Archive / search
Official reports, hearing transcripts, case files and releases: the paper behind the cases. 2,872 documents, 2,610 mirrored with their text, 53,529 pages indexed, so a search reads inside them and lands on the page.
New in the library The PURSUE files The Department of War's UAP release, mirrored in full: the videos, recordings and images, each beside its case file.Documents438 records · page 9
This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
The Roswell Report: Case Closed is a 1997 Headquarters United States Air Force report by Captain James McAndrew that follows up the 1994 Air Force report on the Roswell Incident. It concludes that the 1947 debris came from Project MOGUL balloons. It also says the reported alien bodies were probably anthropomorphic dummies dropped from high altitude balloons. Claims of bodies at the Roswell hospital most likely combined a 1956 KC-97 crash and a 1959 manned balloon mishap.
The Roswell Report: Case Closed was published by Headquarters United States Air Force and written by Captain James McAndrew, with a foreword by Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall. It follows the 1994 Air Force report, which tied the 1947 debris to Project MOGUL balloons. This volume concludes that the reported alien bodies were most likely anthropomorphic dummies dropped from high altitude balloons. It attributes the hospital body claims to a 1956 KC-97 crash and a 1959 manned balloon mishap.
The Roswell Report: Case Closed was published by Headquarters United States Air Force and written by Capt. James McAndrew. It follows up the July 1994 report, which traced the 1947 debris to Project MOGUL balloon trains. The report says the reported alien bodies were probably anthropomorphic test dummies dropped from high altitude balloons. It also says the accounts of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital probably merged two separate events: a 1956 KC-97 crash and a 1959 manned balloon mishap.
This document, filed under the National Security Agency, is a page from IUR (International UFO Reporter) with no date given. It reprints a teletype message about the Iranian UFO sighting of 19 September 1976 that researcher Charles Huffer obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The message describes two F-4 jets scrambled over Tehran that lost instruments and communications, and smaller objects that separated from a bright main object. IUR says the military told it that everything sent from the Middle East routinely reaches senior agencies.
This essay by investigative journalist Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, titled "The UAP Puzzle: Anthropocentrism & Avoiding Strategic Surprise," is dated July 26, 2023, in Washington, D.C., and was entered into the House record by Rep. Burchett. Corbell argues that UAP are real and outperform military technology. He says the military reporting process is broken and that secrecy about alleged craft and bodies of non-human origin is unjustified. He calls for transparency, whistleblower disclosure, and 2024 NDAA legislation to help that process.
The National Archives published this edited extract from Chapter 2 of David Clarke's 2009 book The UFO Files, which draws on Ministry of Defence UFO records. It covers Stan Hubbard's 1950 Farnborough sightings, which the Flying Saucer Working Party attributed to optical illusion or normal aircraft. It also covers Churchill's 1952 memo asking about flying saucers, the Topcliffe sighting during Operation Mainbrace, a Meteor crew's sighting from Little Rissington, and RAF research concluding that most radar 'angels' were birds.
This is a two-section unclassified Air Force message sent on 5 August 1965 by the 2854th Air Base Group at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, to Wright-Patterson AFB, USAF and other recipients under AFR 200-2. It reports four bluish-white objects that a control tower supervisor watched through binoculars for about 1.5 hours on 2 August 1965. The 746th squadron made radar contact with one object near Norman. The message notes many sightings across the Oklahoma City area and gives weather balloons and/or known aircraft as the preliminary cause.
This NICAP compilation holds twelve pages of FBI teletypes, airtels and memoranda from April and May 1964, exchanged between the Albuquerque office and the FBI Director. They cover the April 24, 1964 Socorro, New Mexico sighting, in which an oval object with a red insignia left four indentations and burned patches. A second report from La Madera involved a burning tank-shaped object. The FBI conducted no investigation of its own and kept liaison with the military, whose officers had no explanation for either incident.
This Ministry of Defence table lists the UFO reports it received in 2002 from across the United Kingdom. Each entry gives the date, time, town or village, county, the reporter's occupation where known, and a short description of the sighting. The reports describe lights, triangles, discs, cigar shapes and spheres. One Hull sighting in October was made by two police officers, and several reports on 19 December describe a flaming object that the table notes could have been a satellite re-entering.
This Ministry of Defence document is a table of UFO sighting reports received during 2007. Each entry lists the date, time, town or village, county and a short description of what was seen. Most describe orange or bright lights, glowing balls, triangles or discs over towns across England, Scotland and Wales. It also records a 23 April 2007 report from two pilots flying near Alderney, a claimed abduction of a dog, car and tent near Cardiff, and messages left on an answerphone.
