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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. 7 …the daily press no longer carries such reports, except perhaps as fillers, because monotonously repeated items…
  • p. 11 …This form includes questions asked by the United States Air Force and by other Armed Forces…
  • p. 26 …dozens of Air Force bases in the United States and in foreign locations. Since 1953, however…
  • p. 30 …Force. (Originally reported in Cleveland Press, picked up by United Press International, July 30, 1952). During…
  • p. 34 …United Press; August 1, 1952. 26. From USAF Intelligence Report. (See also Ruppelt, Edward J., op…
  • p. 38 …United Press; January 4, 1954 10. Report on file at NICAP 11. Report on file at…
  • p. 44 …The four Conner Airlines pilots were interviewed by United Press when they landed in Denver, Colorado…
  • p. 46 …United Press reported the incident (newswire copy on file at NICAP): FLYING SAUCER OR A WEATHER…
  • p. 51 …Clark Croft, chief of the CAA Tower staff, stated to the Associated Press July 22 that…
  • p. 53 …United Press; May 23, 1951. 15. Report on file at NICAP. 16. United Press; July 18…
  • p. 77 …United Press International, July 26, 1958 Professional and Business Men 32-39. Reports on file at…
  • p. 93 …A United Press Newspictures photo reportedly taken by Enrique H. Muller is reproduced in "The Coming…
  • p. 94 …The pictures showed a round object, according to press reports, but have not been released to…
  • p. 95 …The picture was printed widely as a United Press telephoto, showing an irregular elongated mass with…
  • p. 107 …La Prensa, 2-1-58; United Press. E-85. Lorenzen, Coral; op. cit., ppg. 143-144…
  • p. 108 …Associated Press, Paris; February 19, 1956. 51. United Press; July 19, 1956. 52. Altus (Okla.) Times…
  • p. 111 …per cent of the sightings. Quoted by United Press; Amarillo, Texas. May 5, 1955: Project Blue…
  • p. 112 …The press release approach is considered censorship by some UFO organizations, because they do not receive…
  • p. 120 …Yates, United Airlines, saw the UFOs turn and head northwest in the vicinity of Akron, three…
  • p. 122 …Activity, Public Interest, and Official Attitudes United States press coverage has sometimes given the impression that…
  • p. 123 …CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0 (Alaska, of course, is now one of the United States, and is covered…
  • p. 124 …Saul Martins later told the press the UFO maneuvered all around the DC-3, pacing it…
  • p. 127 …United Press reported from Belgrade, October 27: "Authorities announced today they were making a 'serious investigation…
  • p. 129 …1959 was reported widely by Associated Press, United Press International and Hawaiian newspapers. NICAP interviewed several…
  • p. 130 …United Press International; April 13, 1959 6. Letter on file at NICAP 7. Letter on file…
  • p. 131 …United Press International; November 7, 1958 52. Associated Press; October 28, 1954 53. Natal Mercury (Durban…
  • p. 134 …here and as far away as Wyoming. (United Press) ## 1952 1952--London, Ont., Canada. Astronomer observed…
  • p. 136 …said today Russia may be scouting the United States and other parts of the world with…
  • p. 159 …publicity) CONCENTRATIONS YEAR PERIOD MAIN LOCATIONS X 1947 June-July Western United States X 1950 First…
  • p. 164 …Air Force called press conference on UFO sightings, attended by more than 40 reporters. Suggested UFOs…
  • p. 165 …Reliable witnesses soberly described plainly observed UFOs, and the press gave their stories very full coverage…
  • p. 173 …United Press; Washington, July 28, 1952 16. United Press; July 29, 1952 17. From Air Force…
  • p. 175 …When pressed on specific details the experts refuse to answer on grounds that they are involved…
# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

was grey, and I think perhaps a little darker on the rim or edge; not much but enough to make the edge sharply defined.

'Suddenly it stopped and seemed to be going in a direction more or less at right angles to its first motion, but still in an upright direction. . . This sudden stop interested me as an engineer, because any sudden retardation or acceleration requires in so large an object the application of a very considerable force, and seemed a much shorter turn and a more rapid turn than any airplane I had ever seen could be capable of.

"It then began to ascend in a direction of perhaps at right angles to its first direction and at an upward angle of perhaps 30 or 35 degrees from the horizontal. . . . There were some fleecy clouds above it, and it entered them and was lost to sight for perhaps a second or so, to emerge into vision again above this first layer of clouds. Its direction had not changed, and shortly after it entered some more layers of cloud, which were thicker, and was lost to view."

## ARE UFOs INTELLIGENTLY CONTROLLED?

The definitive answer to this question must await a full-fledged investigation by scientists using appropriate instrumentation, as NICAP advocates [Section XIV]. However, the accumulation of reports by good observers and some of the special evidence such as radar trackings [Section VIII] strongly suggest this hypothesis. How else can one explain the maneuvers of the disc which pilot Waldo Harris attempted to investigate? The "curiosity" evidenced by the two discs which circled the Skyhook balloon? The powered flight indicated by the reports of Dr. Hess, Engineer Cox, and others? Section II discusses this question in detail.

