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Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States, 1949

U.S. Department of War · 1949-04-28 · 34 pages · text from the file's own layer

This declassified Air Intelligence Report No. 100-203-79 is a Top Secret study by the Directorate of Intelligence, Headquarters USAF, and the Office of Naval Intelligence, dated 10 December 1948. It looks at about 210 reported flying object incidents and concludes that some type of flying object has been observed, though what the objects are and where they come from cannot be determined. It considers domestic devices or Soviet aircraft based on German flying wing designs, and its appendices cover selected reports, explained cases and flying wing aircraft.

From the source:Release of 2026-07-10 Incident: 4/28/49, Virginia. This file contains a U.S. Air Force (USAF) Air Intelligence Division study, “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States,” Study No. 203, dated 04/28/1949. The analysis includes an assessment of various reported unidentified flying object (UFO) incidents and theories to account for their nature and origin. Overall, the study assesses that “it appears that some object has been seen; however, the identification of that object cannot be readily accomplished.” The study offers that two “reasonable” origins might account for the phenomena: technologies of a domestic or foreign origin. It also suggests that, if foreign, it is prudent for the United States to assume that UFO observations are attributable to scientific, military, or intelligence activities of the Soviet Union, and, in that case, to take seriously the threat such objects may pose. The file also contains selected contemporary UFO reports and examples of experimental “flying wing” type aircraft planforms that might account for certain commonly reported UFO characteristics. AARO Comment: This file appears to be a later revision of the file contained in DOW-UAP-D093, whose content is substantively similar.

APPENDIX "D"
FLYING WING TYPE Arn.CRAFT
1. AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERS in several countries have been engaged for some tlme in the
design, construction, and flight of flying wing type aircraft. The study of flying objects requires,
at least, a brief examination of proposed and existing unconventional aircraft whose configurations,
when seen by the uninitiated, could lead to reports of strange flying devices. A description of
some of. the more significant types by country follows, •
2. GERMANY. At the end of World War II, German aircraft designers had numerous projects
under way concerning tailless air.craft which conceivably could be mistaken for "Fly~g Saucers"
or disc-like objects. It is not clear just what the Soviets are doing in the way of developing
these projects but it is considered that German studies on taflless, delta.-wlng, and related con
figurations are available to the U.S.S.R.
a. ARADO NIGHT AND BAD WEATHER FIGHT I. This is a tailless, low-wing
monop ane w swept- g a long, narrow fuselage.
Span 80.3 feet
Length 42.5 feet
Power Plant 2 Hes 011 turbo jet units
Max. Speed (sea level) 441 mph
Max. Speed (29,500 feet) 503 mph
b. ARADO E 581-4. A high-wing tailless single-seater with a single jet unit mounted in the
fuselage. bi and ruader units are mounted on the wing midway between fuselage and wing tip
at the trailing edge.
Span 29.3 feet
Length 18.4 feet
Power Plant 1 HeS 011 turbo jet unit
Max. Speed (sea level)
Max. Speed (service celling)
c. GOTHA P 60 A. This was the first of the P 60 series of jet fighters. It ls a flying wing
type ~ot and observer 11e prone, there is no projecting canopy, thus permitting a
particularly clean design. The jet.units are mounted at the rear of the center sect1on1 one above
and one below. •
Span 40 feet 8 1/2 in.
Wing Area 604 square feet
Power Plant 2 BMW 003 turbo jet units
Max. Speed (23,000 feet) 596 miles per hour
d. HEINKEL P 1080. This is a single-seat fighter with a sharply swept-back wing, resembling
a flyi~having a single fin and rudder with no tail plane.
Span 29.2 feet
Wing Area 218 square feet
No performance estimates are available .
•
..,.,1111,1M. - 17 -

Cases discussed

About this file

Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 34 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.