Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, Volume I

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reports. The Study Group also believed that the Soviets could use reports of UFOs to create
hysteria in the United States or overload the U.S. early-warning system.27
• In December 1952, H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of OSI, briefed the
Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), Walter Bedell Smith, on the subject of UFOs.
Chadwell urged action because he was convinced that “something was going on that
must have immediate attention,” and that “sightings of unexplained objects at great
altitudes and traveling at high speeds in the vicinity of major U.S. defense
installations are of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomena or
known types of aerial vehicles.”28
• The source material does not suggest that Smith believed that these sightings were of
extraterrestrial origin only that he believed they were not natural phenomena or
known competitor technology. It is not clear from the source material why Chadwell
seemed to hold a different view than that of the Study Group. It is possible that he
suspected that UFO reports represented unknown Soviet technology and therefore
posed a national security threat. His concerns about and interest in the topic led to the
establishment of the Robertson Panel.
The Robertson Panel (January 1953)
Background: H. Marshall Chadwell clandestinely sponsored the establishment of a
UFO scientific review panel led by California Institute of Technology physicist, H.P. Robertson.
This action followed a recommendation from CIA’s Intelligence Advisory Committee to enlist
the services of selected “scientists to review and appraise the available evidence in light of
pertinent scientific theories.”29 The panelists had expertise in a range of fields, including nuclear
physics, high-energy physics, radar, electronics, and geophysics.30
Results: The panel reviewed all USAF data and concluded that most reports had
ordinary explanations. The panel unanimously concluded that there was no evidence of a direct
threat to U.S. national security from UFOs or that they were of extraterrestrial origin.
• The panel was, however, concerned with the outbreak of mass hysteria and how the
Soviets could exploit it. They recommended the USG use various channels to debunk
UFO reports and suggested monitoring domestic UFO enthusiast organizations. 31
• The Robertson Panel discussed the complete lack of the recovery of any “hardware”
resulting from “unexplained UFO sightings” which contributed to its assessment that
the reported UFOs were neither a foreign threat nor of extraterrestrial origin.32
The Durant Report (February 1953)
Background: CIA officer Frederick Durant drafted a report for CIA’s Assistant Director
of OSI on the Robertson Panel’s work and findings. Durant’s memorandum provided a brief
history of the panel and an unofficial supplement that provided comments and suggestions from
members which they had not included in the final report.33