The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert

Pilot Co-Pilot Navigator Engineer

Time notification signals were required and provided in order to afford sufficient time to make necessary launching preparations, and to position the balloons just a few minutes prior to the predetermined arrival of the explosion sound wave. Headquarters FITZWILLIAM FORWARD furnished ARPACAS 3-1 and 3-2 by officer courier. The team experienced no difficulty in obtaining the time signals.

Reports required of the team were a brief statement as to positive or negative results of the tests, and notification of team movement to it's several locations. Reports of results were made to Headquarters FITZWILLIAM FORWARD and to AFMSW-1.

Results of the KWAJALEIN test were as follows: balloon-borne equipment results were positive and ground equipment results were questionable. An accurate final analysis and evaluation report will be submitted upon Dr. Craary's return to Watson Laboratories, including an accurate determination of results.

Due to time limitation and pending a thorough evaluation of results, the following recommendations, of necessity, should be considered tentative:

1. Before departing for field locations, a survey should be made to determine the best balloon launching sites, giving due consideration to shelter from high velocity and gusty winds, and sufficient clear space to lay-out shroud lines and control cables thus affording clear passage of the instruments which are suspended about one hundred (100) feet below the balloon.

2. That an SCR 658, radiosonde receiver be included in the team equipment list. For these tests, a receiver had to be borrowed from the air weather station at each location. This presented a problem because each station had only one (1) receiver and it was needed by the station personnel for upper air sounding operations. This necessitated selecting the best possible launching site adjacent to the weather station. Also, this precluded selection of a site without a weather station.