This Ministry of Defence document is a table of UFO sighting reports it received during 2008. Each entry gives the date, time, town or village and area, with a short description of what was seen. Most describe orange or bright lights, orbs, triangles, discs and formations of lights across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. A later section lists reports that have no firm date, noting when each message was taken. The document gives no analysis or conclusions.
This briefing guide, written by Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University for The National Archives in March 2008 and revised through June 2012, explains the British government's involvement with UFOs from 1909 onward. It covers phantom airships, foo fighters, ghost rockets, the 1950 Flying Saucer Working Party, Air Ministry and MoD investigations, and the 1979 House of Lords debate. It also lists key National Archives file references, including the Rendlesham Forest papers, and notes that MoD found no evidence of extraterrestrial origin.
This National Archives press release announces the release of 25 Ministry of Defence UFO files containing over 6,700 pages that document the work of the MoD's UFO Desk, which closed in November 2009. The files include a job description for the Desk Officer, a 1995 intelligence briefing on possible alien motives, a 1979 briefing questioning alien visits, and a briefing on UFO policy for Tony Blair's office. They also include individual reports such as a Spalding 'men in black' visit and a sighting at Chelsea Football Club.
This highlights guide from The National Archives describes the tenth and final release of Ministry of Defence UFO files: 25 files with 4,400 pages covering the MoD UFO desk from late 2007 to its closure in November 2009. It explains how to use the PDF bookmarks and summarises key stories. These include the briefing that recommended closing the desk, a public disclosure campaign, a sharp rise in sightings linked to Chinese lanterns, and reports sorted by location.
This UK Ministry of Defence document is a table of UFO reports it received in 2007. Each entry gives the date, time, town or village, county and a short description of the sighting. Most describe orange, red or white lights, formations and spheres seen across England, Scotland and Wales. Some entries have no firm date and record only when the message was taken. Among them is an entry for 23 April 2007, in which two pilots in different planes near Alderney saw two identical bright orange and yellow objects.
This research guide from The National Archives was written by Dr David Clarke in March 2008 and revised in August 2008. It traces British government interest in UFOs from the phantom airships of 1909 through the 1951 Flying Saucer Working Party, Air Ministry and MoD investigations, and the 1979 House of Lords debate. It notes that official bodies found most sightings had ordinary explanations. It also lists key National Archives file references, including papers on the Rendlesham Forest incident.
This is Government Attic's posting of a 1969 Library of Congress annotated bibliography, UFOs and Related Subjects, compiled by Lynn E. Catoe for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The Defense Technical Information Center released it under FOIA in November 2014. The bibliography lists more than 1,600 items and was requested to support the University of Colorado UFO study led by Edward U. Condon. Its preface concludes that no simple, single explanation of the UFO phenomenon applies to all cases.
This Black Vault copy of "U.F.O. Files: The Untold Story," an article by freelance writer Patrick Huyghe that was held by the NSA, reviews U.S. government UFO records released under the Freedom of Information Act. It quotes a 1975 Defense Department message about unknown objects over Loring, Wurtsmith and Malmstrom bases. It also traces Projects Sign and Grudge, the 1952 Washington radar sightings, the Robertson Panel's debunking program, CIA interest in NICAP and the Condon study. It argues that federal agencies still monitor the phenomenon.
This page from IUR (International UFO Reporter) presents a Pentagon teletype message, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by researcher Charles Huffer, about a UFO sighting over Tehran on 19 September 1976. The message says two Iranian F-4 jets lost instrumentation, communications and weapons control while intercepting a brilliant object, and a smaller object seemed to land. IUR notes that the report went to the CIA, White House and military chiefs as routine Middle East traffic. A short item on a 1977 Guatemala City videotape follows.
This is a history of the USAF Office of Special Investigations covering 19 July 1948 to 30 June 1950, prepared for the Inspector General on 22 November 1950 and released with redactions by AFOSI under FOIA in December 2010. It describes how OSI was set up under Brigadier General Joseph F. Carroll to bring the Air Force's criminal, counterintelligence and procurement fraud investigations under one command. It also covers the 25 district offices, the headquarters divisions and the investigative procedures. The text does not discuss UFOs.
This Black Vault release reproduces US Air Force official photographs from File 8766, covering the April 24, 1964 event at Socorro, New Mexico. The extracted text contains only cover sheets for two photo sets, one listing 16 photos and the other 22 photos, plus a standard Black Vault notice crediting John Greenewald, Jr. The text contains no captions, findings or conclusions.
This is a copy of the US Air Force aircraft accident and missing aircraft report on F-89C 51-5853A, released through Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue. The aircraft was scrambled from Kinross AFB, Michigan on 23 November 1953 to intercept an unknown aircraft over Lake Superior. It disappeared after its radar return merged with the target, which the report identifies as an RCAF Dakota. The file includes weather data, maintenance records, the RCAF search report and a 1954 reopened search, and says no trace was found.
