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

USAF / The Black Vault · 1995 · 882 pages · text by OCR

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published by Headquarters United States Air Force in 1995. The Black Vault distributes this copy. It reproduces the report by Col. Richard L. Weaver and the synopsis by 1st Lt. James McAndrew, both written after a General Accounting Office inquiry requested by Representative Steven Schiff. The Air Force search found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concluded that the Roswell debris most likely came from NYU Flight No. 4, a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 16 …of alien beings and elusive vehicles which never quite seem to manifest themselves. Regardless of one…
  • p. 28 …Conversely, there has never been any previous documentary evidence produced by those who would debunk the…
  • p. 29 …This had never been officially done before, although most of the persons contacted reported that they…
  • p. 37 …Lt Col Cavitt also stated that he had never taken any oath or signed any agreement…
  • p. 67 …Because this conclusion is based on the absence of documentation, the issue can never be definitively…
  • p. 82 …If written, there is good evidence through accessioning and microfilming records that the Agency never received…
  • p. 84 …histories and supporting documents, and it has never routinely received the kind of records which might…
  • p. 131 …I have never been sworn to any form of secrecy by anyone concerning this matter and…
  • p. 136 …It never crossed my mind that it could be anything but a radio sonde. RW: How…
  • p. 139 …as far as I knew, I never heard anyone say, "Don't talk about this and…
  • p. 140 …I never met LaPaz personally, but I knew what he was. RW: Did Rickett go with…
  • p. 141 …I forget since I was there in the Washington area for awhile but I never did…
  • p. 143 …To the best of my recollection, I never met the rancher, Brazel. RW: O.K., because…
  • p. 144 …I've never seen a Geiger counter myself, but I didn't know if you knew…
  • p. 145 …said you never saw...and then you said you were going to...you never saw the…
  • p. 146 …I never had any idea that it was anything with the V-2. They told us…
  • p. 148 …You and I never saw this. You don't see any military people or military vehicles…
  • p. 149 …said in a facetious way: "Lets make out like it never existed, because we're wasting…
  • p. 150 …to him the crash and recovery had never happened. There was no investigation on the Foster…
  • p. 153 …No, I never saw this. SC: I don't know what that is from. RW: "But…
  • p. 154 …So, some of there records were TS and still are.) That is because they have never…
  • p. 156 …Cav never told me anything. He said I'll never tell you anything then you won…
  • p. 160 …I am quite sure that we never gave it a thought until that book.
  • p. 161 …Now, we have never found the flight records to substantiate that, so I don't know…
  • p. 171 …related to this inquiry and I have never been threatened by US Government persons concerning not…
  • p. 175 …related to this inquiry and I have never been threatened by US Government persons concerning refraining…
  • p. 179 …We never considered a planned cover story; we were concerned with security. I was the project…
  • p. 180 …I never observed any of the balloon "trains" but I did see some of the early…
  • p. 190 …and subsequent models were brand new, had never flown anything like that in this area. A…
  • p. 193 …I'd never heard the name Mogul -- the classification was that high. I knew what we…
  • p. 205 …I just wanted to see if there had been anything stated to you never to discuss…
  • p. 207 …Yeah, I knew that guy, but I never knew Marcel. Q: So you went, moving into…
  • p. 208 …I've never seen a Japanese balloon that I know of, I've never seen the…
  • p. 211 …No, I've never seen this. Trakowski argued that even the name Mogul was classified, and…
  • p. 214 …Out PM with several NYU men by weapons carrier, but we never located it. Rocket postponed…
  • p. 229 …As far as I know we just never interfaced with the military. Q: Where were you…
  • p. 231 …We never saw anybody in security. There was certainly nobody keeping us secure. If anything, we…
  • p. 237 …who was writing a story, and I never quite could determine whether he was on the…
  • p. 238 …I have never seen such a document nor have I ever heard of any effort to…
  • p. 241 …radar reflectors for tracking purposes—but it never comes out talking about MOGUL and the instrumentation…
  • p. 242 …I never met Richard Robert Crane. I knew him only by the path of debris he…
  • p. 246 …They never said it, but I know they did because they left me free to do…
  • p. 269 …Before now, however, a larger portion of the story was never told. Recent research indicates that…
  • p. 271 …and Project MOGUL as first conceived was never put into operational use. However, MOGUL did serve…
  • p. 272 …Moore, NYU Constant-Level Balloon Project Engineer, stated that they were never informed of the classified…
  • p. 314 …I was never the Holloman Base Weather Officer. Lt Colonel Maas was assigned as Base Weather…
  • p. 477 …automatic ballast controls, and this flight was never recovered. Presumably the marked easterly flow then observed…
  • p. 501 …of efficiency since on-off operation was never permitted. The temperature data of these flights is…
  • p. 648 …The theodolite lost the balloon in clouds earlier and the airplane observer never succeeded in seeing…
  • p. 670 …make model and submit same before quoting. Never heard anything. 1/21/47 Western Products Inc…
  • p. 710 …Recorded at Dona but Phil at Tower site never saw rocket. Waited at Dona until 6…
  • p. 718 …Out pm with several NYU by weapon carrier but we never located it. Rocket postponed until…
  • p. 726 …CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Opinion has been strengthened that clusters of meteorological balloons will never be a…
TAB VII

