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. 7 …Allen Hynek (Chief scientific consultant to the Air Force on UFOs) said: "...there are more reports…
  • p. 30 …Air Force. (Originally reported in Cleveland Press, picked up by United Press International, July 30, 1952…
  • p. 34 …I collected a few names of individuals present, as I intended to report the UFO to…
  • p. 44 …Gordon Pendleton, Irish International Airlines Globular UFO with antenna-like projections, streaked below his Viscount. Section…
  • p. 55 …Often this argument is used by skeptics to imply that UFO reports result only from careless…
  • p. 71 …Reports of the UFO came into the Baltimore Filter Center for about an hour the first…
  • p. 72 …It was "more distinct than the daytime moon," Walker reported. 36 ## Rendezvous of Two UFOs February…
  • p. 77 …Teletype report and letter on file at NICAP 2. Reports obtained by Cleveland and Akron UFO…
  • p. 97 …According to a report which Mr. Purdon submitted to NICAP, the UFO was first motionless for…
  • p. 98 …Miller, who reported September 18, 1960: The UFO "quite probably is a cinch mark. . . it could…
  • p. 110 …Project name changed to "Grudge." Because of internal disagreement about the significance of UFOs, reports were…
  • p. 119 …The original report released by the Air Force PIO at Truax AFB, Wisc., stated that contact…
  • p. 122 …Wherever man travels on the globe, UFOs have been sighted. Ships at sea have reported strange…
  • p. 123 …At Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, December 22, 1962, a UFO was sighted about 3:00…
  • p. 126 …An Aer Lingus (Irish International Airlines) pilot reported a globe-shaped unidentified object which flew beneath…
  • p. 127 …International News Service (INS) reported that an Italian Air Force radar station at Practica Dimare, 40…
  • p. 129 …Norris reported that "during early November UFO reports came from all Australian states except Tasmania." The…
  • p. 130 …However, the reported size of the UFO was far too large to be explained as a…
  • p. 131 …Report and sketches published in Japan International UFO Investigation, J. I. Takanashi, Editor; Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan…
  • p. 137 …Week of UFO sightings investigated by military authorities. Scores of residents reported strange glowing objects maneuvering…
  • p. 142 …Three people reported a round, orange UFO which moved rapidly east to west, stopped and hovered…
  • p. 144 …Once the reports had been publicized, the planet Jupiter also was reported as a UFO on…
  • p. 163 …Unofficial report of elliptical silvery UFO seen by aircraft workers; launched two small discs which maneuvered…
  • p. 164 …Air Force called press conference on UFO sightings, attended by more than 40 reporters. Suggested UFOs…
  • p. 171 …missile range, reported an egg-shaped UFO which descended over the base. A report on this…
  • p. 173 …May 14-16 - Several UFO reports from Bahia Blanca, La Rioja, and La Barrera. In the…
  • p. 182 …However, once it is determined that a given UFO report is not evidence of an attack…
# SECTION XI

# THE UFO CHRONOLOGY

## 19th Century

Roman numerals in brackets indicate numbers of other Sections which contain information about a given case in this Chronology.

August 6, 1860--Norfolk, Va. Two objects, one red and one green, flew overhead together, moving with an undulating motion.

1877--England. Three meteor-like objects moving together with "remarkable slowness" flew across the sky, visible about three minutes, "moving with the same velocity and grade of regularity. [as] a flock of wild geese." [Credit: Charles Fort, from Report of the British Association, 1877-152]

July 3, 1884--Norwood, N.Y. Saturn-shaped UFO (globe with central ring) flew slowly overhead. [Credit: Charles Fort, from Science Monthly, 2-136]

1896-1897--Mysterious "Airship" reported all across United States.

## Early 20th Century

February 28, 1904--Formation of three maneuvering objects sighted by U.S.S. Supply in North Pacific off San Francisco. [II]

December 22, 1909--Worcester, Mass. "Mysterious Airship" emitting a bright beam of light appeared moving SE to NW, hovered over city, moved away. Seen again two hours later; hovered, moved away to south and turned east. Observed over Boston and Lynn, Mass. next night. [N.Y. Tribune, 12-23-09; N.Y. Sun, 12-24-09]

July 19, 1916--Unidentified luminous object shaped like a dirigible observed over Huntington, W. Va. [Credit: Charles Fort, from Scientific American, 115-241]

Early 1918--Near Waco, Texas. Reddish cigar-shaped object, with no motor or rigging, passed silently from SW to NE.

1923--Greencastle, Indiana. Revolving red object passed overhead from NE to SW. Two witnesses currently are college professors.

