SAF/PAM
1690 AF Pentagon
Washington, DC 20330-1690
MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS
No. 235-M
Sept. 8, 1994
Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall today announced the
completion of an Air Force study to locate records that would
explain an alleged 1947 UFO incident. Pro-UFO researchers claim
an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants were
recovered near Roswell, N.M., in July 1947 and the fact was kept
from the public.
At the request of Congressman Steven H. Schiff (R-NM), the
General Accounting Office in February 1994 initiated an audit to
locate all records related to the Roswell incident and to
determine if such records were properly handled. The GAO audit
entitled "Records Management Procedures Dealing With Weather
Balloon, Unknown Aircraft, and Similar Crash Incidents" is not
yet complete.
The GAO audit involved a number of government agencies but
focused on the Air Force. In support of the GAO effort, the Air
Force initiated a systematic search of current Air Force offices
as well as numerous archives and records centers that might help
explain the incident. Air Force officials also interviewed a
number of persons who might have had knowledge of the events.
Prior to the interviews, Secretary Widnall released those persons
from any previous security obligations that might have restricted
their statements.
The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information
that the "Roswell Incident" was a UFO event nor was there any
indication of a "cover-up" by the Air Force. Information
obtained through exhaustive records searches and interviews
indicated the material recovered near Roswell was consistent with
a balloon device of the type used in a then-classified project.
No records indicated or even hinted at the recovery of "alien"
bodies or extraterrestrial materials.
All documentation related to this case is now declassified and
the information is in the public domain. All documentation has
been turned over to the Air Force Historian. The Air Force
report without attachments may be obtained by contacting Major
Thurston, Air Force Public Affairs, (703) 695-0640. The report
with all 33 attachments is available for review in the Pentagon
Library in Room 1A518.
-END-
REPORT OF AIR FORCE RESEARCH REGARDING THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT"
Department of the Air Force
United States of America
July 1994
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The "Roswell Incident" refers to an event that supposedly
happened in July, 1947, wherein the Army Air Forces (AAF)
allegedly recovered remains of a crashed "flying disc" near
Roswell, New Mexico. In February, 1994, the General Accounting
Office (GAO), acting on the request of a New Mexico Congressman,
initiated an audit to attempt to locate records of such an
incident and to determine if records regarding it were properly
handled. Although the GAO effort was to look at a number of
government agencies, the apparent focus was the Air Force.
SAF/AAZ, as the Central Point of Contact for the GAO in this
matter, initiated a systematic search of current Air Force
offices as well as numerous archives and records centers that
might help explain this matter. Research revealed that the
"Roswell Incident" was not even considered a UFO event until the
1978-1980 time frame. Prior to that, the incident was dismissed
because the AAF originally identified the debris recovered as
being that of a weather balloon. Subsequently, various authors
wrote a number of books claiming that, not only was debris from
an alien spacecraft recovered, but also the bodies of the craft's
alien occupants. These claims continue to evolve today and the
Air Force is now routinely accused of engaging in a "cover-up" of
this supposed event.
The research located no records at existing Air Force offices
that indicated any "cover-up" by the USAF or any indication of
such a recovery. Consequently, efforts were intensified by Air
Force researchers at numerous locations where records for the
period in question were stored. The records reviewed did not
reveal any increase in operations, security, or any other
activity in July, 1947, that indicated any such unusual event may
have occurred. Records were located and thoroughly explored
concerning a then-TOP SECRET balloon project, designed to attempt
to monitor Soviet nuclear tests, known as Project Mogul.
Additionally, several surviving project personnel were located
and interviewed, as was the only surviving person who recovered
debris from the original Roswell site in 1947, and the former
officer who initially identified the wreckage as a balloon.
Comparison of all information developed or obtained indicated
that the material recovered near Roswell was consistent with a
balloon device and most likely from one of the Mogul balloons
that had not been previously recovered. Air Force research
efforts did not disclose any records of the recovery of any
"alien" bodies or extraterrestrial materials.
INTRODUCTION
Air Force involvement in the alleged UFO-related incident
popularly known as the "Roswell Incident" began as the result of
a January 14, 1994, WASHINGTON POST article (Atch 1) which
announced Congressman Steven Schiff's intent to initiate a
General Accounting Office (GAO) effort to resolve this
controversial matter. Having previously been involved in
numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Congressional
requests on "unusual aircraft," to include Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFOs), The Director, Security and Special Program
Oversight, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, (SAF/AAZ)
believed the Air Force would become involved in any GAO effort
involving this subject.