How else can one explain reports such as the following of objects approaching at meteorlike speed, then hovering or maneuvering? When these reports come from pilots, scientists, engineers, and police officers they deserve far more serious, scientific attention than they have yet received.

Date: May 13, 1952

Location: National City, California

Time: Approximately 8:55 p.m. PDT

Witnesses: Donald R. Carr, aeronautical engineer, and at least six others in separate locations, including a teacher who is a former Navy pilot.

Excerpts from Mr. Carr's report. [5.]

"I saw what I thought was the trail of a large meteor appear, approximately 5 degrees of arc East of a line between the two pointers and almost exactly in the center of the bowl of the Big Dipper. [See diagram.] The trail was of a red color and appeared to be coming down at about an angle of 20 degrees to my line of sight and in a southwesterly direction. Only the red trail was visible for about two seconds and then a small white dot became visible, from which the trail was emanating. The speed appeared to be meteoric and so I still thought the object was what is commonly called a 'shooting star.' [After 2 or 3 seconds] the white object had an apparent diameter of 1/64 to 1/32 inch. The trail faded and the object still continued coming down. The speed appeared to be decreasing and I noted a certain erratic quality to the flight of the object, which now appeared to have a self-luminous or fluorescent quality. [for about 10 more seconds] the object was following a gradual curved path in process of levelling off. [then] the object was flying level on a course almost due West. I estimated the altitude of the object at this point of its trajectory to be from 10,000 to 15,000 feet. Its speed at this time appeared to be within the range of known aircraft speeds. To the naked eye the object appeared as a sphere of about 1/16 inch diameter. Through the [6 power] telescope the object presented a larger disc but the brightness did not appreciably increase. In level flight the object seemed to dart from side to side in an oscillating motion without diminishing of forward speed. After travelling a course almost due West for approximately one mile, the object turned toward the Northwest and appeared to circle over San Diego Bay and Point Loma and disappeared travelling North at a constant altitude and speed. During the entire time the object was visible there was absolutely no apparent sound created by it. Despite its terrific speed in its dive there was no shock wave or noise from its power source."

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 :

About 9:25 p.m., Mr. Carr observed what appeared to be the same object returning from the North, and circling West. It passed over downtown San Diego, where bright ground lights seemed to reflect off a metal hull.

"It is my conviction," Mr. Carr stated, "that since this object followed an apparently controlled course it was not moving under the influence of gravity, and must have been guided by an intelligence unknown to us. Its dive from an extreme altitude at possibly meteoric speed, its deceleration, levelling off, and circle of the city twice indicate that it arrived from interplanetary space and was under intelligent control."

The former Navy Pilot, Harold Strawn, with a group of students in La Mesa also witnessed the meteoric appearance, the levelling off and circling.

A multiple visual and multiple radar sighting, similarly suggesting controlled flight, occurred August 12, 1953; near Rapid City, South Dakota. The UFO was first spotted hovering in the eastern sky by the Ground Observer Corps. It moved in over the city, then back to its original position. Then ground radar began tracking the UFO, and an F-84 was scrambled and vectored in on the object, chasing it for 120 miles. Both the UFO and the jet showed plainly on the GCI radar screen. Each time the jet began to close in, the UFO would move ahead with a burst of speed. When the pilot gave up and turned back to base, the UFO turned and followed.

A second F-84 scrambled and chased the UFO 160 miles, obtaining a radar lock-on. The UFO again stayed just out of reach. When the pilot switched on his radar-ranging gunsight, and the red light blinked on showing something real and solid was ahead of him, the pilot was scared. ("When I talked to him, he readily admitted that he'd been scared. .he asked the controller if he could break off the intercept." [6., p. 305].) This time the UFO continued on course to the north. The Ground Observer Corps on the path ahead was notified, and reported seeing a light speeding north.

At the climax of the sighting, when the pilot became frightened, ground radar showed the jet and the UFO; the pilot's gunsight radar showed the UFO, and the pilot could see with his own eyes a speeding unidentified light in front of him.

A NICAP member later queried the Air Force about the case, and received a written reply on September 17, 1958 stating: "Photos of the radar scope and gun camera photos were made but were not sufficiently clear for evaluation. The Ellsworth Air Force Base case is still listed as unknown or unsolved." [7.]

NICAP Note: The fact that the gun camera photos showed an image at all is further proof that something real and solid was outspeeding jet interceptors. In conjunction with the multiple radar and multiple visual observations, an image on the film is close to complete proof of the reality of UFOs.

Capt. W. J. Hull, veteran Capital Airlines pilot, was a UFO skeptic. He had written an article entitled "The Obituary of the Flying Saucers" for The Airline Pilot magazine. At 10:10 p.m., November 14, 1956, Captain Hull was a pilot of Capital Flight No. 77, approaching Mobile, Alabama, enroute from New York City [8.] Suddenly, he and his co-pilot, Peter MacIntosh, noticed a bright light through the upper part of the windshield. The 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.