Documents / Official release
This FBI file serial collects 1947 Army Air Forces reports on flying disc sightings. It includes Air Defense Command interviews from September 1947 with Pan American pilot Alpheus Powell and navigator Walter White about orange objects seen near Boston on 4 August 1947. It also holds a Birmingham, Alabama report with a photograph, newspaper clippings and a sergeant's sworn statement, Newfoundland and Alaska sighting reports, notes on an instrument found in Illinois, and a Weather Bureau memo on a metallic disk.
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.
“Headquarters”18 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
UNIDENTIFIABLE OBJECTS WILLIAMS FIELD, CHANDLER, ARIZONA. 7 July 1947 MEMORANDUM FOR THE OFFICER IN CHARGE: 1. On 1 July 1947, Lt William G. McGinty, USN, 195803, P-80 Student, Williams Field, Chandler, Arizona, was interviewed by this Agent, and stated in substance: That on 30 June 1947, at about 0910, MST, he was flying at 25,000 feet over Grand Canyon, Arizona, in a P-80 type aircraft. He stated that he was heading south towards Williams Field, Arizona, when he saw two round objects going at inconceivable speeds, straight down. He further stated that his reactions were to turn away from the objects. He further stated that one of the unidentifiable objects followed the other seconds apart. He further stated that due to the speed of the objects, he could only see that they were circular, and that they were possible light gray in color. He further stated that it was his opinion that the objects were approximately eight feet in diameter. In conclusion, he stated that the objects would have probably hit the ground approximately twenty-five miles south of the South Rim of Grand Canyon, Arizona. AGENT'S NOTES: Lt McGinty gave his permanent address as: N.A.M.T.C., Point Hugu, Port Hueneme, Calif. 2. On 1 July 1947, Captain Malcolm G. Armstrong, O-734168, Instructor, Single Engine, Williams Field, Chandler, Arizona, was interviewed by this Agent and stated in substance: That his brother, 1st Lt E. B. Armstrong, stationed at Hq, 10th AAF, Brooks AAF, Texas had related to him that he saw a formation of unexplainable objects in the vicinity of Lake Mead, Nev. Captain Armstrong, further stated that his brother stated the objects were heading south, and were at approximately 10,000 feet altitude. AGENT'S NOTES: Captain Armstrong could not give too much information on the objects that his brother had seen. Lt. E. B. Armstrong can be contacted at Hq, 10th AAF, Brooks Field, Texas for further information.
Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 126 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.