Thus, in late January, 1994, SAF/AAZ directed its
research/declassification team, SAF/AAZD, to attempt to locate
any official records relative to this matter. These initial
research efforts focused on records at the Air Force Historical
Research Agency (AFHRA), Maxwell AFB, AL, the Air Force Safety
Agency (AFSA) at Kirtland AFB, NM and the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA).
On February 15, 1994, the GAO officially notified Secretary of
Defense William J. Perry that, it was initiating an audit of the
Department of Defense (DoD) policies and procedures for
acquiring, classifying, retaining, and disposing of official
government documents dealing with weather balloon, aircraft, and
similar crash incidents (Atch 2). This notification was
subsequently passed to the Department of Defense Inspector
General who in turn officially notified the Secretaries of the
Services and other affected parties of the audit in a February
23, 1994, memo (Atch 3). This memorandum indicated that the "GAO
is anxious to respond to Representative Schiff's request and to
dispel any concerns that the DoD is being unresponsive." These
were the first official US Government documents that indicated
that the purpose of the GAO was to review "crash incidents
involving weather balloons and unknown aircraft, such as UFOs and
foreign aircraft, and (2) the facts involving the reported crash
of an UFO in 1949 (sic, 1947) at Roswell, New Mexico...(and an)
alleged DoD cover-up."
An entrance meeting of potentially concerned parties was held in
the offices of the DoD Inspector General on February 28, 1994.
During this meeting it was learned that, while the audit would
officially be reviewing the records of a number of DoD (and
possibly other Executive Branch entities), the bulk of the effort
would be focused on Air Force records and systems. The audit was
officially given the GAO code 701034, and entitled "Records
Management Procedures Dealing With Weather Balloon, Unknown
Aircraft, and Similar Crash Incidents." Although this official
title appeared rather broad, there was no misunderstanding that
the real purpose was to attempt to locate records and/or
information on the "Roswell Incident." This incident, explained
later in more detail, generally dealt with the claim that in July
of 1947, the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) recovered a flying saucer
and/or its alien occupants which supposedly crashed near Roswell,
New Mexico. When the USAAF ultimately became the United States
Air Force (USAF) in September, 1947, the USAF inherited
equipment, personnel, records, policies, and procedures from the
AAF. In this particular case, the Air Force also inherited the
allegation that it had "covered up" the "Roswell Incident" and
has continued to do so for the next 47 years.
Within the Air Force, the Office of the Administrative Assistant
to the Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/AA) is responsible both
for information management procedures (SAF/AAI) and security
policy and oversight (SAF/AAZ). Because of this organization,
SAF/AAZ was the logical entity to assist the GAO in its audit and
SAF/AAZ was officially named as the Central Point of Contact for
this endeavor (Atch 4). Subsequently, the then-Administrative
Assistant, Mr. Robert J. McCormick, issued a tasking memorandum
dated March 1, 1994 (Atch 5), to a number of current Air Staff
and Secretariat offices that might possibly have records related
to such an incident if, indeed, something had actually occurred.
This search for records was purposely limited to Air Force
records and systems since:
(a) The Air Force had no authority to compel other agencies to
review their records;
(b) The Air Force would have no way to monitor the completeness
of their efforts if they did; and
(c) the overall effort was the task and responsibility of the GAO
-- not the Air Force.
During the in-briefing process with GAO, it was learned that this
audit was, indeed, generated at the specific request of
Congressman Steven Schiff of New Mexico. Earlier, Congressman
Schiff had written to the Department of Defense Legislative
Liaison Office for information on the "Roswell Incident" and had
been advised that it was part of the former UFO "Project
Bluebook" that had previously been turned over to NARA by the Air
Force. Congressman Schiff subsequently learned from NARA that,
although they did, indeed, have the "Bluebook" materials, the
"Roswell Incident" was not part of that report. Congressman
Schiff, apparently perceiving that he had been "stonewalled" by
the DoD, then generated the request for the aforementioned audit.
It is within this context that the following research and
assistance efforts were conducted in support of the GAO. This
report is intended to stand as the final official Air Force
response regarding this matter.
THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" -- WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY REPORTED IN 1947
The modern preoccupation with what ultimately came to be called
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) actually began in June, 1947.
