U.S. Air Force Flying Discs File, 1952

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.

Wrt.n l Oct 52
Maj Fournet/cmb/71016
AFOIN- 2A2
-l'r. oyne F . Rusk
:Box 66
Codson, fontaha
e Dear Ur. Rusk: COUPO'i DiSIGrA1'I0N l WE ______
l,o have received your let ter of 28 August 1952 in which you inclofled
t.ho nlu.rninu.'!l foil strips found on your farm.
FortunatC"-J..y., these strips do not Z"epresent any aotiv:l.ty of which
e are unaware. They o.re knom as r~dar Window oz, chaff and are dropped
by our own nircr3ft.•
lfonetholeas, ,10 are uate.ful £or your ~orost and your ef!orts to
assist ua.
/ ,2 -. I ~hcorel.Jr {?
,XOCjS. ,c.,..u.i..ir, lJ_jd~ '
'IILL!/1U A. AD'il'.S
Colonel, USAF
Chier, Topie3l Oivieion
Deputy Director ror Estimates
Director .ate ot Intelligence, DCS/0
NO M/R
COORDINATION: AFOIN-2A2 AFOIN-2A