Documents / FOIA release

The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

Central Intelligence Agency · 2001-03-12 · 186 pages · text by GLM-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. 12 …reported by Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, former Chief of the Air Force Project Blue Book UFO…
  • p. 21 …In his report to the Air Force, the astronomer stated: "The remarkably sudden ascent convinced me…
  • p. 29 …base. Section I. August 26, 1953 - Air Force Regulation 200-2 issued by Secretary of Air…
  • p. 32 …the Officers Club, Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Approved For Release 2001…
  • p. 58 …Station and also of the nearby Air Force Fighter Base." Mr. Webb's second UFO sighting…
  • p. 63 …Otherwise they probably would not have noticed the UFOs "I went to Edwards Air Force Base…
  • p. 89 …Edward J. Ruppelt reported the following case received by Project Sign (the original Air Force UFO…
  • p. 90 …Officially "unknown." ## 1951-1952 Period; East Coast Air Force Base Period of September 1951 to November…
  • p. 94 …The film was submitted to the Air Force, and viewed by Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe along…
  • p. 110 …ported in the vicinity of an Air Force base, information regarding a sighting may be released…
  • p. 121 …After notifying an Air Force Base in the vicinity, the pilot, Capt. Raymond Ryan, was requested…
  • p. 125 …NICAP query,the Norwegian Embassy stated: "Our Air Force's UFO material is mainly of security…
  • p. 133 …UFO. II, VI Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, head of Air Force UFO investigation from 1951-53…
  • p. 136 …Air Force pilot and engineer saw round object in cloud formation; object became elliptical in appearance…
  • p. 137 …Formation of silver, circular objects sped over Air Force base. X October 25, 1954--Belgrade, Yugoslavia…
  • p. 173 …From Air Force Intelligence Report 6. Ruppelt, Edward J., Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. (Doubleday, 1956…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0 Photographic Cases (Continued) paper photographs were forwarded to NICAP in

September 9, 1954; New Zealand (Case 27) Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle

August 30, 1951; Lubbock, Texas (Case 11) Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle

With this background, there was some natural suspicion about the authenticity of the 1959 film. However, NICAP representatives who have talked to Mr. Stanford were impressed by his sincerity, and examination of the films by NICAP and Max B. Miller found no evidence of fakery or tampering with the films (which, as stated above, were processed in Los Angeles and examined by Max Miller before they were viewed by Mr. Stanford himself). We conclude that the films themselves are authentic records of some object in the sky, but that they do not substantiate the verbal report and do not constitute significant evidence of UFOs as the matter now stands.

Comments by Max Miller (quoted from SAUCERS, Vol. VII Nos. 3 & 4):

"The 8 mm footage lacks sufficient resolution. . The 16 mm film is excellent, but the UFO sequence is extremely short, comprising not more than three or four feet. However, one or two scenes are identical in the 8 mm and 16 mm films, making simulation exceedingly improbable. . .

It is [my] not inexperienced opinion that the cameras did photograph a visible object, and that super-imposure or double-exposure could not account for the images produced. What the object was, of course, remains an enigma. The first possibility to cross our minds was a polyethelyne type balloon, but we have never heard of any of the shape recorded. . "

43. Mike Schultz, Newark, Ohio. The Newark Advocate, Nov. 15, 1958 published three pictures and the story. Some excerpts from the article and a black and white print of the newspaper photographs were forwarded to NICAP in January 1959 by a member. Using an inexpensive camera and telescope, Mr. Schultz photographed what looked like a bright star in the sky. Then the object moved and stopped, and he took the second picture. This was repeated once more. According to the member who submitted the photographs, each picture is a double-exposure of one object (the images are double in each case) because of unavoidable motion of the camera and telescope. The pictures in NICAP possession (poor copies with no negatives) strongly resemble internal reflections in the telescope as might be obtained by an inexperienced amateur astronomer using poor equipment. Without more complete data, no final judgment can be made.

44. James M. Purdon, Jr., Imperial Beach, Calif. Mr. Purdon, an engineer with a west coast aviation company, obtained several feet of color movie film of a bright object with a halo around it, observed by him and his family between 4:20 and 4:50 p.m. The equipment used was a Kodak camera with telephoto lens on a turret.

According to a report which Mr. Purdon submitted to NICAP, the UFO was first motionless for a long period of time. While he was phoning a newspaper, his wife saw the UFO disappear. Minutes later he obtained footage of a moving bright object (about 20 seconds of which, he states, "came out rather good").

According to his report, the UFO "hove into view from one direction, slowed up to almost a stop, then proceeded at a 90 degree angle toward the ocean. It accelerated quite rapidly at first. Then it oscillated up and down." A TV antenna in the foreground furnishes a reference point on the film, and the object moves behind a "Christmas tree" (presumably planted in his yard).

August 20, 1957; Japan (case 33) Drawing from photograph, by Eric Aldwinckle

Cases discussed

About this file

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