Although some pro-UFO researchers argue that sightings of UFOs go
back to Biblical times, most researchers will not dispute that
anything in UFO history can compare with the phenomenon that
began in 1947. What was later characterized as "the UFO WAve of
1947" began with 16 alleged sightings that occurred between May
17 and July 12, 1947, (although some researchers claim there were
as many as 800 sightings during that period). Interestingly, the
"Roswell Incident" was not considered one of these 1947 events
until the 1978-80 time frame. There is no dispute, however, that
something happened near Roswell in July, 1947, since it was
reported in a number of contemporary newspaper articles; the most
famous of which were the July 8 and July 9 editions of the
ROSWELL DAILY RECORD. The July 8 edition reported "RAAF Captures
Flying Saucer On Ranch In Roswell Region," while the next day's
edition reported, "Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer" and "Harassed
Rancher Who Located 'Saucer' Sorry He Told About It."
The first story reported that the Intelligence Officer of the
509th Bomb Group, stationed at Roswell AAF, Major Jesse A.
Marcel, had recovered a "flying disc" from the range lands of an
unidentified rancher in the vicinity of Roswell and that the disc
had been "flown to higher headquarters." That same story also
reported that a Roswell couple claimed to have seen a large
unidentified object fly by their home on July 2, 1947.
The July 9 edition of the paper noted that Brigadier General
Roger Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Air Force at Forth Worth,
Texas, stated that upon examination the debris recovered by
Marcel was determined to be a weather balloon. The wreckage was
described as a "...bundle of tinfoil, broken wood beams, and
rubber remnants of a balloon...." The additional story of the
"harassed rancher" identified him as W.W. Brazel of Lincoln
County, New Mexico. He claimed that he and his son, Vernon,
found the material on June 14, 1947, when they "came upon a large
area of bright wreckage made up of rubber strips, tinfoil, a
rather tough paper, and sticks." He picked up some of the debris
on July 4 and "...the next day he first heard about the flying
discs and wondered if what he had found might have been the
remnants of one of these." Brazel subsequently went to Roswell
on July 7 and contacted the Sheriff, who apparently notified
Major Marcel. Major Marcel and "a man in plain clothes" then
accompanied Brazel home to pick up the rest of the pieces. The
article further related that Brazel thought that the material:
"...might have been as large as a table top. The balloon which
held it up, if that is how it worked, must have been about 12
feet long, he felt, measuring the distance by the size of the
room in which he sat. The rubber was smoky gray in color and
scattered over an area about 200 yards in diameter. When the
debris was gathered up the tinfoil, paper, tape, and sticks made
a bundle about three feet long and 7 or 8 inches thick, while the
rubber made a bundle about 18 or 20 inches long and about 8
inches thick. In all, he estimated, the entire lot would have
weighed maybe five pounds. There was no sign of any metal in the
area which might have been used for an engine and no sign of any
propellers of any kind. Although at least one paper fin had been
glued onto some of the tinfoil. There were no words to be found
anywhere on the instrument although there were letters on some of
the parts. Considerable scotch tape and some tape with flowers
printed upon it had been used in the construction. No string or
wire were to be found but there were some eyelets in the paper to
indicate that some sort of attachment may have been used. Brazel
said that he had previously found two weather balloons on the
ranch, but that what he found this time did not in any way
resemble either of these."
EVOLUTION OF THE EVENT FROM 1947 TO THE PRESENT
General Rarney's press conference and rancher Brazel's statement
effectively ended this as a UFO-related matter until 1978,
although some UFO researchers argue that there were several
obtuse references to it in 1950's era literature. Roswell, for
example, is not referred to in the official USAF investigation of
UFOs reported in Project Bluebook or its predecessors, Project
Sign and Project Grudge, which ran from 1948-1969 (which
Congressman Schiff subsequently learned when he made his original
inquiry).
In 1978, an article appeared in a tabloid newspaper, the NATIONAL
INQUIRER, which reported the former intelligence officer, Marcel,
claimed that he had recovered UFO debris near Roswell in 1947.
Also in 1978, a UFO researcher, Stanton Friedman, met with Marcel
and began investigating the claims that the material Marcel
handled was from a crashed UFO. Similarly, two authors, William
L. Moore and Charles Berlitz, also engaged in research which led
them to publish a book, THE ROSWELL INCIDENT, in 1980. In this
book they reported they interviewed a number of persons who
claimed to have been present at Roswell in 1947 and professed to
be either first or second hand witnesses to strange events that
supposedly occurred. Since 1978-1980, other UFO researchers,
most notably Donald Schmitt and Kevin Randle, claim to have
located and interviewed even more persons with supposed knowledge
of unusual happenings at Roswell. These included both civilian
and former military persons.