SUMMARY OF NYU CONSTANT-LEVEL BALLoon FLIGHTS

FLIGHT NUMBER	DATE AND RELAISAGE TIME	LAUNCHING SITE	DESCRIPTION OF BALLOONS	BALLOON WEIGHT	DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT	TOTAL WEIGHT ON BALLOON INCLUDING BALLOON	DESCRIPTION OF ALTITUDE CONTROL	BALLOAST WEIGHT	FREES LIFT	BALLOON LIFT	RADIOSONDS RECEPTION %	TRACKING %	AIRCRAFT OBSERVATION %	FLIGHT DURATION %	OPTIMUM CONSTANCY	MAXIMUM CONSTANT LEVELS MSL	RECOVERY + LAND-ING SITE	CRITIQUE
27	16 Sept. 1947 0521 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 H. A. Smith 15'.004" Poly-ethylene with 18 load points	12.5 kg	3 mo transmitter, banner, ballast assembly	12.1 kg	Manual ballast valve. Fixed rate of leak 200 gm/hr	4.1 kg	2.5 kg	14.6 kg	392 min.	None	None required	Over 392 min. Max. 32900'	0%	Another flight showing necessity of automatic ballast valve. Balloon went to pressure height, descended to ground where some gear was dropped. Balloon then oscillated between ground and successively higher ceilings. Radiosonde modulator believed defective.
28	16 Sept. 1947 0542 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	11 meteorological balloons 350 gm each	3.9 kg	Data gear banner	7.1 kg	None	None	2.0 kg	9.1 kg	Not provided	Theodolite Alamogordo 52 min. Tularosa Peak 229 min.	None required	Over 223 min.	No data	No data	0%	Cluster of meteorological balloons for Watson Labs. No altitude control or radiosonde provided.
29	21 Nov. 1947 1709 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 GM 2' appendix with battens	4.1 kg	T-69, burn-out baroswitch banner, ballast assembly	13.1 kg	2 1/2 gal. can purerator filter. Manual ballast valve	5.5 kg	857 g	14.4 kg	69 min.	658 - 8% Theodolite 12 min. 1%	None	14 hours 21 min.	Rising when lost	51,000' est.	M. Albert, Ontario	Excellent flight pressured from duration and distance. Manual ballast valve kept flight in air. Observed landing 9:30 M. Nov. 22, 1947. Hawin stations downwind not in operation. Tracking only by Alamogordo receiver. Average wind loss than 100 mph. Flight shows need of barograph.
30	25 Nov. 1947 1536 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 GM, no appendix	3.7 kg	T-69, burn-out baroswitch ballast assembly. banner	13.1 kg	2 1/2 gal. can purerator filter. Manual ballast valve	5.5 kg	2900 g	16.1 kg	148 min.	658-148 min. theodolite 26 min.	Not found by tracking plane L-5	0 over 3 hours.	Over 70 min. at 1000 ft.	45,000' const.	Chinipes Chihuahua Mexico	Good flight presumed though data not available. Maximum altitude 6000 feet lower than commuted due to lack of appendix.
31	26 Nov. 1947 1025 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 GM	4.1 kg	T-69, burn-out baroswitch ballast assembly. banner	12.6 kg	2 1/2 gal. can purerator filter. Manual ballast valve	5.0 kg	1480 g	14.1 kg 658 theodolite 200 min.	Not found by tracking plane L-5	Unknown	Rising when lost	Unknown	Prescidie Texas	Transmitter failed shortly after release.
32	28 Nov. 1947 0905 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 GM 2' appendix / battens	4.0 kg	T-69 burn-out baroswitch ballast assembly. banner	12.7 kg	2 1/2 gal. can purerator filter. Manual ballast valve	5.0 kg	1480 g	14.3 kg	148 min.	658-148 min. theodolite 146 min. Roswell 155 min	None	Unknown	Rising when lost	Unknown	Blanco, Texas	658 tracking 93 miles from Alamogordo, about 70 miles from Roswell. Transmitter apparently failed after 155 min. 92.2 flight. 400 miles from Alamogordo
33	29 Nov. 1947 0934 MST	Alamogordo New Mexico	1 GM 2' appendix	4.0 kg	T-69 Watson batteries, Ferguson meteorograph, burnout baroswitch, ballast assembly. banner	14.2 kg'	Hasservoir F100, automatic ballast valve F109, no manual valve	5.0 kg	2160 g	16.5 kg	38 min.	658-38 min. theodolite 115 min	None	Unknown	Rising when lost	Unknown	Not recovered	Transmitter failure. Elevation angle 13 when lost. Distance about 15 miles.

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