In 1978, prominent UFO researcher Robert Todd submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to about two dozen FBI local offices requesting information on any cases they might have investigated.
The Seattle FBI office sent Todd 50 pages of material which referenced 43 UFO or UFO-related incidents between 1952 and 1960. These files included details of various Intelligence Conferences outlining the handling and dissemination of UFO reports throughout military and security organization channels.
Seattle FBI UFO Documents Pertaining to Robert Todd's FOIA Requests
“Unusual Aerial Sightings” - A Search Through The Australian Government’s Records Systems
“Between June 2003 and June 2008 a major search was undertaken to locate and examine Australian Government files relating to “Unusual Aerial Sightings” - UFOs”...
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has produced a detailed investigation of official Australian Government files revealing the official interest and handling of “Unusual Aerial Sightings” reports. This updated collection includes references to recently located items and details of new items to be digitized and made available to the public.
“Unusual Aerial Sightings” - A Search Through The Australian Government’s Records Systems
28 June, 2017
“A Few Words About the Late Dr J. Allen Hynek”
The life of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, scientist, CUFOS founder and former US Air Force “UFO” consultant, is about to be re-examined in a major new book, “The Close Encounters Man”.
Jan Aldrich reflects on some of Hynek's considerable scientific achievements and provides detailed documentation of Hynek's various active and proposed UFO investigation projects for the US Air Force.
Read Jan Aldrich's “A few words about the late Dr J. Allen Hynek”.
Articles Collection Updated
Several new UFO articles have been added to the Articles Index.
View the expanded Articles Collection here.
14 June, 2017
The “Lost Files” Collection – Updated
Jan Aldrich adds several new "Orphan" cases in his updated folio collection of "Lost UFO Files" - those UFO incidents that were covered by the media and investigated by government agencies, but never made it into Project Blue Book Files.
Jan Aldrich's updated folio collection of "Lost UFO Files" .
The ‘Sea Fury’ Radar Incident Revisited.
One of the most controversial radar-visual UFO reports of the 1950s was the well-known Australian "Sea Fury" incident. On a routine night flight, a Royal Australian Navy pilot was shadowed by two UFOs which were confirmed from the ground by radar and eyewitnesses. A South Australian UFO researcher takes a "Cold Case" approach to the Sea Fury event and offers his perspective on the episode.
The ‘Sea Fury’ Radar Incident Revisited.
Veteran Australian UFO researcher and author Bill Chalker provides some contrasting commentary on the Sea Fury incident article above at his The OZ Files Blog.
20 April, 2017
Cold Case Review of The T. P. Drury UFO Footage
At about noon on 23 August 1953, Mr T. P. Dury, the Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in Papua New Guinea, then an Australian territory, took daylight movie footage of an extraordinary unidentified "missile" over Port Moresby. The UFO was gone in a few seconds but the story of the official handling of the filmed evidence lives on as an enduring part of the UFO mystery.
Australian researchers Keith Basterfield and Paul Dean undertake a "Cold Case Review" of this incident and subsequent investigations utilizing a comprehensive chronology of events and expanded collections of detailed public and previously classified reports.
Read The Cold Case Review Of The 23 August 1953, Port Morseby Visual Sighting And Colour Movie Film.
1 April, 2017
The Lost UFO Files
Newspaper accounts and official Directorate of Intelligence Report Index Cards refer to numerous UFO incidents that were investigated over the years by military and government agencies. However, in many cases none of these records can be located in the official Blue Book files.
Jan Aldrich commences his compilation of these "orphan" files in a new
folio collection of "Lost UFO Files".
Top 10 Most Wanted UFO Articles
Barry Greenwood and Jan Aldrich nominate their 10 most wanted articles about UFOs which have yet to be recovered. These articles could help shed further light on UFO history. We are looking for about 50 articles from the 1940s to 1980s and will update our lists for other decades soon.
Please visit the list of Top 10 Most Wanted UFO Articles and see whether you can assist Barry and Jan in locating them.