January 1924--Oklahoma. White oval-shaped object lit up ground, moved out of sight over horizon.

August 5, 1926--Himalayan Mountains. Explorer Nicholas Roerich and others in his caravan observed a shiny oval-shaped object move overhead, changing course. [I]

November 1928--Milton, N.D. A UFO, round "like an inverted soup plate," sped overhead emitting rays of light which illuminated the ground and startled cattle.

January 1, 1931--Cobden, Ont., Canada. UFO sighted in early morning, had bright light on front which lit up tree-tops, flashing lights on rear. Object made sweeping curve, sped up and climbed out of sight.

April or May 1932--Durham, N.Y. Aluminum-like disc with periphery of yellowish lights or "portholes" on underside.

1932 or 1933--Oakland, California. About seven brilliant objects in a group flew from 30 degrees elevation in the east to 45 degrees elevation in the west, in an arc. Witness now college graduate, former USAF pilot.

## World War II "Foo-Fighter" Era

August 29, 1942--Columbus, Miss. Control tower operator at Army Air Base saw two round reddish objects hover over field. [III]

Approx. 1943--Washington, D.C. Sighting of UFO formation by Metropolitan policeman. [VII]

March 1944--Carlsbad, N.M. Air Force pilot saw fast-moving UFO speed out of sight over horizon. [III]

Summer 1944--Normandy, France. Los Angeles columnist George Todt, in a party of four Army officers including a Lt. Col., watched a pulsating red fireball sail up to the front lines, hover for 15 minutes, then move away. [IV]

July 1944--Brest, France. Two men of the 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, saw a large rectangular object with no apparent source of propulsion move steadily over the front lines and out to sea. The UFO at one point passed in front of the moon, briefly obscuring it from view. [IV]

August 10, 1944--Sumatra. Sighting of maneuvering UFO which paced B-29 during mission. [III]

October 1944--Southeast Holland. Field Artillery officer and men saw a brilliant object moving from NW to SW, crossing an arc of about 90 degrees in about 45 minutes. [IV]

November 1944--France. 415th Night Fighter Squadron pilot saw formation of round objects. [III]

December 1944--Austria. B-17 pilot and crew, on a lone wolf mission, were followed by an amber-colored disc. [III]

January 1945--Germany. Another 415th Night Fighter Squadron pilot was followed by three red and white lighted objects over Germany. [III]

January 2, 1945--The New York Times carried an AP dispatch from France about several recent "foo-fighter" sightings. Lt. Donald Meiers said he had twice been followed by UFOs. [III]

March 1945--Aleutian Islands. Fourteen men on the U.S.A.T. Delarof (an attack transport) saw a dark spherical object which rose out of the water, circled the ship and flew away. An official report on the incident was sent to Washington. [IV]

May 1946--LaGrange, Florida. A Navy gunnery and radar officer observed a dark elliptical object which moved slowly overhead, disappearing in a cloud bank. [I]

July-August 1946--Swedish "Ghost rocket" sightings. [X] August 1, 1946--Florida. Observation of cigar-shaped UFO by Air Corps transport pilot. [III]

## 1947

[See Section XII, June-July 1947 "Flap," for additional details] June 23, 1947--Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Railroad engineer saw 10 shiny disc-shaped objects, very high, fluttering along in a string toward NW. [XII]

June 24, 1947--Mt. Ranier, Wash. Kenneth Arnold sighting. [V] Term "Flying saucer" coined.

June 28, 1947--Nr Lake Mead, Nevada. USAF F-51 pilot reported a formation of 5-6 circular objects. [III]

June 28, 1947--Maxwell AFB, Ala. Zig-zagging light seen by pilots, intelligence officers. [III]

June 29, 1947--White Sands, N.M. Naval rocket expert, at test grounds observed a silvery disc. [IV]

July 4, 1947--Portland, Oregon. Police and many others saw many UFOs in formations and singly beginning about 1:05 p.m. [II, XII]

July 4, 1947--Nr. Boise, Idaho. United Airlines pilot and crew, enroute to Portland, Ore., saw 9 disc-like UFOs. [V]

July 4, 1947--Seattle, Wash. Coast Guard yeoman took first known photograph of UFO, a circular object which moved across the wind. Photo shows round dot of light. [VIII, XII]

July 4, 1947--Redmond, Oregon. Car full of people saw four disc-shaped UFOs streak past Mt. Jefferson. [XII]

July 6, 1947--Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Calif. Pilot reported "oscillating" UFO which shot across sky. [III]

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.