Documents / Report
This 1954 to 1955 U.S. Air Force file brings together records on the Avro Canada "flying saucer" project and on UFO reports. It includes a December 1954 Scientific Advisory Board report, sent by J. H. Doolittle, which found the project warranted only limited support. It also holds a July 1955 intelligence committee evaluation of KC-97 crew sightings and radar returns over Newfoundland, which tentatively blamed electrical phenomena and misinterpretation and recommended fighter scrambles. A November 1955 memo on the CIRVIS reporting program closes the file.
From the source: Release of 2026-07-10 Incident: 1955, Various. This file contains reports, memoranda, and correspondence concerning various then-developmental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The file includes assessments of the experimental potential of the “Avro Project Y2,” a joint U.S.-Canadian near-circular VTOL aircraft that is similar in appearance to contemporary popular descriptions of unidentified flying objects (UFO). A 1954 memorandum opines that VTOL aircraft with a circular planform may be mistaken for UFOs to observers unfamiliar with such technologies. It also recommends that UFO reports in the vicinity of Soviet military operations or assets be re-examined to assess whether they may be attributable to previously unknown advanced VTOL aircraft of foreign design. The file also contains correspondence relating to a UFO incident involving a U.S. Air Force (USAF) KC-97 flying near Newfoundland, Canada in July 1955. A USAF committee found that the characteristics described in the report were inconsistent with those of known Soviet, American, or Canadian military systems. The committee was also “unable to explain the simultaneous ground radar returns and aircrew visual sightings.” It also contains correspondence relating to the potential value of data from incidental radar collection of meteors entering the atmosphere. USAF Air Research and Development Command recommended using that data to improve the performance of the AN/FPS-17 radar system. Finally, the file contains correspondence indicating support for the Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) program, a joint U.S.-Canadian civil-military program to standardize reporting methods for unusual or unidentified airborne and maritime hazards and threats.
.... . , t DEPARTMENT OF TBE AIR FORCE Head.quarters United States Air Foree Washington 25, D. C. 10 December 1954 Lieutenant General Donald I.. Pu·tt Deputy Chiet of Staff, Development Headquarters United States Air Force Washington, D. C.. Dear Don: In response to your request tor BAB commen·t,s on the Avco "Saucer'' project, the SAB baa taken the following action: The Aircraft and Propulsion Panels were brieted on September 28 ·by represente.tivea ot Bq. ARDC, at ·the time of the Fall meet~j.ng of the Board in Omaha. The tentat:ive conclusions ot bo·tb panels immediately atter this briefing were to the ettect that th.is pro .Ject warranted no more than limited support. l!oveve:r, to assu1·e ·thoro\lgb. consideration ot this project, I requested rt:?presentatives of these two panels to supplement. the briefings given 'to -them at ~ by a. Tisi·t to A. V. Roe- Canada Ltd., Malton., Ontario. With the advice of Clark Millikan and Dean Soderberg., a select committee ,ms choaen to conclude this study. It was c~sed ot Dean Soderberg, Chairman of the Propulsion Panel and senior member o'f the group; Professor Markham, of the Aircraft Panel; and Mr .. Donovan, who has been serving both as a member or 'the Aircraft Panel and as lie..:I.son member with the Propulsi,on Panel. The attached report ot this ,group is ~orwarded with my «.PPt•oval, representing the results ot the SAB's ccapleted study. Sincerely, /a/ J. H. DOOLr.rTLE Actins Chairman Scient.itic Advisory Board Office ot the Chief of Sta.ff Inclosure • S E C Ft B 'f -
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Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 57 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.