A Re-evaluation of the Balwyn UFO Photograph
Canadian researcher, Francois Beaulieu, puts forth his ideas and analyses of the the well-known April 2nd, 1966, Balwyn, Victoria, UFO photograph, previously the subject of investigations by Keith Basterfield and Paul Dean.
This incident continues to be evaluated by several researchers and
Francois' article is but one example of the ongoing efforts.
A Re-evaluation of the Balwyn UFO Photograph
11 November, 2016
FEAF IR-29-52 - UFOs In The Korean War Zone
During the early part of the Korean War, a few UFO sightings were reported to Air Force headquarters and sent through channels to the Technical Intelligence Division (TID) at Wright Field.
By the summer of 1951 there was a change in UFO policy at Air Force Intelligence, and in March of 1952, the Far East Air Force HQ issued AG 350-7, Subject: “Reporting Information on Unidentified Flying Objects.” On April 29, Air Force Letter 200-5 updated the intelligence collection instructions to send UFO reports directly to ATIC (Air Technical Intelligence Center) with copies to Air Force Headquarters Intelligence.
With that, 6004th AISS, various Far East Air Force units and the Air Technical Intelligence Liaison Office (ATILO) began to investigate UFOs reported in the war zone in earnest.
Using information collected by these sources, Captain Charles J. Malven, Air Technical Liaison Officer, authored FEAF IR-29-52, an intelligence report detailing “Radar and visual contacts with unidentified high-speed objects” by the US Navy carriers USS Philippine Sea and USS Princeton.
Jan Aldrich of Project 1947 takes a look at this series of high-confidence UFO Radar-Visual incidents recorded by US Navy and Marine assets during the Korean War in FEAF Radar Intelligence Summary IR-29-52.
3 August, 2016
The Secrets Behind “Have We Vistors From Space?”
Combining the allure of a cover featuring famous film star Marilyn Monroe and the hot topic of "flying saucers," the April 7, 1952 issue of LIFE Magazine, reached out to its millions of subscribers with the news that after being granted unprecedented access to technical and intelligence experts at the USAF, their conclusion was that "flying saucers" could be interplanetary spaceships.
How did LIFE obtain this information? How was LIFE's reporter, Robert Ginna, granted such extraordinary access to US Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission installations and personnel?
As Captain Edward Ruppelt, head of Project Blue Book, asked in his book, The Report On Unidentified Flying Objects: "Did the Air Force prompt LIFE to write the article?"
Jan Aldrich takes you behind the scenes of the origins of LIFE's groundbreaking article, detailing the secret briefings and documents that show how it came to be written, and uncovers potential new areas of research.
Read The Secrets Behind “Have We Vistors From Space?”
July 25, 2016
New Keith Basterfield and Paul Dean Investigation
Keith has added to his collection of valuable catalogues and investigations
with this two-part collaboration with researcher Paul Dean into the circumstances
and analyses of the well-known April 2nd, 1966, Balwyn, Victoria, UFO photograph:
Keith has his own website where you can keep up-to-date with his latest research:
Paul Dean's website is regularly updated with his own extensive research developments:
June 8, 2016
New Keith Basterfield Catalogues
Keith has recently updated his popular Catalogue of the More Interesting Australian UAP Reports. He has included some new cases; checked sources for accuracy, and amended dates, times and other details as necessary:
A Catalogue of the More Interesting Australian UAP Reports as at 3 June 2016.
This joins Keith's other recent update:
Australian Government UAP Files Listing
As at 23 May 2016.
The Disgraceful Flying Saucer Hoax
Written with the cooperation of Col. Harold E. Watson, head of ATIC, and "Project Grudge," reporter Bob Considine attempts to derail serious interest in "flying saucers" in this article from the January, 1951, issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Urged on by the Air Force, Considine declares the UFO phenomenon to be a "disgraceful hoax" perpetrated by "true believers," "gagsters," and "screwballs," and a waste of taxpayers' money to investigate.
