Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum to the Director of Central Intelligence, from H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, was prepared in September 1952. It reviews the Air Force study of flying saucer reports at the Air Technical Intelligence Center, which had received about 1,500 official reports since 1947. It finds that the sightings carry national security implications, both psychological and for air defense. It recommends action by the National Security Council, new research and a public information policy that would minimize the risk of panic.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
PERCRAIDON FOR: Director of Central Intelligence THEU Deputy Director (Intelligence) SUBJECT Flying Saucers ## 1. m03124 ## so determine 8. whether there are national security implications in the problem of "unidentified flying objects" i.e. flying saucers b. that other adequate study and research is currently being directed to this problem in its relation to such national security implications; and c. What further investigation and research should be instituted, by then, and under what regis. ## 2. PECTS LEARNING ON THE PROGRAM c. CSI has investigated the work currently being performed on flying aircraft and has found that: (1) The only unit of government currently studying the problem is the Directorate of Intelligence, VCHF, which has charged the Air Technical Intelligence Center (AILC) with responsibility for investigating the reports of sightings. (2) At ATIC there is a small group consisting of a reserve Captain, two lieutenants and two secretaries to which come all reports of sittings through official channels, and which conduct investigation of the reports either itself or through consultation with other Air Force officers or with civilian technical consultants. (3) A world-wide reporting system has been instituted and major air forces have been ordered to make interceptions of unidentified flying objects. (4) The research being carried on is strictly on a case basis and appears to be designed solely to attempt a satisfactory explanation of each individual sighting as it occurs. (5) ATIC has concluded an arrangement with fattolle Memorial Institute for the latter to establish a machine insuring system for official reports of sightings.
FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 6 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.