Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report 14 (Hynek's annotated copy)

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

ENCLOSED WITH LETTER FROM AIR FORCE DATED APRIL 21,1952

I am unable to supply you with copies of the press releases on "flying saucers" issued by the Department of Defense as the demand for these releases has completely exhausted our supply. However, the information contained in these releases is summarized below and constitutes the official opinion of the Air Force on the subject of "flying saucers."

In the Fall of 1947 the United States Air Force took official notice of reports of so-called "flying disks" because the reports from the public indicated that the problem might be related to the Air Force responsibility for the air defense of the United States.

On December 30, 1947 the Air Force directed its Air Material Command, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, to set up a project to collect and evaluate all available facts concerning reported flying saucer incidents.

To perform this job the Air Materiel Command obtained the services of well known scientists, such as astronomers, psychologists, electronic specialists, and meteorologists.

On December 27, 1949, after 375 reported sightings had been investigated, at a total cost above normal operations of more than $34,000, the Air Force, with the concurrence of the Army and the Navy, announced the findings of the "flying saucer" project.

The evidence indicated that the reports of unidentified flying objects could be accounted for under three major headings:

{1} Misinterpretation of various conventional objects.

2 A mild form of hysteria.

3 Or simple hoaxes.

There remain, however, a number of reported sightings that cannot be thus explained, and as long as this is true, the Air Force will continue to study the problem.

As to what the objects were that were sighted by B-29 crew members over Korea during the night of January 29-30th, 1952, no conclusive evaluation has been made at the present time. Competent intelligence personnel are charged with the responsibility of further investigation.

Air Crew sightings - for the most part routine reports on enemy tactics and equipment - are an important part of the intelligence functions of any command. These reports are made to the responsible officers for such action as may be necessary.

It has been suggested that what people actually have been seeing is the result of some of our own secret experiments, guided missiles, or new types of planes or flying weapons. This is emphatically not the case. None of the three military departments nor any other agency in the government is conducting experiments, classified or otherwise, with disc-shaped flying objects which could be a basis for the reported phenomena.

The Air Force would like to assure the public that, inasmuch as the air defense of the United States is an Air Force responsibility, it has continued and will continue to receive and evaluate through normal military channels any substantial reports of unusual aerial phenomena.

Please call on me if I can be of further service.

Sincerely,

DeWITT R. SEARLES

Lt. Col., USAF

Chief, AF Press Desk