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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.Documents2,872 records · page 9
This is a short CIA letter from Executive Officer J. S. Earman to Major Donald E. Keyhoe, Director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena in Washington. It replies to Keyhoe's letter of 22 September 1958 and says the letter was referred to Major Tucker of the U.S. Air Force Office of Information Services. Earman writes that the Air Force is the executive agency and perhaps the only government agency qualified to speak on unidentified flying objects.
This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, dated October 1, 1958, reports that a civilian in Washington, testing new films and emulsions through a backyard telescope, photographed geometrically shaped flying objects passing between his telescope and the moon several times over three months. The writer asks for advice on how to obtain the photographs for analysis, noting that the man would likely release them only for a price. It also says a House committee on outer space has suspended its UFO hearings for several months.
This is a short Central Intelligence Agency letter dated 10 October 1958 from Executive Officer J. S. Earman to Major Donald E. Keyhoe, Director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. It acknowledges Keyhoe's letter of 22 September 1958 and says the CIA has referred it to Major Tacker of the United States Air Force Office of Information Services. Earman adds that the Air Force is the executive agency and perhaps the only government agency qualified to speak on unidentified flying objects.
This memorandum from Philip G. Strong of the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence, dated 29 October 1958, answers a Photographic Intelligence Center query about UFO photographs that a Mr. Fine reportedly held. Strong writes that the Air Force is responsible for investigating UFOs and for public releases. He adds that the Agency has been flooded with queries since part of the January 1953 panel report was declassified. He proposes sending the query to J. H. Gilmore of AFCIN so it can be investigated.
This is a short Central Intelligence Agency reply letter to George Popowitch of the UFO Research Committee in Ohio. It acknowledges his letter of 19 November 1958 and says the CIA has forwarded his inquiry about unidentified flying objects to the Department of the Air Force for action. The letter also rejects his claim that the agency takes an "active interest in the unidentified flying objects picture." The text contains two copies of the letter, each with a distribution list.
This Central Intelligence Agency letter, signed by Philip G. Strong, Deputy Assistant Director, and dated 3 November 1958, replies to Larry W. Bryant of Newport News, Virginia. It says Bryant's letter has been referred to Major L. J. Tacker of the Office of Information Services, United States Air Force. It states that the Agency has no responsibility for unidentified flying objects. It adds that the Air Force holds executive responsibility and is the only government agency qualified to speak on UFOs.
This Central Intelligence Agency teletyped information report, distributed 11 December 1958 and covering USSR/India, describes a source's telescope sighting on 6 December 1958. While observing Mars, the source saw an artificial object of magnitude 3 cross the field of vision from north to south, with no smoke, flame, noise or fall, and believed it was Sputnik III. A headquarters comment says Sputnik III was not visible from the source's area at that time, and it asks Air and OSI for an evaluation.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency letter from 2 December 1958 to George Popowitch of the UFO Research Committee in Akron, Ohio. It replies to his letter of 19 November 1958. The Agency says it has forwarded his inquiry about Unidentified Flying Objects to the Department of the Air Force for action. It also rejects his statement that the CIA takes an "active interest" in UFO pictures. The release carries a distribution list and a 2010 approval-for-release stamp.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency teletyped information report about an unidentified object seen in the sky on 6 December. The source was watching Mars through a telescope when a steady object of magnitude 3 crossed his field of view from north to south. He believed it was Sputnik III. Headquarters comments state that Sputnik III was not visible from the source's area at that time and that the direction he gave does not match computed orbits. Headquarters requested an evaluation from Air and OSI.
This Central Intelligence Agency letter, dated December 1958, replies to Larry W. Bryant of Newport News, Virginia, and acknowledges his letter of 30 November 1958. It says his letter has been referred to Major L. J. Tacker of the Office of Information Services, United States Air Force. The Agency says it has no responsibility for unidentified flying objects, and that the Air Force holds executive responsibility and is the only government agency qualified to speak on UFOs.
