Documents / Report

Robertson Panel Report

The Black Vault · 1953 · 29 pages · text from the file's own layer

This declassified CIA document, released through The Black Vault, reports on the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, which the Office of Scientific Intelligence convened on January 14 to 18, 1953. It includes a history of the sessions and the panel's informal comments, and it appends the formal report signed by H. P. Robertson and others. The panel found no evidence of a direct threat to national security. It recommended stripping UFOs of their special status and starting a public education program.

Approved For R~~e· 2001/08/07: CIA-RDP81R00560R0.. ,
historical cases but thEC current ones. Recent cases v.re probably much
more susceDtible to explmation than older ones; first, because of
ATIC' s c:periencc s anc:., secondly, their kno;rled;>:e of most plausible
explanations. The Panel believed that some expansion of the ATIC effort
wortld certainly be required to support such a program. It was believed
ina1Jpropriate to state exactly hoH large a T;;b1e of Or~;anization -vmuld
be required. Captain Ruppclt of ATIC unofficially propost:.d, for purposes
of analyzing 2nd eva1uotinp; re:ports:
a. P~ analysts' panel of four officers
b. Four officer investiGators
c. A briefinE: officer
d. ii.n LDC liason officer
e. A Heather 2nd balloon de.t··. officer
f. An astronomic2.l consultant
g. A Gro·t p LeaO.er, Hith ac'ministrative assist::'nt, file clerks and
steno~!rapherE:.
This pl~oposal met with eenerally favorable comment. The Panel
believed that, 1dth A'J:'IC' s support, the educc.tionc-.1 proeram of 11train-'
inr ancl C.ebunking" OtJ.tl::_ned above nir,ht be required for a minimu...'ll of
one and one-he1.lf to t1:-vo years. 1t.t the end of thj.s tim.e, the dene;er::
relc>.ted to 11 flyinc: saucers" shoulci have been r-reatly reduced if not
eliminated. Cooperation from other railitar~r services cmc1 ap;encies
concerned (e.l::•, Federal Civil Defense .l'.ctministr2tion) would be a
necessity. In investigating siGDific2nt cases (such as the Tremonton,
Ute>h, sie;htine;), controlled experin1Cnts might be required. .hn example
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Approved For Release 2001/08/0 =2~- -RDP81R00560R000100030027-0

Cases discussed

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Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 29 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.