Read The Disgraceful Flying Saucer Hoax
November 28, 2015
Updated Keith Basterfield Catalogue
Keith has released the latest version of his "Catalogue Of Pre 24 June 1947 Australian Unidentified Aerial Phenomena", documenting pre-Kenneth Arnold "flying saucer" sightings in Australia. Version 3.0 contains 19 new entries from the 1909 era with additional source notes and commentary:
A Catalogue Of Pre 24 June 1947 Australian Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
October 22, 2015
Major New Research Updates
Project 1947 is pleased to announce details of ongoing research, site updates and and recent developments of interest.
Researchers from around the globe continue to look into historical UFO cases, make significant finds and generously share their results.
Please explore this comprehensive update detailing many new discoveries, projects and news of future undertakings.
Korean War UFO Articles and Documents
It all started with a leak to the newspapers. Somehow the press learned about the sighting of “flying discs” by crew members of two U. S. bombers operating over Wonsan and Sunchon, Korea.
Suddenly, without warning, news stories on the Wonsan-Sunchon incidents appeared in the press across the United States and the world on 19 February, 1952. . . . .
The USAF Directorate of Intelligence and USAF Public Relations Office in Washington, D. C., the “New” Project Grudge at Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and the Far East Air Force (FEAF) Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan were all caught completely flat-footed by the leak.
Read this comprehensive collection of articles and documents detailing UFO activity during the Korean war.
July 31, 2015
New Ghost Rocket Research and Documentary
“For the last 65 years people have been seeing strange objects crashing and landing in lakes over Sweden. What they are or where they come from remains unknown.”
“The Ghost Rockets documentary is a personal portrait of the members of UFO-Sweden and their ongoing attempts to shed light on this decades old mystery.”
Please visit their website for more information:
With this announcement of UFO-Sweden's new Ghost Rocket research
and documentary, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund,
it is perhaps timely to revisit the late Joel Carpenter's excellent
essay on the subject:
Another important contribution from Joel was his comprehensive:
Additional background and newspaper reports can be found in this collection of Swedish "GHOST ROCKET" Reports
Issue #15 of Barry Greenwood's U.F.O. Historical Revue has an article on the release of formerly Top Secret Ghost Rocket
documents, including a 1946 report to the President from the
Central Intelligence Group (CIG, forerunner of the CIA) signed
by Lt. General (later General) Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then Director of
Central Intelligence.
To date about 100 US government documents concerning Ghost Rockets
are known. Within these and other documents from the 1946-1949 era
are references to over 100 more US government documents not yet
uncovered.
Read Issue #15 of UHR here at The Barry
Greenwood Archive.
June 19, 2015
New Air Force Vietnam-era UFO Reports Found
Barry Greenwood, veteran UFO researcher, respected FOIA activist and co-author of the groundbreaking books Clear Intent/The UFO Cover-up, announces the discovery of significant new Vietnam-era UFO cases that were never entered in Project Blue Book. Read about Barry's latest discovery in issue 14 of his publication, UHR – U.F.O. Historical Revue, and the background to his find here.
Barry requests any Vietnam veterans who may have information to add to please contact him.
New documents and updated information on the finds will be presented soon.
November 11, 2014
Updated Draft Catalogue of UFOs/USOs Reported by Seagoing Services - NavCat 2.0
Project 1947 has updated or enhanced over one hundred cases in this new version of the extensive draft Navy, Marine and Coast Guard catalogue of UFO/USO sightings, as well as adding over one hundred new cases. Map references, article links and many illustrations have also been included.
Read Jan Aldrich's introduction to the
updated draft catalogue here,
before reading the
Updated Draft Catalogue of UFOs/USOs Reported
by Seagoing Services.
This Draft collection is a work in progress and Jan welcomes any comments or additions.
June 1, 2014
William B. Nash
One of the most discussed UFO incidents of 1952
was the sighting of eight objects over Chesapeake Bay,
Virginia, on July 14, 1952, by Pan American Airways
pilots William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry.
Nash was deeply affected by his experience and
was determined to research the phenomenon and
try to foster a wider acceptance for the reality
of it.
Nash and Fortenberry collaborated on an article
detailing their sighting for the October, 1952 issue of:
TRUE Magazine - We Flew Above Flying Saucers
Some skeptics had suggested that Nash's sighting was
an optical illusion caused by "reflections" or
some sort of atmospheric anomaly.