This declassified Central Intelligence Agency letter, released on 24 March 1978, was written by Executive Officer J. S. Harman to Major Donald Keyhoe, director of NICAP in Washington, D.C. It answers Keyhoe's letter of January 12th. Harman says the agency does not normally pass affirmative or negative information outside official channels in response to such inquiries. He asks Keyhoe to explain why he wants the information so that the agency has a basis for an appropriate reply.
This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum from the Chief of the Contact Division, Office of Operations, is dated 4 January 1959. It covers Major Donald E. Keyhoe's attempt to learn whether a CIA agent told UFO witnesses to keep their sightings secret. The memo describes how five UFO photographs were returned to a witness. It suggests the witness or Keyhoe misunderstood what was said. It recommends asking Keyhoe why he wants the information and attaches a draft reply, noting an earlier finding that no CIA employee ordered any witness to stay silent.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency routing and transmittal slip dated 5 January 1959, stamped approved for release on 24 November 1978. It is addressed to the Director. The remarks are only partly legible. They say Keyhoe's insistence had strengthened the writer's view that it would be correct to contact him. The slip names no specific sightings and gives no findings. Its markings are Unclassified, Confidential and Secret.
This Central Intelligence Agency letter, dated January 1959, replies to George Popowitch of the Unidentified Flying Objects Research Committee about his letter of 21 January 1959. He had asked about unidentified flying objects, national security, and whether the government was withholding information. The letter says a panel of experts earlier found nothing threatening to national security, and that this conclusion was made public. It adds that the U.S. Air Force holds sole government responsibility for UFO matters and that the CIA has no jurisdiction.
This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, dated 22 January 1959 and written by the Chief of the Contact Division, Office of Operations, responds to continuing inquiries from Major Donald E. Keyhoe, Director of NICAP. Keyhoe had asked whether CIA agents told UFO witnesses to keep their sightings secret. The memo describes a November 1957 interview in which a Contact Division employee reviewed photos of alleged UFOs. It recommends asking Keyhoe why he wants the information and attaches a draft reply.
This is a CIA letter dated 27 January 1959 from Executive Officer J. S. Earnon (rendered as Harman in the title) to Major Donald Keyhoe, Director of NICAP in Washington, D.C. It replies to Keyhoe's inquiry of January 12th. The letter says the agency does not normally pass affirmative or negative information outside official channels in response to such inquiries. It asks Keyhoe to explain why he needs the information so an appropriate reply can be made. The document was approved for release in June 1978.
This Central Intelligence Agency document, dated February 1959 in the archive, reproduces in full an item from the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten of 16 March 1959. The item says several people near Bergen saw bright objects in the sky on the evening of 12 March. Birger Storesund reported five objects crossing from north to south, about five minutes apart, that looked like Soviet sputniks. No sound was heard, his dog paid no attention, and the objects were also seen through binoculars.
This is a short Central Intelligence Agency letter dated 5 March 1959 from Executive Officer J. S. Earman to Major Donald E. Keyhoe, USMC (Ret.), Director of NICAP. It acknowledges Keyhoe's letter of February 12, 1959, and says the CIA still has too little information to answer his question. Earman assumes the question concerns paragraphs 16 and 17 of Keyhoe's letter of 13 March 1953. He adds that his reply of 17 April 1958 already gave all available information on the subject.
This is a short CIA letter from Philip G. Strong to astronomer Dr. Thornton Page, dated March 1959. Strong thanks Page for a copy of his 13 March letter to Mr. Fred A. Kirsch about UFOs and calls it a masterpiece for its down-to-earth approach. Strong says the agency is still besieged by people writing about flying saucers, though less often, and jokes that he will borrow Page's wording. Distribution notes include the UFO Project file.
FDD Note No. 887, a Central Intelligence Agency translation filed in March 1959, reproduces a 20 January 1959 front-page article from the Stockholm newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen. It reports that eight reliable persons saw a "flying saucer" over Stigsjoe, near Haernoesand in Vaesternorrland Province. The round object, 6 to 8 meters across with a luminous ring and a reddish yellow underside, approached slowly from the south at about 300 meters and was visible for about three minutes. The incident was reported to military authorities.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency letter dated February 1959 and signed by John S. Harman. It answers a 21 January letter from George Popowitch of the Unidentified Flying Objects Research Committee. The letter says a panel convened by higher authority some years earlier found that reported sightings posed no threat to national security, and that this conclusion was made public. It states that the U.S. Air Force has total government responsibility for UFO matters and that the CIA has no jurisdiction and cannot supply the information requested.