Additionally, the Robert Stack-hosted television show "Unsolved
Mysteries" devoted a large portion of one show to a "re-creation"
of the supposed Roswell events. Numerous other television shows
have done likewise, particularly during the last several years
and a made-for-TV movie on the subject is due to be released this
summer. The overall thrust of these articles, books and shows is
that the "Roswell Incident" was actually the crash of a craft
from another world, the US Government recovered it, and has been
"covering up" this fact from the Arnerican public since 1947,
using a combination of disinformation, ridicule, and threats of
bodily harm, to do so. Generally, the US Air Force bears the
brunt of these accusations.
From the rather benign description of the "event" and the
recovery of some material as described in the original newspaper
accounts, the "Roswell Incident" has since grown to mythical (if
not mystical) proportions in the eyes and minds of some
researchers, portions of the media and at least part of the
American public. There are also now several major variations of
the "Roswell story." For exarnple, it was originally reported
that there was only recovery of debris from one site. This has
since grown from a minimal amount of debris recovered from a
small area to airplane loads of debris from multiple huge "debris
fields." Likewise, the relatively simple description of sticks,
paper, tape and tinfoil has since grown to exotic metals with
hieroglyphics and fiber optic-like materials. Most versions now
claim that there were two crash sites where debris was recovered;
and at the second site, alleged bodies of extraterrestrial aliens
were supposedly retrieved. The number of these "alien bodies"
recovered also varied. These claims are further complicated by
the fact that UFO researchers are not in agreement among
themselves as to exactly where these recovery sites were located
or even the dates of the alleged crash(es).
Consistently, however, the AAF was accused of securing these
sites, recovering all the material therefrom, keeping locals
away, and returning the recovered wreckage (and bodies) to
Roswell under extremely tight security for further processing and
later exploitation.
Once back at Roswell AAF, it is generally alleged that special
measures were taken to notify higher headquarters and
arrangements made to have recovered materials shipped to other
locations for analysis. These locations include Ft. Worth,
Texas, the home of the Eighth Air Force Headquarters; possibly
Sandia Base (now Kirtland AFB), New Mexico; possibly Andrews AAF,
Maryland, and always to Wright Field, now known as Wright-
Patterson AFB, Ohio. The latter location was the home of "T-2"
which later became known as the Air Technical Intelligence Center
(ATIC) and the Air Materiel Command (AMC), and would, in fact, be
a logical location to study unknown materials from whatever
origin. Most of the Roswell stories that contain the recovery of
alien bodies also show them being shipped to Wright Field. Once
the material and bodies were dispersed for further analysis
and/or exploitation, the government in general, and the Army Air
Forces in particular, then engaged in covering up all information
relating to the alleged crash and recovery, including the use of
security oaths to military persons and the use of coercion
(including alleged death threats) to others. This, as theorized
by some UFO researchers, has allowed the government to keep the
fact that there is intelligent extraterrestrial life from the
American public for 47 years. It also supposedly allowed the US
Government to exploit recovered extraterrestrial materials by
reverse engineering them, ultimately providing such things as
fiber optic and stealth technology. The "death threats," oaths,
and other forms of coercion alleged to have been meted out by the
Army Air Forces personnel to keep people from talking have
apparently not been very effective, as several hundred people are
claimed to have come forward (without harm) with some knowledge
of the "Roswell Incident" during interviews with non-government
researchers and the media.
Adding some measure of credibility to the claims that have arisen
since 1978 is the apparent depth of research of some of the
authors and the extent of their efforts. Their claims are
lessened somewhat, however, by the fact that almost all their
information came from verbal reports many years after the alleged
incident occurred. Many of the persons interviewed were, in
fact, stationed at, or lived near Roswell during the time in
question, and a number of them claim military service. Most,
however, related their stories in their older years, well after
the fact. In other cases, the information provided is second or
third-hand, having been passed through a friend or relative after
the principal had died. What is uniquely lacking in the entire
exploration and exploitation of the "Roswell Incident" is
official positive documentary or physical evidence of any kind
that supports the claims of those who allege that something
unusual happened. Conversely, there has never been any previous
documentary evidence produced by those who would debunk the
incident to show that something did not happen; although logic
dictates that bureaucracies do not spend time documenting non-
events.
SEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY
To insure senior Air Force leadership that there were no hidden
or overlooked files that might relate to the "Roswell Incident;"
and to provide the GAO with the best and most complete
information available, SAF/AAZ constructed a strategy based on
direct tasking from the Office of the Secretary, to elicit
information from those functional offices and organizations where
such information might logically be contained. This included
directing searches at current offices where special or unusual
projects might be carried out, as well as historical
organizations, archives, and records centers over which the Air
Force exerted some degree of control. Researchers did not,
however, go to the US Army to review historical records in areas
such as missile launches from White Sands, or to the Department
of Energy to determine if its forerunner, the Atomic Energy
Commission, had any records of nuclear-related incidents that
might have occurred at or near Roswell in 1947. To do so would
have encroached on GAO's charter in this matter. What Air Force
researchers did do, however, was to search for records still
under Air Force control pertaining to these subject areas.
In order to determine parameters for the most productive search
of records, a review was first conducted of the major works
regarding the "Roswell Incident" available in the popular
literature. These works included: THE ROSWELL INCIDENT, (1980)
by William Moore and Charles Berlitz; "Crashed Saucers: Evidence
in Search of Proof," (1985) by Moore; THE UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL,
(1991) by Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt; THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL, (1994) also by Randle and Schmitt; THE
ROSWELL REPORT: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, (1991), George M.
Eberhart, Editor; "The Roswell Events," (1993) compiled by Fred
Whiting; CRASH AT CORONA (1992) by Stanton T. Friedman and Don
Berliner, as well as numerous other articles written by a
combination of the above and other researchers. Collectively,
the above represent the "pro" UFO writers who allege that the
government is engaged in a conspiracy. There are no specific
books written entirely on the theme that nothing happened at
Roswell. However, Curtis Peebles in WATCH THE SKIES! (1994)
discussed the development ofthe UFO story and growth of
subsequent claims as a phenomenon. There has also been serious
research as well as a number of detailed articles written by so-
called "debunkers" of Roswell and other incidents, most notably
Philip J. Klass who writes THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER newsletter, and
Robert Todd, a private researcher. The concerns and claims of
all the above authors and others were considered in conducting
the USAF records search.
It was also decided, particularly after a review of the above
popular literature, that no specific attempt would be made to try
to refute, point by point, the numerous claims made in the
various publications. Many of these claims appear to be hearsay,
undocumented, taken out of context, self-serving, or otherwise
dubious. Additionally, many of the above authors are not even in
agreement over various claims. Most notable of the confusing and
now ever-changing claims is the controversy over the date(s) of
the alleged incident, the exact location(s) of the purported
debris and the extent of the wreckage. Such discrepancies in
claims made the search much more difficult by greatly expanding
the volume of records that had to be searched.
An example of trying to deal with questionable claims is
illustrated by the following example: One of the popular books
mentioned that was reviewed claimed that the writers had
submitted the names and serial numbers of "over two dozen"
personnel stationed at Roswell in July, 1947, to the Veterans
Administration and the Defense Department to confirm their
military service. They then listed eleven of these persons by
name and asked
the question: "Why does neither the Defense Department nor the
Veteran's
Administration have records of any of these men when we can
document that each served at Roswell Army Air Field." That claim
sounded serious so SAF/AAZD was tasked to check these eleven
names in the Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Using only
the names (since the authors did not list the serial numbers) the
researcher quickly found records readily identifiable with eight
of these persons. The other three had such common names that
there could have been multiple possibilities. Interestingly, one
of the listed "missing" persons had a casualty report in his
records reflecting that he died in 1951, while the writers
claimed to have interviewed him (or a person of the exact same
name) in 1990.
While the historical document search was in progress, it was
decided to attempt to locate and interview several persons
identified as still living who could possibly answer questions
generated by the research. This had never been officially done
before, although most of the persons contacted reported that they
had also been contacted in the past by some of the listed authors
or other private researchers. In order to counter possible
future arguments that the persons interviewed were still
"covering up" material because of prior security oaths, the
interviewees were provided with authorization from either the
Secretary of the Air Force or the Senior Security Official of the
Air Force that would officially allow discussion of classified
information, if applicable, or free them from any prior
restriction in discussing the matter, if such existed. Again,
the focus was on interviewing persons that could address specific
issues raised by research and no consideration was given to try
and locate every alleged witness claimed to have been contacted
by the various authors. For example, one of the interviewees
thought vital to obtain an official signed, sworn statement from
was Sheridan Cavitt, Lt Col, USAF (Retired) who is the last
living member of the three persons universally acknowledged to
have recovered material from the Foster Ranch. Others were also
interviewed as information developed (discussed in detail later).
Additionally, in some cases survivors of deceased persons were
also contacted in an attempt to locate various records thought to
have been in the custody of the deceased.
