Robertson Panel Report

25X1A
. Approved For Rel.e 2001/08/07: CIA-RDP81R00560RAoo030027-0
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to show that ustra.nge things in the sky" had been recorded for hundreds
of years. It appeared obvious that there was no single explanation
for a m~jority of the things seen. The presence of radar and astro-
nomicsl specialists on the Panel proved of value at once in their
confident recognition of phenomena related to their fields• It was
apparent that specialists in such additional fields as psychology,
meteorology, aerodynamics, ornithology and military air operations
would extend the ability of the Panel to recognize many more cate-
gories of little-known phenomena.
ON lACK OF DANGE.:R
The Panel concluded unanimously that there 1vas no evidence of
a direct threat to national security in the objects sighted•
Instances of nFoo Fighters 11 were cited• These were unexplained
phenomena sighted by aircraft pilots during World War II in both
European and Fa..r East theaters of operation wherein t'balls of light n
would fly near or 1-Tith the aircraft and maneuver rapidly. They were
believed to be electrostatic (similar to st. Elmo's fire) or electro-
n~gnetic phenomena or possibly light reflections from ice crystals
in the air, but their exact cause or nature was never defined. Both
had been concerned in the investigation of
these phenomena, but David T. Griggs (Professor of Geophysics at
the University of California at Los Angeles) is believed to have
been the most knowledgeable person on this subject. If the term
"flying saucers" had been pop!llar in 1943 - 1945, these objects would
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Approved For Release 2001/08/07: CIA-RDP81R00560R000100030027-0