The September, 1953 issue of "The Air Line Pilot," the official
magazine of Nash's pilot union, contained an article
by Captain Joe Hull entitled, "The Obituary of the Flying
Saucers" which advocated that all "flying saucer" sightings
could be explained scientifically using the logical
approach of noted skeptic Dr. Donald H. Menzel.
Captain Joe Hull - The Obituary of The Flying Saucers
William Nash wrote a rebuttal to Hull's article and submitted it for
publication. It was rejected because well-known author Major Donald E.
Keyhoe had already been approached to write a response to Hull.
We present William Nash's original unpublished article:
William B. Nash - The Flying Saucers Are Still Alive
Donald Keyhoe's article for "The Air Line Pilot" was a devastating
rebuttal to Captain Hull's advocacy of Donald Menzel's explanations.
Using extensive sources developed in the writing of his books, Keyhoe was
able to ask military experts at Project Bluebook to comment directly
on Menzel's theories and methods:
Donald E. Keyhoe - Flying Saucer — Fact or Fancy?
William Nash's unpublished article was forwarded to Captain Hull for comment.
This resulted in a lengthy correspondence and ultimately formed the basis for
a strong friendship between the two. The letters provide an evocative insight into the
state of UFOlogy in the early 1950s, and document Hull's acceptance of the
reality of the "flying saucer" phenomenon. Several years later Captain
Hull experienced his own extraordinary UFO sighting which is documented
in this collection:
The Nash-Hull Letters - William Nash - Joe Hull Letters
William Nash corresponded and shared leads to other incidents with Major Donald E. Keyhoe.
We present a small selection of these letters taken from Nash's files:
The Nash-Keyhoe Letters - William Nash - Donald E. Keyhoe Letters
Nash also exchanged information with noted Washington columnist, Robert S. Allen:
Nash-Allen Letters - William Nash - Robert S. Allen Letters
Robert S. Allen
Robert S. Allen was an influential Washington-based columnist who
for several decades investigated and reported on the activities of the political
and military elite.
Allen, who had been a Colonel in the U.S. Army during World War II,
had extensive connections to people with high security clearances
which allowed him to break many "scoops" regarding official investigations
into the "flying saucers".
Allen's columns attracted a lot of attention from both the general
public and the politically well-connected. This introduction and
small collection of Allen's articles demonstrates how highly-placed his
sources must have been:
Robert S. Allen - An Introduction and Articles
Project 1947 welcomes information on any additional columns concerning UFOs or material he may have gathered on the subject.
Articles Collection Updated
Several new important UFO articles have been added to the Articles Index.
View the expanded Articles Collection here.
December 13, 2013
New UFO Articles From 1952
The UFO wave of 1952 resulted in a vast number of sightings being reported worldwide. The lack of apparent official openness in dealing with the problem led to much confusion and speculation.
Several important investigative articles sought to get to the bottom of the matter by speaking "off the record" with many leading military and scientific experts. Some of the best researched of these articles are now online:
People Today Magazine - Flying
Saucers Are Real
Look Magazine - Donald Menzel's skeptical look at The Truth About Flying Saucers
Look Magazine - Hunt For The Flying Saucer
PIC Magazine - Ralph Mayher's I Proved
Flying Saucers Are Real
A Reference Catalogue Of UAP Reported From The Nullarbor Plain Region Of Southern Australia
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has produced many valuable
catalogues, the latest being a catalogue of UAP reports from the
vast, arid Nullarbor Plain region of Southern Australia.
Read Keith's Reference Catalogue Of UAP Reported
From The Nullarbor Plain Region Of Southern Australia.
Updated 1945 Foo Fighter Documents
There are several new articles and official documents tracing the official military interest in the puzzling aerial phenomenon seen by allied pilots during World War II known as "Foo Fighters".
August 25, 2013
A Draft Catalogue of US Navy UFO and USO Reports
The US Air Force connection with the issue
of UFOs is widely known. The public is less aware
of the US Navy's involvement in the managing and
reporting of UFO and USO incidents.