This Central Intelligence Agency file, dated 16 February 1959, pairs an internal routing slip with a letter from Donald E. Keyhoe of NICAP. Keyhoe asks what part the CIA plays in UFO investigations, requests the full classified report of the 1953 scientists' panel, and asks for an interview with a CIA official. The slip notes that Major Tacker will answer Keyhoe on the position that the Air Force is the only agency qualified to speak on UFOs. It recommends telling Keyhoe his letter was referred to Tacker.
This Central Intelligence Agency file, dated 1 March 1959 and labeled UFO, reproduces an item from the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten of 16 March 1959. The item reports that several people near Bergen saw bright objects in the sky on the evening of 12 March. Birger Storesund said five silent objects crossed from north to south, one after another, starting at 2010 hours, and compared them to Soviet sputniks. Neighbors also saw them, and they were watched through binoculars.
On 5 March 1959, CIA Executive Officer J. S. Earman wrote to Major Donald E. Keyhoe, Director of NICAP, acknowledging Keyhoe's letter of 12 February 1959. Earman said he still had insufficient information to answer Keyhoe's question. He assumed it concerned paragraphs 16 and 17 of Keyhoe's 13 March 1958 letter, and he said his reply of 17 April 1958 already gave all the information available on that subject. The letter was approved for release on 24 January 1978.
This Central Intelligence Agency document, dated March 1959, is a translated press item from the Stockholm newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen of 20 January 1959. It reports that eight reliable persons saw a round object, 6 to 8 meters across with a luminous ring, over Stigsjoe near Haernoesand in Vaesternorrland Province. The object came slowly from the south over Lake Laengsjoen at about 300 meters, gave off reddish yellow light from its underside, and was visible for about three minutes. The incident was reported to military authorities.
This is a CIA letter dated 26 March 1959 from Philip G. Strong to Dr. Thornton Page. Strong thanks Page for a copy of Page's 13 March letter to Mr. Fred A. Kirsch and for keeping him informed of Page's UFO correspondence. He calls the letter a masterpiece and praises its down-to-earth approach. He says the agency still receives letters on the subject, though fewer than before. The distribution list includes a UFO Project file.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency letter dated June 1959 from Herbert Scoville, Jr., Assistant Director, to George Patrick Wylie of Cleveland, Tennessee. It says that Allen W. Dulles passed Wylie's letter to Scoville along with the book "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers" and asked that the book be returned. The letter thanks Wylie for bringing the material to the agency's attention but gives no view on its contents. The release contains two copies of the letter.
This is a Central Intelligence Agency letter dated 2 July 1959 from Herbert Scoville, Jr., Assistant Director, to George Wyllie of Cleveland, Tennessee. Scoville writes that Allen W. Dulles passed him the book "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers" together with Wyllie's letter and asked him to send the book back once he had finished with it. The letter thanks Wyllie for bringing the material to the agency's attention and gives no assessment of the book.
This Central Intelligence Agency information report, numbered CS-3/611,903 and distributed on 22 October 1959, covers information from late August to early September 1959. The five-page report has several deleted subjects; the one released is headed "Possible Unidentified Flying Object." It records that at about 2030 hours a luminous orange ball was seen to the left of a train. The object seemed to be in flight and vanished in the air after a short time, and no further information about it was obtained.
This is a CIA letter dated 25 November 1959 from Phillip G. Strong to Dr. Thornton Page of Wesleyan University's Department of Astronomy. Strong answers Page's November 19 letter about freshman papers on UFOs and says his staff, who have followed the subject, would like to review them. He asks that if Page mentions the papers going to Washington, he not name the agency and say only that part of the national defense establishment is reviewing them.