Even though Air Force research originally started in January,
1994, the first official Air Force-wide tasking was directed by
the March 1, 1994, memorandum from SAF/AA, (Atch 5) and was
addressed to those current Air Staff elements that would be the
likely repository for any records, particularly if there was
anything of an extraordinary nature involved. This meant that
the search was not limited to unclassified materials, but also
would include records of the highest classification and
compartmentation.
The specific Air Staff/Secretariat offices queried included the
following:
(a) SAF/AAI, Directorate of Information Management
(b) SAF/AQL, Directorate of Electronics and Special Programs
(c) AF/SE, Air Force Safety
(d) AF/HO, Air Force Historian
(e) AF/IN, Air Force Intelligence (including Air Force
Intelligence Agency -- AFIA, and the National Air Intelligence
Center, NAIC)
(f) AF/XOW, Directorate of Weather
(g) (added later) The Air Force Office of Special Investigations
(AFOSI)
In addition to the above Air Staff and Secretariat offices,
SAF/AAZ also reviewed appropriate classified records for any tie-
in to this matter. With regards to highly classified records, it
should be noted that any programs that employ enhanced security
measures or controls are known as a Special Access Programs
(SAPs). The authority for such programs comes from Executive
Order 12356 and flows from the Department of Defense to the
Services via DoD Directive 5205.7. These programs are
implemented in the Air Force by Policy Directive 16-7, and Air
Force Instruction 16-701. These directives contain detailed
requirements for controlling and reporting, in a very strict
manner, all SAPs. This includes a report from the Secretary of
the Air Force to the Secretary of Defense (and ultimately to
Congress) on all SAPs submitted for approval, and a certification
that there are no "SAP-like" programs being operated. These
reporting requirements are stipulated in public law.
It followed then, that if the Air Force had recovered some type
of extraterrestrial spacecraft and/or bodies and was exploiting
this for scientific and technology purposes, then such a program
would be operated as a SAP. SAF/AAZ, the Central Office for all
Air Force SAPs, has knowledge of, and security oversight over,
all SAPs. SAF/AAZ categorically stated that no such Special
Access Program(s) exists that pertain to extraterrestrial
spacecraft/aliens.
Likewise, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff,
who head the Special Program Oversight Committee which oversees
all sensitive programs in the Air Force, had no knowledge of the
existence of any such program involving, or relating to the
events at Roswell or the alleged technology that supposedly
resulted therefrom. Besides the obvious irregularity and
illegality of keeping such information from the most senior Air
Force officials, it would also be illogical, since these
officials are responsible for obtaining funding for operations,
research, development, and security. Without funding such a
program, operation, or organization could not exist. Even to
keep such a fact "covered-up" in some sort of passive "caretaker
status" would involve money. More importantly, it would involve
people and create paperwork.
The aforementioned March 1, 1994, SAF/AA tasking generated
negative responses (Atch 6-12) from all recipients; i.e. all
offices reported that they had no information that would explain
the incident. Consequently, these negative responses led to an
increase in the already on-going historical research at records
centers and archives.
The extensive archival and records center search was
systematically carried out at by the SAF/AAZD Declassification
Review Team. This team is composed entirely of Air Force Reserve
personnel who have extensive training and experience in large
scale review of records. (Previous efforts include the Southeast
Asia Declassification Review, declassification of POW/MIA
records, and the review ofthe Gulf War Air Power Survey records).
The team members all had the requisite security clearances for
classified information and had the authority of the Secretary of
the Air Force to declassify any classified record they found that
might be related to Roswell. SAF/AAZD conducted reviews at a
number of locations, including: the National Archives in
Washington, DC; the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
MO; the National Archives, Suitland, MD; the National Records
Center, Suitland, MD; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC;
Federal Records Center, Ft Worth, TX; the INSCOM Archives, Ft.
Meade, MD; National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; Air
Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL; Center for Air
Force History, Bolling AFB, DC; Phillips Laboratory, Hanscom AFB,
MA and Kirtland AFB, NM; Rome Laboratory, Griffiss AFB, NY; and
the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
A listing of the specific record areas searched is appended as
Atch 13. The areas included all those subject areas logically
believed to possibly contain any reference to activities at
Roswell AAF during the period of time in question. It is
anticipated that detractors from this effort will complain that
"they did not search record group x, box y, or reel z, etc.;
that's where the real records are!" Such complaints are
unavoidable and there is no
possible way that the millions of records under Air Force control
could be searched page by page. The team endeavored to make
logical searches in those places where records would likely be
found. They were assisted in this task by archivists,
historians, and records management specialists, including
experienced persons who have continually worked in Army and Air
Force records systems since 1943. The team also searched some
record areas that were recommended by serious private researchers
such as Robert Todd, who had independently obtained almost
encyclopedic knowledge of the complexities of Air Force records
systems, particularly as related to this subject area.