Jan Aldrich provides a detailed collection of UFO and USO
Reports made by US Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and
other government maritime services.
Read Jan's introduction to the
draft catalogue here
before reading:
United States Navy, Marine Corps,
Coast Guard And Other Government Seagoing Services Unidentified
Flying Object (UFO) And Unidentified
Submerged Object (USO) Sighting Reports
This Draft collection is a work in progress and Jan welcomes
any comments or additions.
June 24, 2013
Many new cases and newspaper reports have been added to the 1952 Historical cases pages.
More updates coming soon.
June 22, 2013
A Catalogue of UAP reports from Victoria, Bass Strait and Tasmania around the time of the Frederick Valentich disappearance on 21st October, 1978
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has produced a detailed Catalogue of UAP reports that were observed in Victoria, Bass Strait and Tasmania around 21st October, 1978, when pilot Frederick Valentich and his aircraft disappeared while being "orbited" by an unknown object.
Keith combines a carefully researched listing of reports taken from recently released official files and published accounts to document the various sightings made in the days before and after the Valentich incident. This remains a "work in progress" and Keith would welcome any additional information or insights from other researchers and interested parties.
Dec 8, 2012
Updated – A Catalogue Of The More Interesting Australian UFO Reports
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has released an update to his catalog of The More Interesting Australian UFO Reports. This is a subjective listing of UFO reports sourced from books, journals, Australian government file archives, and material retrieved via FOIA requests.
Keith regards this collection as a sampling of the more interesting cases, some of which may yet be determined to have conventional explanations or yield more information. He welcomes corrections and additions to this newly updated catalogue.
November 13, 2012
Some UFO Notes By Loren E. Gross
With the completion of The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOS: A History, July-December 1963, noted Historian Loren E. Gross announced that this would be the final volume in his epic task to document the history of UFOs from 1896 to 1963.
Loren's History series comprised a collection of nearly 10,000 pages spanning over 100 booklets, providing a richly detailed and multifaceted overview of the UFO phenomenon.
Additional background to Loren’s endeavors can be found in this interview with Richard H. Hall.
Having accomplished his main goal in documenting the core years of his UFO series, Loren began to mine newspaper clippings primarily from the 1970s and 80s. He selected those he found to be the most interesting and annotated them with his comments. He called this collection “Some UFO Notes”, which he has kindly allowed Project 1947 to reproduce.
Jan Aldrich provides detailed insight into Loren's remarkable writing accomplishment in his introduction to our newest addition to the website Some UFO Notes by Loren E. Gross.
June 4, 2012
UK UFO Documents
The United Kingdom Government started investigating unidentified flying objects beginning in 1947. According to press accounts the Royal Air Force accumulated a large number of reports. Jan Aldrich provides a brief overview of the UK Government's handling of UFO reports and presents some interesting UK UFO documents that were found among the papers of the U.S. Air Force's scientific adviser on UFOs, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who also founded CUFOS.
Edward J. Ruppelt
Before writing his classic work, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956), Edward J. Ruppelt produced a "book-length feature" article for the May, 1954, issue of TRUE Magazine entitled, What Our Air Force Found Out About Flying Saucers.
Captain William B. Nash, one of the witnesses in the well-known "Nash-Fortenberry" sighting of 1952, wrote a "Letter to the Editor" of TRUE disagreeing with Ruppelt's conclusions. His letter was published but heavily edited. The complete text has been reproduced here from Nash's files.
Nash also discussed Ruppelt's article as well as other contemporary UFO cases in a 1954 letter to his friend and fellow pilot, William J. Hull.
Prior to the publication of the revised edition of Ruppelt's The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects in 1959, Isabel Davis of CSI New York managed to obtain copies of two of the three new chapters. She shared her concerns in a November 16, 1959, letter to her colleagues in CSI Los Angeles.
1954 Clippings
Several new additions to the 1954 news clippings collection.
February 18, 2012
A Catalogue Of The More Interesting Australian UFO Reports.
Australian researcher Keith Basterfield has released another comprehensive catalogue.