This is a short letter dated 10 December 1959, released by the Central Intelligence Agency. It was sent from 1424 33rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., to Dr. Thornton Page of the Department of Astronomy at Wesleyan University. Secretary Alnora M. Belt writes on behalf of Mr. Strong, who was away, to confirm that the fourteen essays Page sent have arrived. She says the essays and comments on them will be returned soon, following instructions Strong left.
This is a letter dated 25 November 1959 from Philip G. Strong in Washington, D.C. to Dr. Thornton Page of Wesleyan University's Department of Astronomy. It was released by the Central Intelligence Agency. Strong replies to Page's letter of November 19 about freshman papers on UFOs and says his staff would like to review them. He asks that if Page mentions sending the papers to Washington, he should not name the agency and should say only that a part of the national defense establishment is reviewing them.
This is a short letter dated 10 December 1959, released by the Central Intelligence Agency. Alnora M. Belt, a secretary, sent it from 1424 33rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., to Dr. Thornton Page of the Department of Astronomy at Wesleyan University. Writing while Mr. Strong was away, Belt confirms that fourteen essays Page had sent to Strong were received. Strong had left instructions for handling the material, and the letter says the essays and comments will be returned soon.
This undated Central Intelligence Agency document, catalogued as 1960, is a one-page list of ten numbered instructions for people photographing UFOs. It recommends focusing at infinity, using fast film such as Tri-X and shutter speeds of at least one hundredth of a second, and taking many pictures, ideally from several positions so analysts have a base line. It also asks photographers to shoot the surrounding countryside in a full circle and to keep the original negative safe for technical analysis.
This undated Central Intelligence Agency record, filed under 1960, is a blank UFO Photographic Information Sheet meant to be completed by a person who photographed a UFO. It asks for camera details: the camera's name, manufacturer, lens data and focal length. It also asks for the date and time of the photographs, which way the photographer was facing, their location marked on a map, sketches of the surrounding area, and where and when the original negative was processed. It names no sightings.
This Central Intelligence Agency office memorandum, dated 26 January 1960, went from W. E. Lexow, Chief of the Applied Science Division, SI, to the Deputy Assistant Director for Collection. It comments on 14 student essays about flying saucers that Dr. Thornton Page had sent in, and the essays were returned with it. The memo finds the papers interesting and says most students separated subjective views from objective reporting well. It notes that the exercise produced no essentially new substantiating evidence.
This undated Central Intelligence Agency document, catalogued with the date 1960-01-05, gives ten numbered instructions to people photographing UFOs. It recommends setting the camera at infinity, using fast film such as Tri-X and shutter speeds no slower than one hundredth of a second, and taking many pictures that include some ground. It also advises shifting position to establish a base line, photographing the surrounding countryside in a full circle, and protecting and copying the original negative for technical analysis.
This Central Intelligence Agency release, dated January 5, 1960, is a blank UFO Photographic Information Sheet for witnesses to fill in. It asks for the camera's name, manufacturer and lens data, including the focal length of the lens and camera combination. It also asks for the date, time and direction of the photographs, the photographer's location on a map, a sketch of the surrounding area, 360 degree ground orientation pictures, and where and when the original negative was processed.
This is a CIA letter from Philip G. Strong to Dr. Thornton Page of Wesleyan University's Department of Astronomy, dated January 1960. It acknowledges fourteen freshman essays on flying saucers that Page had sent. Strong's staff, who followed the subject, read the essays and found them interesting and generally good at separating subjective views from objective reporting. He adds that no essentially new substantiating positions came out of the exercise.
This Central Intelligence Agency file gathers 11 documents on MKULTRA Subproject 115, dated from 1960 onward. It holds invoice checklists, funding authorizations, payment memoranda signed for the TSD/Research Branch, an expenditure accounting, and a research proposal. The subproject funded a one-year study of the interaction between the mentally disturbed and their environment, costing about $4,085. The stated Agency interest was insight into factors influencing human behavior, and the researchers were to remain unwitting of the sponsor. None of the material concerns UFOs.
