Documents / Official release
This section of the FBI's 1947 flying disc file (62-HQ-83894) collects correspondence between FBI field offices and Army Air Forces intelligence. It includes a Portland prospector's claim to have seen disc objects near Mount Adams on June 24, 1947, an Air Force report on the August 1 crash near Kelso, Washington that killed investigators Davidson and Brown, and the Maury Island claims of Dahl and Crisman. Other items are an MIT analysis of cast iron fragments from New Hampshire, the A. C. Urie Twin Falls sighting, and the Bureau's decision to stop its disc investigations.
From the source:Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: N/A, N/A. The FBI's 62-HQ-83894 case file includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968. The records include high-profile incident accounts, photographic evidence from sites like Oak Ridge, TN, and technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems. Additional topics include convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage from the period. This file is partially posted on FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing. Included here is the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions.
August 19, 1947 August 3. A record of t~'t)hone calls made from room 502 during this period was made by Hiss S~JGBERG. This record reveals that KENNEI'H ARNOID on July 31 called PA~ at AN- 5200, Evanston, I l linois, coll ect. On the same date called Lieutenant BRO~'N at 5800 Hamilton Field, Cali fornia, collect • .ARNOW also called 0109- J in Boise, I daho on July 31. On August 1 ARNOID called LON- 4936, Portland; PALMER at Dearborn 5200, Chicago; and SJITH called RODDY at Dearborn 2323 at Chicago. Both Chicago call~ were collect . The remainder of the calls appear to be personal calls and are not being set out . A record of the phone calls made are being retained as an exhibit i n the Seattle Office . The following information was obtained by Special Agent PIERRE H. LEVEC in interview on August 12, 1947 with Captain FlrIL J . SMITH, 3027 Hest Laurehurst Drive, United Airlines pilot : It should be noted that Captain SMITH has pr eviously received publicity for having supposedly seen flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air lines flight out of Boise, Idaho in company with his co- pilot &'.I.Pf'rjSTEV?J1S, concerning this incident. Captain a'.:ITH states that they took off from Boise, Idaho at 8 :12 P. M. and headed Northwest at 300 deg~ees and while still climbing at 8, 000 feet , co- pilot STEVEMS called his attention to some objects in the sky ahead of them about ten degrees left which neither one could identify. &ITH states that he called a CAA radio operator at Ontario, Oregon and reques- 1 ted him to step outside his radio shack and see if he could see any of these objects overhead. The CAA radio operator replied in the negative. Captain ~.!ITH states that he first met K'E!mETH ARNOLD on July 5 in the offices of the Seattle Post Intelligencer where both were being interviewed concerning their sighting of flying discs . S::I'IH states that he next met AFJTOLD about three weeks ago in Boise, Idaho at which time he, .TiITH, was on another flight through Boise, Idaho and had a ten mip~t,e lay-over there. On this occasion _!:1:!'1~ was in company of Captain 1 ·1:LLI~r ~-D.\VIDSON and Lieutenant FRANK ~~o.m, Army Intelligence officers, and a reporter JOHNSON of the Boise Statesman. S:~ITH 1 s next contact with ARNOLD was on Thursday, July 31, last when he received a telephone call from APJ-TOLD calling from Tacoma in the early afternoon at which time he asked S.:ITH to come over to Tacoma and join him as he ,,as investigating a flying disc story for 11 someone back East" and some fragments v,ere involved which SHITH might be interestec1 in seeing. After some discussion :1.:IT:-I agreed to join ARNOLD in Tacoma and AR!JOLD told SMITH he would fly over and pick him up at Boeing Airport at 4 :00 P. !-1. SHITH met ·.RNOLD at Boeing Field at about 4:00 P. !.l:. and they flew to Berry ' s .tdrport at Tacoma, fashington where they were met by FRED C~IStf,.AN . The three of tha~ proceeded in CRIS'~ 1 s car to the /inthrop Hotel where ARNOID was occupying room 502. AhNOLD ordered something to eat and during this time either ARNOID or CRIS:.'..'\N called a HAROID D.1\HL and invited him up to the room. By this time S:~ITH states he had learned from ARUOLD that CRISMAN and DAHL were the parti cipants in the latest flying disc story and SHITH states that he had no previous acquaintance with either of these men before meeting them in Tacoma on this date . ,fuile in the Hotel Room .'Rt:OLD sbov,ed S:ITTH a letter which he had received from RAYMOND L.ViER of the Venture Press of Chicago requesting that ARNOID investigate - 8 -
Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 190 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.