Documents / FOIA release

roswell

Office of the Secretary of Defense · 993 pages · text from the file's own layer

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published in 1995 by Headquarters United States Air Force. It was written in response to Representative Steven H. Schiff's request and a General Accounting Office audit, and it contains Col. Richard L. Weaver's report and 1st Lt. James McAndrew's synopsis, along with attachments, appendices and photographs. The report says researchers found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concludes that the 1947 debris came from a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 143 …Robert Gross ar.d 't!r. Jlaher of Lockheed 11~ 55 A.'.!. Gen. Sam Anderson 12…
  • p. 481 …Balloon Volume x Gas Lift Gross Load · It may be noted from this equation that a…
  • p. 482 …Balloon Volume x 24.4 Gross Load K =-w K _ 08.o475Z In turn, w-in…
  • p. 483 …free lift in pounds and G is gross lift in pounds. Although this equation was derived…
  • p. 488 …By equation {10), with a gross load of 52 kg., the unbalance caused by loss of…
  • p. 500 …or a gross buoyancy of 450 lb. • the maximum allowable infle.tion of a 30' diameter…
  • p. 569 …accelerating force equal to 5% of the gross load (52 kg) was acting to bring the…
  • p. 643 …000 feet. In one step, this becomes: Gross Lift/Balloon = (Balloon Volume) x (Difference in molecular…
  • p. 650 (Approximate) where G • gross load A chart, Figure 24, has beendrawn up, based on this equation…
  • p. 652 …G = loss of lift G =gross load (balloon weight plus equipment load) AT : mean temperature difference…
  • p. 653 …not including balloon or its integral parts. Gross load: Load on the gas at release (Balloon…
  • p. 726 …Ballast • • .. • • '" • Total Equipment l~eight. • • • • ' Gross Load • • ' • • • • {56)
  • p. 727 …Balloon volwne x gas litt/mol gross load cu. ft. -----------------NAximum Altitude • • • ft, m.s.l…
  • p. 741 …altitude deter- mined by the displacement and gross load. 7. Control systems Two systems of control…
  • p. 777 …By adjusting th~ gross load to be supported by the gas to equal the total lift…
  • p. 787 …Computations A chart showi~ the relation between altitude, gross lift, and balloon size has been found…
  • p. 883 …The gross load reported should be accurate to the nearest 200 grams. The amount of lifting…
  • p. 885 …A L L 0 0 N 7300 ,, GRoss LoAD Fl G. 17 NYU BALLOON pROJECT I…
  • p. 887 …bubble length and resultant inflated volume, using gross lift as an expression of volume. It will…
  • p. 889 …in Appendix II summarizes the relationship between gross load and floating level for balloons of several…
  • p. 925 …A can of sand is made to weigh the same amount as the required gross lift…
  • p. 933 …the balloon with the equipment load attached. Gross Lift: Lift of all of the gas in…
  • p. 938 …description.______________ Drag chute ---------------------------- Banner description --------------- ---------- Ballast assembly - description -----------~-- Ballast • • • • • • Total Equipment i'ieight • • ' • • • • • • Gross Load • • • • • • • • • • • -86-
  • p. 939 …wnitin_,g________ grams Actual balloon lift • • • • • • • • ". . .• II AActunl gross lift (Balloon lift & balloon wt.) • Number Helium…
  • p. 943 …Gross Lift vs. Bubble Length • • • • • • .107 Graph 3: Buoyancy vs. Altitude • • • • • • • • • .108 Graph 4: Gross Load…
  • p. 955 …BALLOOO DA 'fA General Mills Actual Balloon Estimated Gross Altitude ~ominal Diiameter Volwne Weight Load Limit…
In order to provide a more detailed discussion of the specifics of Project MOGUL
and how it appeared to be directly responsible for the "Roswell Incident," a
SAF I AAZD researcher prepared a more detailed discussion on the balloon project
which is appended to this report as Atch 32.
Other Research
In the attempt to develop additional information that could help explain this
matter, a number of other steps were taken. First, assistance was requested from
various museums and other archives (Atch 28) to obtain information and/ or
examples of the actual balloons and radar targets used in connection with Project
MOGUL and to correlate them with the various descriptions of wreckage and
materials recovered. The blueprints for the "Pilot Balloon Target ML307C/ AP
Assembly" (generically, the radar target assembly) were located at the Army
Signal Corps Museum at Fort Monmouth and were obtained. A copy is appended
as Atch 29. This blueprint provides the specification for the foil material, tape,
wood, eyelets, and string used and the assembly instructions thereto. An actual
device was also obtained for study with the assistance of Professor Moore. (The
example actually procured was a 1953-manufactured model"C" as compared to
the Model B which was in use in 1947. Professor Moore related the differences
were minor.) An examination of this device revealed it to be simply made of
aluminum-colored foil-like material over a stronger paper-like material, attached
to balsa wood sticks, affixed with tape, glue, and twine. When opened, the device
appears as depicted in Atch 31 (contemporary photo) and Atch 25 (1947 photo,
in a "balloon train"). When folded, the device is in a series of triangles, the largest
being 4 feet by 2 feet 10 inches. The smallest triangle section measures 2 feet by
2 feet 10 inches. (Compare with descriptions provided by Lt Col Cavitt and
others, as well as photos of wreckage.)
Additionally, the researchers obtained from the Archives of the University of
Texas-Arlington (UTA), a set of original (i.e., first generation) prints of the
photographs taken at the time by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that depicted
Ramey and Marcel with the wreckage. A close review of these photos (and a set
of first-generation negatives also subsequently obtained from UTA) revealed
several interesting observations. First, although in some of the literature cited
above, Marcel allegedly stated that he had his photo taken with the "real" UFO
wreckage and then it was subsequently removed and the weather balloon
wreckage substituted for it, a comparison shows that the same wreckage appeared
in the photos of Marcel and Ramey. The photos also depicted that this material
was lying on what appeared to be some sort of wrapping paper (consistent with
affidavit excerpt of crew chief Porter, above). It was also noted that in the two
photos of Ramey he had a piece of paper in his hand. In one, it was folded over
so nothing could be seen. In the second, however, there appears to be text printed
on the paper. In an attempt to read this text to determine if it could shed any
further light on locating documents relating to this matter, the photo was sent to
a national-level organization for digitizing and subsequent photo interpretation
and analysis. This organization was also asked to scrutinize the digitized photos
for any indication of the flowered tape (or "hieroglyphics," depending on the
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FOIA release, from the osd collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 993 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.