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U.S. Air Force Flying Discs File, 1952

U.S. Department of War · 1952 · 253 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

Open the PDF at page 43 Original source ↗
DOW-UAP-PR159 · video · 1952-07-02 Historical Film of Reported UFOs, Utah, 1952 This archival footage is a digitization of a 16mm print of Kodachrome color motion-picture film shot on a handheld Bell & Howell Auto Master camera near Tremonton, Utah, on July 2, 1952. U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse reported observing and filming a group of bright airborne objects and shortly thereafter submitted the footage to the U.S. Air Force. The film later became one of the visual cases reviewed by Project Blue Book, the 1952–1969 U.S. Air Force program that investigated the nature and origin of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The film’s limited detail and lack of fixed reference points prevented a conclusive resolution. From the 55-second mark onward, the film transitions to unrelated footage appearing to show a demonstration of sewing equipment. The presence of unrelated sewing-equipment footage suggests that the surviving footage may be a composite or reused print, though the available record does not establish how or when the materials came to be combined. As documented in records submitted with the film, contained in this collection under the title DOW-UAP-D102, the footage originally was paired with mountain scenery from Idaho, which is not preserved in this digitization. Download (76.1 MB)
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Maj •01U'net./dh-f'/n.37'
w/14 Nov 52
(Unclassified) Material tor Project B1ue Book
Chie!', Air Technical Dept of the Air Force NOV i 7 1952
Intelligence Center Hq USAF - AFOIH ~ urnet/dbv/n'J79
Wright-Patterson .AFB
Ohio
1. Inclosurea a.re for your information, appropriate action and retention.
2. Incla 2, 3, 4 and 5 were turnished by the Director ot Special. Investi-
e ga.tiona, this Headquarters. The latter informs that no investigative action is
contemplated in regard to Incl 1 and that their files cont.ain no additiom.J.
information on Incls 3 and 4. Incl 5 is supplementa17 to the information on the
Townsend Brown Foundation forwarded to ;you b7 DF' dated 16 Oct 52,
3. The movie film referred to in Incls 6 and 7 was duplicated by this office
(4 copies) . One cop7 is attached !or ;your .files. An attempt will be inado to have
it anal.7zed by the Nav,- in conjunction with their analysis o.f the movies taken
2 July 52 near Tremonton, Utah.
4. Your attention is invited to tlie third paragraph of Incl. 9; the original
letter is e.tta.ched as Incl 10. Further action in this matter is left to your
discretion.
.. ;. Incl ll '118.S received over the Associated Press wire on 17 Oct 52 and ma7
be usai'ul in eTal.ua.ting reports from the area mentioned.
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~ - .. ~ :2 2 .. J .A
11 Incls (w/orig ol]lyl Wil..I.IAM .\ . ADAlIB
l. Cy o! rcpt. of a glrting in Colonel, USAF
Chicago on 19 Oct 52 Chief, Topical. Division
2. Photostat cy ot ltr fr Deputy Director tor Estimates
Johnnie L. Last, Grew Bay, Directorate of Intelligence, rx;s/o
Wis. dtd 24 Sep 52 When incl ~ No. _£ ________________
3 . Cy of ltr fr ,OSI, i1, ff dtd is/are ~ itJ-.d::-,•,••n ( or not attached),
20 Oct 52 the ~ cl~-::sif' .:-. ': • ': n
4. Cy ot ltr fr Walter Wrobleski of t:.L J0 ;r-~ ~:-~-r •. ;~ v::._1 ':e .: -
Marshall, Tex dtd 13 Oct 52 c;radec. to - ~ ---- ~:1
5. Photostat cy ot Credit info re accordance ~ith Par 25e, AFR Zv5-l.
Brown Townsend ltoundation dW 22 Aug 52 (in trip)
6. C7 o~ lt.r to CO, 1701st Air Trans Wg, ~ Falls COORDINATION: AFOIN-2A2
AFB, Mont dt l4 BoT 52
7. Cy of ltr to Mr. Mariana. dtd l4 Nov 52 ~e1a. 16 DIil movie film
9. C:, o:f ltr to Mr. Burgess, Black Mt, N. c. ~ ~10. Ltr fr Mr. Burgess, Black Ht, N.c. dtd 13 Oct 52 AFO:EN-2All. Ap Press Releases ~ "\["" - I
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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.