Documents / Official release
This 1952 file of U.S. Air Force intelligence correspondence on flying objects comes from the Directorate of Intelligence at Headquarters USAF. It records the return to the Coast Guard of a negative of objects photographed at Salem Air Station on 16 July 1952, and requests to Naval Intelligence to analyze the Tremonton film by Delbert Newhouse and the Great Falls film by Nicholas Mariana. It also holds Strategic Air Command report transmittals, letters from members of the public, and an Okinawa object said to have fallen into the sea.
From the source:Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: September - December 1952, Various. This file is an archival collection of U.S. Air Force Director of Intelligence records relating to reported “flying disc” incidents during the period from September through December 1952. Drawn from multiple governmental and non-governmental sources, it compiles a wide range of material associated with reported sightings and official handling of those observations, rather than presenting a single analytical conclusion on the nature or origin of “flying discs.” The contents include correspondence, memoranda, reporting forms, case summaries, distribution and routing material, and other administrative or intelligence-related documentation tied to flying-disc reporting and review during that period. Pages 26-36 of the file refer to an incident reported near Tremonton, Utah, in July 1952, in which a U.S. Navy Warrant Officer recorded film of unidentified objects that the Air Force later assessed were likely seabirds. Overall, the file is a broad documentary collection reflecting how such reports were recorded, circulated, and evaluated in late 1952.
“Wilcox”5 pages
AFOIN-2.A.2
MaJ Fo'flJI.D.et /dbv/71016
.. wrtn 8 Sep 52
(Unclaesif'ied) Su"eated Beply- to Mr. Bern.dp (P. rUal) ...
J.J1 P.reae Desk. OSAF- OPI
Deputy- l>1rector for Estimatea, D/1, DOS/0
- 9 t95
.::-n.-~•-t/Alw/11016
l . ln addition to \he usual com=ents to be incorporated into a repl7 to
I-Ir. Berridge b7 7our office, 1t 1B SU&Bented that the following paragraph be
1ncludedt
8 fhe details of the observation which 7ou made vere referred to our
Intelligence anal7eta tor their study and comment. They have i~ol'llad me
that • al though the obJect could poss1bl.7 havA b en a hidl altitude balloon
aacending throut)l dU'terent· vind strata, they ~ind it 1mpoaa1ble to arrift
at a det1n1te conclusion. HoveTer. the7 were .happy to receive the
in.torantion and to add it to the clnta trom other e1g11i1nsa which the7
procesa nnd ~7•• conetantly-."
2. It la alao roca:cended that appropriate comments be cade regarding
General ~ord' a atatementa during hh recent preaa coDf"erence, particularly- thoae
dealin& with CIU'rent USAF atUtude towards the subject and plnna tor the future.
Stresoing h1a etate~ent about •acteqnate wt not trantic attentionn ahould also help.
3 . Mr. 1'err1dge' letter 1a returned herel11th.
• j D q.5, g~ ft~ >.,, lu ~1
•1 Incl l ~.{IlLIP.M W, WILCOX
Ltr ~r rm. A. llerr1d&e / ~olonol, USAF -
dtd 30 Jul 52 Chief, Policy and 1.!nnagement Group
Off ice. Deput y Director for Estimates
Dir ectorate of Intelligence
t!CUpop -
COORDINATION: AFOIN-2A2 AFOIN-2
- Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 253 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.