Documents / FOIA release

The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

Central Intelligence Agency · 2001-03-12 · 186 pages · text by OCR

This is a copy of "The UFO Evidence," a report published in May 1964 by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in Washington, D.C. and edited by Richard H. Hall. The CIA released its copy in 2001. The report draws 746 sightings from more than 5,000 signed reports and argues that unexplained UFOs are real, artificial objects under intelligent control. It criticizes Air Force secrecy and calls for a Congressional inquiry into Project Blue Book and a larger scientific investigation.

  • p. 2 …of AF Project Blue Book UFO investigation, prepared analyses of UFO data for AF, liaison officer…
  • p. 5 …officers, civil defense and ground observer corps, cross-section of citizens' reports. Section VIII. SPECIAL EVIDENCE…
  • p. 11 …Navy Special Devices Center for a special Skyhook flight to be undertaken for that Office of…
  • p. 13 …However, the accumulation of reports by good observers and some of the special evidence such as…
  • p. 21 …of reports by unusually well-qualified observers is worth special mention. During the Fall of 1949…
  • p. 39 …pilots (two of whom had personally sighted UFOs) joined the NICAP Panel of Special Advisers. Federal…
  • p. 45 …cards and badges of Special Investigators, USAF. In separate rooms, we were questioned for one hour…
  • p. 88 …Special records are kept of all such sightings. Usually, in a case of this type, jets…
  • p. 94 …Force officers. It shows five glowing, oval-shaped objects. 20. Adamski "Scout Ship." Because of Mr…
  • p. 96 …In the interests of scientific investigation, we urge that secrecy about the case be lifted by…
  • p. 109 …History of the UFO Project C. Air Force Statements About Its UFO Investigation/NICAP Rebuttals D…
  • p. 111 …CLARDP81R00560R0001000100010 every phase" of the investigation. The scientists believed this program would "dispel any of the…
  • p. 116 …gation of a phenomenon. Yet, as the agency officially charged with investigation of UFOs, the Air…
  • p. 125 …Allied intelligence experts were reported to be investigating radar sightings of "mysterious objects" which had been…
  • p. 137 …Defense high command ordered a full scale investigation of sightings of a wingless circular object which…
  • p. 141 …from office of Secretary of Air Force: The USAF maintains a "continuous surveillance of the atmosphere…
  • p. 164 …The Air Ministry announced it was investigating.21 About September 20 - Personnel of the U.S…
  • p. 182 …CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0 investigators, impatient with NICAP's "conserv from reviewing the methods of investigation a…
  • p. 183 …investigation is required. . . "Now the primary objection to UFO reports, as most scientists think of such…
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

Date & Location	U.F.O. reported	Dissipation	Spiders	Remarks & Notes
7-29-55; Sacramento, California [Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
9-1-55; Edmore, Mich.	X Fell slowly in clumps, "some as large as big platters."[Edmore Times, 9-9-55]
10-2-55; Uhrichsville, Ohio	X [Section VII]
10-10-55; Cincinnati, Ohio	X [Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
10-27-55; Whitsett, N.C.	X Analysts disagreed whether substance was of animal or synthetic origin.[Greensboro Daily News, Oct. 28, 1955]
7-10-56; Melbourne, Australia X "Millions of white web-like threads."[Bournemouth Echo; 7-10-56]
8-19-56; St. Louis, Mo. [Stringfield, op. cit., p. 49]
9-25-56; Cincinnati, Ohio Analyzed by AF, identified as rayon fibres.[CRIFO Orbit; Nov. 2, 1956 & Dec. 7, 1956]
9-30-56; Cherry Valley, Illinois	X [CRIFO Orbit; Dec. 7, 1956]
10-15-56; Indianapolis, Indiana	X [Stringfield, op. cit., p. 50]
10-16-56; Fond de Lac, Wisconsin [Ibid., p. 50]
4-28-57; Christchurch, N.Z. [Ibid., p. 50]
10-4-57; Ichinoseki City, Japan [Flying Saucer Review (London), Jan.-Feb., 1958]
10-17-57; Nr. Fatima, Portugal X [Irish News, from Lisbon, 10-23-57]
10-23/24-57; Portales, N.M. Strands up to 50 feet long, enormous quantities.[Associated Press, Oct. 24-25, 1957]
10-9-58; Portales, N.M. [Associated Press, Oct. 10, 1958]
11-9-58; Humboldt County, California Strands of 5-6 feet, one report of 40 foot strand by airport dispatcher.
10-26/27-59; Savannah, Georgia [Savannah Morning News; 11-4-59]
11-3-59; Centerville, Georgia X	[Atlanta Journal; 11-5-59]
8-5-61; Mt. Hale, Australia	X	X Visible objects traveled in pairs, as in Gaillac and Oloron cases cited above. Substance described as "a snowy white, fine mesh..."[Perth, Western Australia newspaper, 8-6-61]
10-14-61; Sunset, Utah	X [Report from member]
11-11-62; Lakeland, Florida	X "Loops and whorls" of "gossamer filaments" observed in sky (No reports of striking ground).[Lakeland Ledger; 11-12-62]
TOTALS: Number of cases 43	23	12	1

Of the 43 cases of angel's hair, visible unidentified objects were reported in just over half (23). The most common descriptions of the UFOs have been "cigar-shaped" or like "silvery balls". Sudden accelerations and high speeds have been reported, but a person seeing something at relatively close range and thinking it is a larger object farther away could easily overestimate the speed. Nevertheless, the cases of cigar-shaped

UFOs (sometimes accompanied by other round objects) observed in association with angel hair falls, are the most difficult to explain.

Rapid dissipation of the substance was reported in 12 of 43 cases. In seven of these 12 cases, there were also visual sightings of UFOs.

## NOTES

Electro-Magnetic Effects.

1. "Electro-Magnetic Effects Associated With Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)," by Washington, D. C., Subcommittee of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. June 1960.

2. E-M Cases, by Case Numbers:

E-1. Stringfield, Leonard H.; Inside Saucer Post. .3-0 Blue. (4412 Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio).

E-2. Time; May 9, 1949.

E-3. Tulsa, Okla., Tribune; 12-1-57

E-4. Lorenzen, Coral; The Great Flying Saucer Hoax. (William-Frederick Press, N.Y. 1962), ppg. 19-22.

E-5. Report to NICAP

E-6. Miller, Max B. (1420 So. Ridgley Drive, Los Angeles, Calif.).

E-7. Report to NICAP

E-8. Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (4145 East Desert Place, Tucson, Arizona).

E-9. Report to NICAP

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

Cases discussed

About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 186 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.