Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum from the Planning and Coordination Staff, dated 2 May 1957, answers three questions about CIA work on UFOs. It says the Air Force and CIA both still follow the subject, and that Phil Strong of OSI is responsible for it. It recounts the 1952 to 1953 OSI panel study and the small remaining ATIC Blue Book effort, and reports that little of importance has been received. It also mentions a British and Canadian flying saucer design project run by the Canadians.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
The Air Force and Navy (including the Navy's PIC) supported the study. Phil says the report was extremely thorough and was distributed to the IAC. (Copy attached, a letter the last two pages contain the summary.) A truly a jointly created British and Canadian effort. According to Storer, the UFO still remains. Since the study was made (17 January 1953), O61 has maintained a watching process on UFO. Although very few reports are received, those which do appear are examined by the following units: If concerning natural phenomena, they are turned over to the Geo-Physics Unit of the Fundamental Sciences Division in O81. If they concern the hardware aspects of flying craft, they are turned over to the former Weapons Unit concerned with aircraft in the Applied Science Division of O81. Can. Watson, ATIC, (Phil Strong believes) maintains one or two officers following the UFO question. This ATIC effort is all that is left of an earlier, larger Air Force Project called "Blue Book." (Copy of Project report dated 5 May 1955 is attached, - conclusions are on p. 94). Concerning take on this question, Phil states that very little comes in and that nothing has been received of importance. Two or three years ago reported seeing a flying saucer in vertical take-off in the Soviet Caucasus, but nothing was developed by intelligence. (Analysis of this case is attached.) This incident is the only "flap" that Phil can remember. 3. I asked Phil point-blank if the unexplained category could include actual secret Soviet advanced aeronautical equipment. He replied, "Conceivably, yes." However, speaking from memory he felt that the possibility existed that if further information was obtainable, the remaining small percentage of unknowns might be explained. 4. I also asked Phil point-blank if there was any special collection going on against UFO targets. He replied that there was no collection as such but that radical aeronautical design advances not limited to flying saucer types was a high priority collection requirement. In this regard he added that OSI has no information concerning new Soviet design which would indicate possible construction of flying saucer type aircraft. The Applied Sciences Division of OSI and ATIC work closely together in following radical new designs and advances by the Soviets.
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. 3 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.