Memorandum

Od: CIA - Director's Office - Washington, DC
Pro: Director of the Psychological Strategy Board

Subject: Flying plates

1. Today, I submit to the National Security Council a proposal (TAB A) in which I express the view that UFO issues seem to have implications for both psychological warfare and intelligence and operations.
2. Information on this topic is detailed in TAB B.
3. I propose that at the next Council meeting we dikt about the possible defensive or offensive use of these phenomena for psychological warfare.

Signature: Walter Bedell Smith - Director

Memorandum to the Director of Central Intelligence (CIA)
Submitted by the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Service
Subject: Unidentified flying objects
Date: February 1952

1. DCI (Director of Central Intelligence or Director of the Central Intelligence Service) on 20. August after the OSI briefing (Office of Scientific Intelligence the Scientific Intelligence Agency) on the above-mentioned topic, pointed out the preparation of the NCSID (National Security Council Intelligence Directives or the National Security Council's Intelligence Recommendations) on the need to conduct the investigations to be submitted to the Council and require the institutions concerned to cooperate in such investigations.
2. While trying to develop such guidelines and studies for DD / I staff, AD / SI in AD / IC found that the issue was more of R & D. DD / I decided to launch an action through the Research & Development Council (RC & D). A meeting was held between the DI / USAF, CR & D chairman, DD / I, AD / SI as AD / IC, who decided that Dr. Whitman, the CR & D chairman, would explore whether research studies could be conducted and begin exploring through Air Force.
3. Approximately 6. November was announced to us by the CR & D chairman that the Air Force staff members did not find any substantiated facts, but that the problem had been underwritten by the Air Defense Command. We have not received any more news from CR & D.
4. Recent reports to the CIA indicate that further action is desirable and that further briefing took place on 25. November for A-2 and ATIC employees with knowledge of the subject. At that time, reports of incidents convinced us that something was happening that deserves our attention. Details of some of these incidents have been the subject of a discussion between AD / SI and DDCI. Observing unexplained high-altitude elevations moving at high speeds near major US defense installations are such that they can not be attributed to natural phenomena or known types of airborne vehicles.
5. OSI is currently setting up a competent and accredited advisory group to reconsider this issue and to convince authorities that research and development studies are necessary. This could be done quickly under the guidance of CENIS.
6. Please find enclosed the memorandum addressed to the NSC (National Security Council - the National Security Council) and the NSC directive to declare this issue a priority project of the entire intelligence community as well as defense research and development.

Signature: H. Marshall Caldwell - Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence

Documents
Date: 29.JEN 1952
A: Mr. AHH MONT
Od: VP Keay
Subject: Flying plates

TARGET: Inform that the Air Force has not yet reached a satisfactory conclusion in its survey of many reports of flying saucers and flying discs seen throughout the United States.

DETAILS
Mr. NW Philcox, representative of the liaison office lethnicity, concluded a survey of the current state of research of numerous reports related to flying saucers and flying discs by the air intelligence service. The survey was initiated by the office of Major General John A. Samford, Director of Aeronautical Intelligence, following a briefing by Major Randall Boy of the "Evaluation" Division of the Aeronautical Intelligence Department.

Major Boyd described that the Air Intelligence Service had installed an Air Intelligence Technical Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to coordinate, correlate, and investigate all reports of flying saucers and discs. He mentioned that air force research has confirmed that flying saucers have been observed for centuries and that the amount of observation varies according to the attention paid to the observations. If an observation is reported in a newspaper, the number of reported observations immediately increases significantly, and in turn, citizens are also several months old. Citizens call immediately and observations show they had a few months ago. Major Boyd clarified that these reported sightings of flying saucers are classified into three classifications:

1. Observations reported by citizens claiming to have seen flying saucers from the country. These observations differ in the description of objects, their color and speed. These statements are considered to be unreliable, because most of them are of imagination or confusion for any object in the sky.
2. Observations reported by piles of commercial and military aircraft. These observations are considered more credible by the Air Force because pilots have more aeronautical experience and should not think they see objects that are completely fictitious. In each of these cases, the person reporting the observation will go through an in-depth interview with a representative of the Air Intelligence Service so that a full description of the observed object can be obtained.
3. Observations reported by piles, for which there are other confirmations, such as radar observations or observations from the ground. Major Boyd said that this last category falls to 2 to 3% of the total number of observations. These observations are considered to be the most trusted and most difficult to explain. Some of these incidents are first observed from the ground, followed by pilots in flight, and subsequently observed by radar. According to Major Boyd, there is no doubt in these cases that the reported objects were actually in the sky. However, Major Boyd explained that these objects could still be natural phenomena, and if they are recorded on a radar, it could be some type of electric discharge in the sky.

Major Boyd further said that flying saucers are seen in areas with heavy air traffic, such as Washington DC and New York. However, observations were also reported in other areas: the entire territory of the United States and distant places such as Acapulco, Mexico, South Korea and French Morocco. According to Major Boyd, the third-category observations have never been satisfactorily explained, although it is possible that the observed objects were in fact natural phenomena or some kind of atmospheric disturbance. It is not entirely out of the question that the observed objects may have been ships of beings from another planet, such as Mars. He said that there was nothing yet to confirm this theory, but it did not completely refute it. He mentioned that the Air Intelligence Service is virtually certain that these objects are not ships or missiles of another nation on planet Earth. Major Boyd said that the Air Intelligence Service is currently conducting an intensive investigation, and once a credible report is received, the Air Force always tries to send fighter jets to obtain better information about these objects. Recent experiments, however, have shown that as the jet pilot approaches the object in this direction, it disappears from view.