Not surprisingly, the research team found the usual number of
problems in many of the records centers (particularly St. Louis)
with misfiling, lost or misplaced documents, mismarking of
documents, or the breaking up of record groups over the years and
refiling in different systems. This included, for example, a
small amount of missing "decimal files" from the 509th Bomb Group
at Roswell that covered the years 1945-1949, that were marked on
the index as "destroyed." The researchers noted that there was
no pattern to
any anomalies found and that most discrepancies were minor and
consistent with what they had found in the past on similar
projects.
WHAT THE ROSWELL INCIDENT WAS NOT
Before discussing specific positive results that these efforts
revealed, it is first appropriate to discuss those things, as
indicated by information available to the Air Force, that the
"Roswell Incident" WAS NOT:
An Airplane Crash
Of all the things that are documented and tracked within the Air
Force, among the most detailed and scrupulous are airplane
crashes. In fact, records of air crashes go back to the first
years of military flight. Safety records and reports are
available for all crashes that involved serious damage, injury,
death, or a combination of these factors. These records also
include incidents involving experimental or classified aircraft.
USAF records showed that between June 24, 1947, and July 28,
1947, there were five crashes in New Mexico alone, involving A-
26C, P-51N, C-82A, P-80A and PQ-14B aircraft; however, none of
these were on the date(s) in question nor in the area(s) in
question.
One of the additional areas specifically set forth by GAO in its
efforts was to deal with how the Air Force (and others)
specifically documented "...weather balloon...and other crash
incidents." In this area, the search efforts revealed that there
are no AIR safety records pertaining to weather balloon crashes
(all weather balloons "crash" sooner or later); however, there
are provisions for generating reports of"crashes" as ground
safety incidents in the unlikely chance that a balloon injures
someone or causes damage. However, such records are only
maintained for five years.
A Missile Crash
A crashed or errant missile, usually described as a captured
German V-2 or one of its variants, is sometimes set forth as a
possible explanation for the debris recovered near Roswell.
Since much of this testing done at nearby White Sands was secret
at the time, it would be logical to assume that the government
would handle any missile mishap under tight security,
particularly if the mishap occurred on private land. From the
records reviewed by the Air Force, however, there was nothing
located to suggest that this was the case. Although the bulk of
remaining testing records are under the control of the US Army,
the subject has also been very well documented over the years
within Air Force records. There would be no reason to keep such
information classified today. The USAF found no indicators or
even hints that a missile was involved in this matter.
A Nuclear Accident
One of the areas considered was that whatever happened near
Roswell may have involved nuclear weapons. This was a logical
area of concern since the 509th Bomb Group was the only military
unit in the world at the time that had access to nuclear weapons.
Again, reviews of available records gave no indication that this
was the case. A number of records still classified TOP SECRET
and SECRET-RESTRICTED DATA having to do with nuclear weapons were
located in the Federal Records Center in St. Louis, MO . These
records, which pertained to the 509th, had nothing to do with any
activities that could have been misinterpreted as the "Roswell
Incident." Also, any records of a nuclear-related incident would
have been inherited by the Department of Energy (DOE), and, had
one occurred, it is likely DOE would have publicly reported it as
part of its recent declassification and public release efforts.
There were no ancillary records in Air Force files to indicate
the potential existence of such records within DOE channels,
however.
An Extraterrestrial Craft
The Air Force research found absolutely no indication that what
happened near Roswell in 1947, involved any type of
extraterrestrial spacecraft. This, of course, is the crux of
this entire matter. "Pro-UFO" persons who obtain a copy of this
report, at this point, most probably begin the "cover-up is still
on" claims. Nevertheless, the research indicated absolutely no
evidence OF ANY KIND that a spaceship crashed near Roswell or
that any alien occupants were recovered therefrom, in some secret
military operation or otherwise. This does not mean, however,
that the early Air Force was not concerned about UFOs. However,
in the early days, "UFO" meant Unidentified Flying Object, which
literally translated as some object in the air that was not
readily identifiable. It did not mean, as the term has evolved
in today's language, to equate to alien spaceships. Records from
the period reviewed by Air Force researchers as well as those
cited by the authors mentioned before, do indicate that the USAF
WAS seriously concerned about the inability to adequately
identify unknown flying objects reported in American airspace.
All the records, however, indicated that the focus of concern was
not on aliens, hostile or otherwise, but on the Soviet Union.
