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.
“Scientific American”16 pages
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0 Date & Location Time Number and Description Maneuvers Observer Rating 8-23-56 New Orleans, La. 8:35 p.m. (1) orange light source, green flashes Steady course, sudden reversal, violent zig-zagging... B 11-5-57 Haverhill, Mass. 4:30 p.m. (1) disc Hovered, vibrated up & down, side to side [Section VII.] A 1-10-58 New Orleans, La. 8:20 p.m. (1) orange light source Zig-zagged across lake at high speed. C 4-11-58 S. Africa night (1) white light source, bright red when hovering Moved back & forth in steady 30° arc, occasionally hovered. (cf., 7-1-52; Wash., D.C.) B 4-14-58 Hot Springs, Ark 1:00 p.m. (1) silver cigar, divided into parts Hovered 2 minutes, split into 2 parts which moved jerkily in opposite directions at high speed came back together several times, then 3 parts... B 4-16-58 Lincoln, Nebraska 4:00 to 6:30 a.m. (9) round light sources, 1 large Moved back & forth, up & down, as group moved E to W C 6-4-58 Sarasota, Florida 8:50 p.m. (1) white oval High speed zig-zag path, S to N B 8-3-58 Ontario, Canada 1:15 a.m. (1) star-like light source High speed W to E, zig-zagged several directions, then continued E. C 8-9-58 Detroit, Mich 8:15 to 12:00 p.m. (1) light source bobbed and circled erratically, sometimes at high speed B 5-17-59 New Orleans, La. 9:35 p.m. (1) oblate, blue-white Zig-zagged across sky, N to S B 8-10-59 Wayne, Penna. 7:30 p.m. (1) disc with dome High speed with "quick & jerky" motions, generally moved in one direction C 11-8-59 Ellensburg, Wash. 12:30 to 1:45 a.m. (1) oval, pulsating, Hovered, floated few lengths (repeatedly)...sharp turns C 8-13-60 Red Bluff, Calif. 11:45 p.m. (2) red elliptical, emitting red beam Hovered, sharp reversal of direction, erratic maneuvers [Section VII.] B 1-10-61 Benjamin, Texas night (1) light source Zig-zag flight, appeared to land (observed from airplane) [Section V.] B 2-28-61 Nr Lakeville, Mass. 3:20 a.m. (1) yellow, elongated, dark red edge, black smoke "Rolled back & forth" bobbed around, while moving in one general direction C 7-1-61 Sacramento, Calif. night (1) star-like light source, pulsating Spun, zig-zagged & stopped, moved back and forth C 7-24-61 Ilha Grande, Brazil night (1) brightly luminous object "...made angular turns...moved up & down, back & forth, in all directions..." [Section X.] A 7-7-62 Dorchester, Mass. 10:30-11:00 p.m. (1) yellow ellipse Dropped, hovered, moved, hovered, rose... C ## Zigzagging UFOs Another pattern is of UFOs zigzagging across the sky, usually in constant motion rather than hovering in one general area. Twelve cases (30 per cent). ## Maneuvering UFOs Most of the remaining cases involve motions which can only be described as "maneuvering." These include UFOs which circled, darted here and there, climbed, dove, and reversed course. ## D. Concentrations with Time The word "flap" has been applied to one feature of UFO activity: periodical surges of sightings with attendant publicity. "Flap" originally was a military slang word indicating a high degree of excitement and confusion, such as might result from the unannounced visit of a V.I.P. to a military base. Its adaptation to similar reactions related to UFO sightings is very appropriate. The UFO "flaps" have involved elements of sudden news media attention to UFO sightings concentrated in a short period of time, or relatively small geographical area; resurgence of public interest in UFOs (frequently introducing larger numbers of erroneous reports from inexperienced observers); confusion about the interpretation of these events. Analytically, it is not clear whether so-called "flaps" result from and feed on publicity, or vice versa. Does the occurrence of a "flap" really indicate a sudden increase in UFO sightings? Or does it merely represent occasional attention to something which is going on virtually all the time? Sometimes there have been concentrations of sightings which were widely publicized. At other times there have been concentrations which received little or no publicity (these shall be termed "concentrations" rather than "flaps" here). It appears that "flaps" are the combined products of concentrated UFO activity plus a sudden outbreak of publicity and more
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.