A Catalogue Of The More Interesting Australian UFO Reports is a subjective listing of UFO reports sourced from books, journals, Australian government file archives, and material retrieved via FOIA requests.
Keith regards this collection as a sampling of the more interesting cases, some of which may yet be determined to have conventional explanations or yield more information. He welcomes corrections and additions to the catalogue.
February 8, 2012
Updated CFI/Research Proposal
Several years ago the SyFy Channel, with the aid of John Podesta, former Chief of Staff for President Clinton, started a campaign to press for the release of government documents dealing with UFOs under the title of the Coalition for Freedom of Information (CFI).
CFI solicited proposals from UFO researchers for a list of key UFO documents that might be secured via research or FOIA legal action. The Sign Historical Group produced a proposal which was not accepted within the tight deadline allowed for submissions. However, many of the proposed avenues for research have since produced new information and opened up new research opportunities.
The original proposal with updated findings and potential leads can be read here.
Two Papers from Dr. James E. McDonald
"UFOs – A CHALLENGE TO OBSERVATION"
Summary of address to participants in the Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and other societies, Washington, D. C., February 13, 1969.
"UFOs – UNSOLVED: A SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGE"
Presented June 10, 1969, Washington, D.C., in a talk sponsored by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena - NICAP
December 23, 2011
Project Henry and "Project A"
During the early 1950s there were a number of official and private attempts to investigate unidentified flying objects. One of them was a sub-project run within Blue Book by J. Allen Hynek and his assistant Jennie Gluck (Zeidman) called Project HENRY. Jan Aldrich examines the various UFO research efforts in Project Henry.
One of the other research projects at this time was undertaken by Ohio Northern University. Known as "Project A", ONU requested sightings information from individuals as well as official groups in an effort to "find a logical explanation for the saucer appearances if possible, and to publicize the true findings." Read about Project A here
New Keith Basterfield Catalogues
Keith has added three new catalogues to his already impressive body of work.
A Catalogue Of Pre 24 June 1947 Australian Unidentified Aerial Phenomena documents pre-Kenneth Arnold "flying saucer" sightings in Australia. It is a "work in progress" and will be updated.
A Re-examination of the Zanthus Western Australia Aircraft Encounter of 22 August 1968 details Keith's investigation of an impressive UFO/aircraft encounter.
A Listing Of Reports From Woomera, South Australia, details various UFO reports from the restricted experimental military test and rocket range.
November 23, 2011
Back Online
The website is back online after an absence of over a month and we're pleased to present the following additions:
Lou Corbin, NICAP Member and WFBR Radio News Director.
Lou Corbin served in U.S. Army Intelligence during World War II and attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was a friend and confidant of retired Marine Corps Major Donald E. Keyhoe and shared his interest in the subject of UFOs.
Corbin used his military and intelligence contacts to source information on UFO reports and the military response to them. In his role as News Director for radio station WFBR in Baltimore, Maryland, Corbin presented a topical program dealing with the subject of "Flying Saucers". Col Frank Milani, Baltimore's Civil Defense Director, appeared on the program and demanded that the U.S. Air Force "lessen the secrecy surrounding Unidentified Flying Objects"
The fallout from that program as well as a copy of the script from the WFBR broadcast is part of our look at the life of Lou Corbin WFBR Radio and NICAP Member.
Dr. Frank B. Salisbury
Frank Boyer Salisbury was born in Utah in 1926. He graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. (1951) and M.A. (1952) and received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (1955).
In April 1962 he published an article entitled "Martian Biology" in Science magazine, and received many letters pointing him towards the growing number of "Flying Saucer" reports. This led Salisbury to consider that if life was likely on other planets, perhaps extraterrestrial visitation was also a possibility.
Salisbury began a lengthy investigation of local UFO sightings and in 1968 submitted a written statement to the U. S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Astronautics Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects. Salisbury also wrote two articles for BioScience magazine: The Scientist and the UFO; and Recent Developments in the Study of UFOS
Salisbury's articles and House Committee presentation are available from the Sign Historical Group's Resource Page
September 20, 2009
Sign Oral History Project
Tom Tulien began the Sign Oral History Project in 1999 to record recollections of UFO witnesses, investigators officials, scientists, and other individuals associated with UFO history using archive-quality video media.
