Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency briefing from 22 August 1952 presents the Office of Scientific Intelligence review of the Air Force flying saucer investigation, with attachments dated 14 and 19 August. It traces sightings from 1947 and explains most as balloons, aircraft, astronomical bodies or atmospheric effects. About 20% remain unexplained. The briefing rules out US or Soviet weapons and space ships. Its main concerns are psychological warfare, false alerts to air defense, and civilian saucer groups.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
civilian groups that have spring up to follow the subject. One — the Civilian Cancer Committee in California has substantial funds, strongly influences the editorial policy of a number of newspapers and has leaders whose connections may be questionable. Air Force is watching this organization because of its power to touch off nasty lysteria and panic. Perhaps so, from an intelligence point of view, should watch for any indication of Russian efforts to capitalize upon this present American credibility. Of even greater moment is the sound danger. Our air warning system will unmistakably always depend upon a combination of radar sensing and visual observation. To give Russia the capability of delivering an far attack against us, yet at any given moment now, there may be current a dozen official unidentified sightings plus may unofficial. At the moment of attack, how will up, on an instant basis, distinguish hardware from phantom? The answer, of course, is that until far greater
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. 29 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.