Documents / FOIA release
This Federal Bureau of Investigation file release gathers memos, teletypes and letters from 1949 and 1950 on flying saucer reports. Most of it covers a March 1950 claim by a Knoxville radio technician that his surplus APN-7 radar detected an object over Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Navy radar never confirmed the object, and Air Force examiners judged his equipment unreliable. Other items include a cardboard saucer hoax near Elmira, New York, a pilot's 1949 formation sighting in Oregon and a Denver claim of a crashed disc.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
equipment was in operation and continuous search being made. Special Agent Robert, together with Special Agent OIC, and Special Agent observed this Navy equipment for some time but no object whatsoever could be detected. A telephone call was placed by Mr. at approximately 11:00 A. M. and advised he had been picking up some indication of the object again. He indicated its elevation and direction as well as distance to be the same as previously reported. At the time of his conversation, the Navy equipment detected two aircraft at an elevation of approximately 2,000 feet and a general axis of approximately 300 degrees true and seemingly headed in the general direction of the Knoxville Municipal Airport. By way of a check, was asked if he detected on his equipment any objects other than those reported by him. stated that he had noticed two small aircraft headed in the general direction of the Knoxville Airport at a relatively low altitude but he had not paid much attention to them. then requested that he be allowed to view the radar equipment at the Naval Reserve Armory in order that he might coordinate his equipment with that equipment and thus obtain a better fix on the object should it again be located. The radar watch was continued and at about 11:30 called the armory and advised that the object being observed by him over Jek Ridge had started moving in an easterly direction and had, in a period of about twenty minutes, faded from the screen. On the afternoon of March 3, 1950 at about 1:30 P. M., together with CIO, GBI and FAI agents, went to the Naval Armory where was allowed to look at the radar equipment of the Navy. It had been previous determined from Lieutenant Copeland that this equipment did not comprise any classified information. At this time, claimed fraudility with the equipment being used by the Navy and spoke of having assisted in its development at Harvard University during the early stages of the war. Also made statements to the effect that he had traveled extensively for the Army during the war in adapting radar for specialized services. At this time, the presence of some alcohol was noted on the breath of but he was not in an inebriated condition. After examining the equipment, stated he did not feel that this low frequency type of radar would be of much assistance in detecting the object reported by him for several reasons, such as the elevation of the antenna, the minimum fade area, etc. These statements seemed to be in accord with the radar operator's opinion. At 3:30 P.M. on the afternoon of March 3, 1950, a conference was had with Colonel Command, NKPA Site, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Those present at the conference were Special Agent OIU; Special Agent CSI; Mr. U.S. Air Forces Security Officer; Captain URAF, and Special Agent of this office. At this conference, Colonel
FOIA release, from the fbi-vault 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. 66 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.