This Central Intelligence Agency office memorandum, dated 26 January 1960, went from the Chief of the Applied Science Division to the Deputy Assistant Director for Collection. It comments on student papers about flying saucers that Dr. Thornton Page sent in, so the Deputy Assistant Director could use the comments when replying to him. The memo says most of the 14 essays made a solid attempt to evaluate the evidence and kept subjective views apart from objective reporting. It also notes that no essentially new substantiating evidence came out of the exercise.
On 29 January 1960, Philip G. Strong, writing from Washington, D.C., sent this letter to Dr. Thornton Page of Wesleyan University's Department of Astronomy. It is filed as a Central Intelligence Agency record. The letter thanks Page for fourteen essays on flying saucers written by his freshman students, which Strong passed to staff who follow the subject. Strong calls the essays interesting and says most separated subjective views from objective reporting, but none produced a new substantiating position.
This is the Central Intelligence Agency's Central Intelligence Bulletin for 1 February 1960, a daily brief released in 2020. It covers a planned pre-Summit meeting of Soviet bloc leaders in Moscow and Soviet aid for Egypt's Aswan Dam. It also covers the Sino-Burmese border agreement, the Shah's order to watch the Iranian army, the Algiers settler insurrection and Venezuela's protest against the Dominican Republic. A late item reports a Soviet vehicle launched from Tyura Tam to the Pacific impact area. It contains no UFO reports.
This Central Intelligence Agency information report, numbered CS-3/429,841 and distributed on 9 March 1960, concerns the Kazakh SSR in the USSR. It relays a 1959 rumor from the town of Sary Ozek that glittering objects had often been seen flying at high speed over the desert west of the town, accompanied by explosive sounds. The report adds that many Kazakhs and Tajiks were believed to have left the area out of superstitious fear of the objects.
This Central Intelligence Agency FDD Note, dated 17 March 1960, translates two Dagens Nyheter articles from 7 and 8 March 1960 about Swedish sightings on 6 March. A Linjeflyg crew flying from Stockholm to Sundsvall and an observer at the Saltsjoebaden observatory saw a luminous object that experts believed was an unidentified satellite. Photographer Esse Jansson photographed two objects that turned back the way they came. Another observer reported the so-called phantom satellite 1960 Alpha moving strangely.
The Central Intelligence Agency issued this Central Intelligence Bulletin on 17 February 1960. The daily brief was distributed to the President and senior officials, and it covers world political and military developments. Items include Khrushchev's formula for two separate German peace treaties, a Communist attack on a Nationalist air patrol over the Taiwan Strait, and Israel's boycott of a UN armistice meeting. It also covers anxiety over Belgian Congo independence, an Iraqi cabinet shake-up, Cuban-Soviet ties and a Soviet nuclear test detection proposal. It contains no UFO material.
This Central Intelligence Agency report, dated 9 March 1960, relays a rumor circulating in Sary Ozek in 1959. According to the rumor, people had often seen glittering objects flying at high speed in the desert region west of the town, and explosive sounds came with them. The report adds that many Kazakhs and Tadzhiks were believed to have left the area because they feared these flying objects out of superstition.
This Central Intelligence Agency translation, dated 17 March 1960, gives the text of two Dagens Nyheter articles from 7 and 8 March 1960 about lights seen over Sweden on 6 March. Photographer Esse Jansson of Norrtalje photographed two objects that reversed direction, and a Bromma resident described a satellite dropping at a right angle. A Linjeflyg crew flying from Stockholm to Sundsvall and an observer at Saltsjobaden also reported a luminous object, which experts believed was an unidentified satellite.
This Central Intelligence Agency telegram information report, numbered TDCS-3/446,215 and distributed 20 July 1960, describes an unidentified flying object seen over Behshahr, Iran, on 17 July 1960 at about 1620 GMT. Several witnesses watched it for an estimated 15 to 25 seconds as it traveled low and fairly flat but heading downward, then turned gradually west and seemed to burn out. It was described as conical and bright aquamarine with a white and red tail, and made a sub-sonic sound like air passing through a pipe.