Tom has now launched his own dedicated website to host the fruits of his Sign Oral History Project and other planned exciting projects. Visit the SOHP at http://www.sohp.us/
December 10, 2005
Julian J. A. Hennessey - The U.K. Government and UFOs
For many years Julian Hennessey worked as NICAP's representative in Great Britain where he investigated a large number of cases in the U.K. and Europe. He was chairman of European Investigative Subcommittee #1 of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), and through persistent and meticulous efforts was able to create an impressive network of official and semi-official interest in UFO reports.
Some of this official interest was less than supportive, and many times Hennessey became a thorn in the side of British government officials who continued to insist that there was no real interest in UFO reports other than those with "possible defense implications".
Jan Aldrich presents an overview of Julian's work in this introduction to the previously unpublished essay, The U.K. Government and UFOs, in which Julian outlines some significant historical British UFO events and his own involvement with UFO research in the 60s and 70s.
July 17, 2005
Green Fireball and Ghost Rocket Chronologies
Joel Carpenter has produced two excellent Chronologies which examine in detail two of the most enduring aerial mysteries of modern times.
Green Fireballs Over Los Alamos introduces us to the "New Mexico Missile Crisis," a time when mysterious "green fireballs" were seen in the skies of the American Southwest overflying Top Secret military installations.
In a Green Fireball Chronology Joel Carpenter traces the history and people involved in trying to determine the origins of the elusive fireballs: Secret Russian weapons, a natural phenomenon, or something "not of this world"?
Before the 1947 wave of "flying saucer" sightings, there were mysterious objects being seen in the skies of Scandinavia. These "Ghost Rockets" were detected both visually and on radar, but their origin could not be determined. Had the Russians been able to exploit captured German rocket technology so quickly, or were these "ghosts" the precursors to the flying saucer and Green Fireball sightings? In a Ghost Rocket Chronology: Guided Missiles and UFOs, Joel explores the wide-ranging attempts to resolve and explain the "Ghost Rockets" during a time of rising political tensions and advances in rocket technology.
Paper Threat: Japanese Fu-Go balloons
Unknown aerial objects sighted in the skies over North America that were subject to strict media censorship and official secrecy... UFOs in the form of a new intercontinental weapon launched during the closing days of World War II that became known as Fu-Go.
The race to deal with the Fu-go weapon established the precedent for official secrecy when dealing with the recovery of suspected airborne artifacts. Several agencies and persons who had to deal with the Japanese balloon bombs later went on to play important roles in the investigation of Green Fireballs and UFOs.
Joel Carpenter's Paper Threat, the first intercontinental weapon system, documents the history of the Fu-go Balloon attacks and the many efforts by the government and military to deal with this new threat from the sky.
March 1, 2005
Minot AFB B-52 UFO Report
In 1968 numerous ground and air witnesses observed an unconventional aerial object as it maneuvered over the ICBM fields surrounding Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
Portions of this dramatic incident were recently dramatized in the ABC News Special television documentary Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs: Seeing is Believing
Thomas Tulien, Chairman of the Sign Historical Group, and James Klotz, veteran CUFON researcher, have been investigating these dramatic events for over five years and are close to releasing their comprehensive report. Details of the Minot AFB B-52 UFO Incident report can be read here.
October 30, 2004
UAL Flight 105
Just days after the Kenneth Arnold sighting of "flying saucers", the crew of United Air Lines flight 105 had their own astonishing encounter over Emmett, Idaho, on July 4, 1947.
January 3, 2004
Inventory of Material From The Files of Dr. Olavos T. Fontes
Dr. Willy Smith recently donated his collection of files to the Sign Historical Group. Included in this material were many items from the files of the renowned Brazilian UFO researcher, Dr. Olavos T. Fontes. An inventory of this material, along with Fontes-related items provided by other researchers, can be read here. A selection of Internet links referring to Fontes-related cases is also included.