Documents / FOIA release
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.
“UFO Files”49 pages
# SECTION XII PATTERNS An attempt was made to find groups of Unknowns for which the observed characteristics were the same. No such groups were found...An intensive study, aimed at finding a verified model or models of "flying saucers'...led to the conclusion that neither goal could be attained using the present data...the data conclusively failed to reveal even a rough model...the data as a whole failed to reveal any marked patterns or trends. - Statement by U.S. Air Force (From Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, 1955, ppg. 91-94) The many obvious patterns which appear in UFO sighting data are summarized under the following general types: A. Physical Appearance C. Flight Characteristics D. Concentrations With Time (See also patterns of formations, Section II). ## A. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ## Shape The Air Force Project Grudge Report of December 1949 (Technical Report No. 102-AC-49/15-100) concluded, on the basis of intelligence reports of UFOs, that the objects were of three basic types: (1) "The most numerous reports indicate daytime observation of metallic disc-like objects roughly in diameter ten times their thickness." (2) Rocket-like objects. (3) "Sharply defined luminous objects" appearing as lights at night. Thirteen years of UFO sightings have been added to the record since this evaluation was made. A statistical study of the cases listed in the chronology of this report [Section XI], covering a period of 22 years beginning with 1942, indicates that the above pattern is well-established. Statistics Based on Cases in Section XI (1942-1963) Description Number of cases Percentage of Total Geometrical (disc, ellipse, triangle...) 333 58.0% Rocket-like or Cigar-shaped 48 8.3% Light Source 140 24.3% Other/None 35 6.1% Radar(No visual) 19 3.3% Total Number of Cases: 575 [Between 1947 and 1952, the Air Force investigated 2199 cases; 46.9% were elliptical UFOs, 5.2% rocket-like. The study did not have a separate category for discs. See Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, page 197, tables A140-A146]. The cases of geometrical objects break down as follows: Shape Number of Cases Percentage of Total(575) 1. Disc 149 26% 2. Round(spheres or discs) 96 17% 3. Oval/elliptical 77 13% 4. Triangular 11 2% Total Geometrical 333 If we make the reasonable assumption that some of the UFOs in categories 2 and 3 were discs seen in perspective, the possible range of generally flat circular objects observed becomes: Minimum Maximum Number of Cases 149 322 Percentage of Total 26% 56% One particular type of disc, whose shape occasionally has been compared to the planet Saturn, has been sighted periodically since 1947. It resembles a flattened sphere (sometimes with a centrally located surrounding ring). The following list, including one 1884 sighting, shows that many independent witnesses have used very similar terminology in describing the symmetry of the discus-shaped UFO. Date Location Witness Description July 3,1884 Norwood,N. Y. --- “Globe surrounded by a ring” July 12,1947 Over Utah Lake Pilot “Much like two saucers face to face” July 2,1952 Nr Tremonton,Utah Navy photographer “Like two pie-pans,one inverted on top of the other” Section VIII October 18,1953 Over English Channel Airline Pilots “Like two saucers,with rims together” January 8,1954 Hamilton, Victoria,Australia --- “Like two saucers,the upper inverted” October 4,1954 Northweald,Essex,England RAF Flight Lieutenant “Like two saucers pressed together” [Section X] August 21,1955 Chalmette,Louisiana Housewife “Like two soup plates put together” August 28,1955 Yonkers,N. Y. Board of Education official “Circular-dome-shaped like Saturn”
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.