RECOMMENDATION:  None. The above is for your information only.

Memorandum for the Director of the Central Intelligence Service
The Deputy Director was sent
Subject: Flying plates
Date: 24.09.1952

1. Recently, a survey was conducted by the Office for Scientific Intelligence to determine whether unidentifiable flying objects pose a risk to national security; whether sufficient studies and research have been carried out on this issue and its implications for national security; and what further research should be carried out, including by whom and under what auspices.
2. It has been found that this is a single government agency, namely the Intelligence Directorate, or the USAF, which has instructed the ATIC Technical Investigation Service to investigate reported observations. The ATIC operates a group of three officers and two secretaries who investigate all reports of alien observations coming through official communications channels. This group conducts investigation of the reports in consultation with members of Air Force Technical Staff and Civil Aviation as required. A global intelligence system was introduced and some of the most important aviation bases were ordered to capture UFOs. Each case is explored and the group tries to find a satisfactory explanation for each individual observation. ATIC has concluded an agreement with the Batelle Monument Institute to create a machine system for indexing official observation reports.
3. Since 1947, ATIC has received approximately 1500 official observation reports and a huge amount of letters, phone calls, and newspaper articles. Only in July 1952 has been identified a total of 250 official reports. Of the number of 1500, the Air Force was unable to account for 20% of cases and 1952 was unable to explain 26% of cases from reports received from January to July.
4. In exploring this issue, the CIA's Scientific Intelligence Agency consulted a representative of the Air Force Research Group; he was discussing the leadership of the Air Force project at Wright-Patterson Air Base; reviewed a large number of news reports; verified reports in the Soviet press and Soviet broadcasting services; and discussed the issue with three CIA advisors who have extensive knowledge of technical disciplines.
5. It was concluded that the ATIC approach is likely to work if it is limited to reviewing individual cases. However, this study does not address the wide-ranging aspects of the problem. These aspects should ultimately identify the various phenomena that are the origin of these observations and determine how these phenomena arise, as well as what visual and electronic manifestations, so that they can be instantly identified. CIA consultants have said that these phenomena are probably explanations lying on the border or just beyond our current understanding of atmospheric, ionospheric and cosmic phenomena. It is possible that the current scattering of nuclear waste can also be a factor. The Committee recommended that a study group be set up to:
6. systematize and analyze the factors that form the basis of this issue;
7. identifying scientific areas that need to be deepened to understand this issue; and
8. to issue recommendations for the launch of proper research.

Dr. Julius A. Stratton, vice president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the CIA that this group could be created at its institute, or that the responsibility could be taken over by the Lincoln Project, the ITT air defense project, Air Force.

1. The issue of flying saucers contains two elements potentially dangerous to national security in a tense international situation. These elements are:
2. Psychological aspect - It has been shown with observation reports around the world that at the time of the survey there was no report or commentary, even satirical, about flying saucers in the Soviet press; only Gremyko made a humorous reference to this subject. Since there is a state-controlled press in the Soviet Union, this absence of references is possible only through formal policy decisions. The question is therefore whether UFO observations:

(1) can or can not be controlled by the state;
(2) may or may not be predicted;
(3) may or may not be used in the case of psychological warfare, offensive or defensive.

The public interest in this issue, which is confirmed by the American press and social pressure for aviation research, shows that a significant portion of our population is mentally capable of receiving the incredible. In this fact lies the potential for an outbreak of hysteria and mass panic.

1. Airborne vulnerability - The United States air alert system will always be inevitably dependent on the combination of radar and visual observations. The Soviet Union is currently considered capable of launching an air strike on the United States and whenever there are dozens of official and unofficial observations. there are dozens of official comments and some unofficial observations. At the moment, we would not be able to immediately detect the actual UFO weapon during the attack. There is a risk of false alarms or the fact that we will treat the actual attack as a misconception.
2. Each of these problems is an operational problem and poses a blatant news complication.
3. From the operational point of view, the following steps should be taken:
4. Immediate measures should be taken to improve the visual identification of flying saucers at the expense of electronic equipment in order to allow immediate and positive identification of aircraft or enemy missiles in the event of an attack.
5. A study should be carried out to determine how it would be possible, if any, to use these phenomena by the American organizers of the psychological warfare, and at the same time what, if any, is defending against the expected Soviet attempts to exploit these phenomena.
6. To minimize the risk of panic, a national policy on how to talk about these phenomena in public should be developed.
7. Other questions that require deeper exploration:
8. The current level of Soviet knowledge of these phenomena.
9. Possible Soviet intentions and ability to exploit these phenomena at the expense of US interests.
10. The reasons why the Soviet press on flying plates is silent.
11. Further research will be needed other than that carried out by Aeronautics, taking into account specific operational and intelligence needs. This investigation can not be transmitted to the intelligence service until the collection and analysis of the facts is completed and the nature of these phenomena is clearly explained.
12. I consider this issue to be so serious that it should be submitted to the National Security Council to ensure cooperation between all the authorities involved.

Signed by E. MARSHALL CHADWELL - Assistant Director of the Scientific Intelligence Service