This 22 November 1989 report on the Soviet press describes a surge of UFO coverage in newspapers and journals across the USSR in 1989. It says a permanent center for UFO study opened in Moscow. The reports it summarizes cover the Hill 611 crash at Dalnegorsk, an aircrew encounter over Borisov, a landing claimed in Voronezh park, and a mass sighting in Omsk. It also sets out the arguments between skeptics and enthusiasts, including a comparison of Dalnegorsk with Roswell.
This 22 November 1989 media survey, titled USSR: Media Report Multitude of UFO Sightings, reviews Soviet newspaper and journal coverage of UFO reports during 1989. It covers the Dalnegorsk Hill 611 crash debris studies, landings reported at Voronezh, Surgut and Perm Oblast, an aircraft encounter over Borisov, and an Omsk sighting described by Maj V. Loginov. It also notes that a permanent UFO study center opened in Moscow and sets out skeptics' explanations, including rocket launches, ball lightning and mass hysteria.
This synthesis note from SEPRA, the CNES service that succeeded GEPAN, describes the luminous phenomenon seen over much of France around 19h on 5 November 1990 and how the service handled it. It counts 1,108 testimonies, among them 233 gendarmerie reports, and analyses the reported times, durations, shapes and pilot accounts. A NASA telex identified the object as the re-entering third stage of the Soviet rocket that launched Gorizont 21. The note concludes that France needs better space detection and faster exchange of information.
This National Archives research guide on Unidentified Flying Objects was written by Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University in March 2008 and revised in 2010 and 2011. It traces British official interest in UFOs from the phantom airships of 1909 and 1913, through the 1950 Flying Saucer Working Party, to Air Ministry and MoD investigations. It also points readers to key record series, including Freedom of Information releases and the Rendlesham Forest files. The guide notes that most reports had ordinary explanations.
This is a transcript of a June 2013 video from The National Archives in which Dr David Clarke presents the 10th and final release of Ministry of Defence UFO files. The release has 25 files, about 4,300 pages, mostly from 2008 and 2009. It explains that the MoD closed its UFO desk and hotline in November 2009 after a record 643 sightings that year, most of them apparently Chinese lanterns. Other highlights include a 2008 sighting by soldiers at Turnhill Barracks in Shropshire and a probable ball lightning report from Dorset.
This National Archives videocast transcript from July 2012 features Dr David Clarke discussing the ninth release of UFO files, 25 files of about 7000 pages. He describes a 1993 policy paper by an intelligence officer arguing that DI55 and the MoD should study UFOs because of national security implications. He also covers the 1977 to 1978 'Welsh Triangle' sightings in Pembrokeshire, a 2005 Brighton report attributed to Chinese lanterns, and a 1978 intelligence brief arguing against extraterrestrial visits.
This undated walking tour page from Pierce County, Wisconsin describes a UFO landing site in Elmwood. The page includes a photo of Tuttle Hill Quarry, credited to Pierce County Partners in Tourism, and notes that the UFO in the image is simulated. It says Elmwood calls itself the "Flying Saucer Capital of the World" and sells UFO memorabilia such as T-shirts and bumper stickers. It adds that the local library holds a thick scrapbook of news articles about local sightings.
This article by New York attorney Peter A. Gersten appeared in a copy of an NSA release. Its date is not given. It argues that about three thousand pages of formerly classified UFO documents, most released through FOIA suits by agencies including the CIA, FBI, NSA and DIA, show that some UFOs are unconventional craft that threaten national security. It cites a 1952 CIA memo, the 1975 sightings over nuclear facilities at Loring, Malmstrom and Minot, a Cuban MiG-21 encounter and the 1976 Iranian jet case, and it accuses the CIA of stonewalling.
This is an article by New York attorney Peter Gersten, who has pursued Freedom of Information Act lawsuits for Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS); the Black Vault copy is undated. Drawing on about three thousand pages of released government documents, it argues that some UFOs are unconventional craft that threaten national security and that the government has misinformed the public. It cites a 1952 CIA memorandum, the late-1975 sightings over nuclear-weapons sites, a Cuban MiG-21 encounter and a 1976 Iranian jet case.
The Department of Defense All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) issued Volume I of its Historical Record Report in February 2024, reviewing U.S. government involvement with UAP since 1945. It found no evidence that any government investigation confirmed extraterrestrial technology, and no empirical evidence of hidden reverse-engineering programs. It says interviewee claims came from misidentified real classified programs or circular reporting. It also names KONA BLUE as an unapproved proposal and identifies an alleged crash sample as a terrestrial alloy.