Many documents from that period speak to the possibility of
developmental secret Soviet aircraft overflying US airspace.
This, of course, was of major concern to the fledgling USAF,
whose job it was to protect these same skies.
The research revealed only one official AAF document that
indicated that there was any activity of any type that pertained
to UFOs and Roswell in July, 1947. This was a small section of
the July Historical Report for the 509th Bomb Group and Roswell
AAF that stated: "THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION was quite
busy during the month answering inquiries on the 'flying disc,'
which was reported to be in possession of the 509th Bomb Group.
The object turned out to be a radar tracking balloon" (included
with Atch 11). Additionally, this history showed that the 509th
Commander, Colonel Blanchard, went on leave on July 8, 1947,
which would be a somewhat unusual maneuver for a person involved
in the supposed first ever recovery of extraterrestrial
materials. (Detractors claim Blanchard did this as a ploy to
elude the press and go to the scene to direct the recovery
operations). The history and the morning reports also showed
that the subsequent activities at Roswell during the month were
mostly mundane and not indicative of any unusual high level
activity, expenditure of manpower, resources or security.
Likewise, the researchers found no indication of heightened
activity anywhere else in the military hierarchy in the July,
1947, message traffic or orders (to include classified traffic).
There were no indications and warnings, notice of alerts, or a
higher tempo of operational activity reported that would be
logically generated if an alien craft, whose intentions were
unknown, entered US territory. To believe that such operational
and high-level security activity could be conducted solely by
relying on unsecured telecommunications or personal contact
without creating any records of such activity certainly stretches
the imagination of those who have served in the military who know
that paperwork of some kind is necessary to accomplish even
emergency, highly classified, or sensitive tasks.
An example of activity sometimes cited by pro-UFO writers to
illustrate the point that something unusual was going on was the
travel of Lt. General Nathan Twining, Commander of the Air
Materiel Command, to New Mexico in July, 1947. Actually, records
were located indicating that Twining went to the Bomb Commanders'
Course on July 8, along with a number of other general officers,
and requested orders to do so a month before, on June 5, 1947
(Atch 14).
Similarly, it has also been alleged that General Hoyt Vandenberg,
Deputy Chief of Staff at the time, had been involved directing
activity regarding events at Roswell. Activity reports (Atch
15), located in General Vandenberg's personal papers stored in
the Library of Congress, did indicate that on July 7, he was busy
with a "flying disc" incident; however this particular incident
involved Ellington Field, Texas and the Spokane (Washington)
Depot. After much discussion and information gathering on this
incident, it was learned to be a hoax. There is no similar
mention of his personal interest or involvement in Roswell events
except in the newspapers.
The above are but two small examples that indicate that if some
event happened that was one of the "watershed happenings" in
human history, the US military certainly reacted in an
unconcerned and cavalier manner. In an actual case, the military
would have had to order thousands of soldiers and airman, not
only at Roswell but throughout the US, to act nonchalantly,
pretend to conduct and report business as usual, and generate
absolutely no paperwork of a suspicious nature, while
simultaneously anticipating that twenty years or more into the
future people would have available a comprehensive Freedom of
Information Act that would give them great leeway to review and
explore government documents. The records indicate that none of
this happened (or if it did, it was controlled by a security
system so efficient and tight that no one, US or otherwise, has
been able to duplicate it since. If such a system had been in
effect at the time, it would have also been used to protect our
atomic secrets from the Soviets, which history has showed
obviously was not the case). The records reviewed confirmed that
no such sophisticated and efficient security system existed.
WHAT THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" WAS
As previously discussed, what was originally reported to have
been recovered was a balloon of some sort, usually described as a
"weather balloon," although the majority of the wreckage that was
ultimately displayed by General Ramey and Major Marcel in the
famous photos (Atch 16) in Ft. Worth, was that of a radar target
normally suspended from balloons. This radar target, discussed
in more detail later, was certainly consistent with the
description of July 9 newspaper article which discussed "tinfoil,
paper, tape, and sticks." Additionally, the description of the
"flying disc" was consistent with a document routinely used by
most pro-UFO writers to indicate a conspiracy in progress -- the
telegram from the Dallas FBI office of July 8, 1947. This
document quoted in part states: "...The disc is hexagonal in
shape and was suspended from a balloon by a cable, which balloon
was approximately twenty feet in diameter. ...the object found
resembles a high altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.
...disc and balloon being transported..."
Similarly, while conducting the popular literature review, one of
the documents reviewed was a paper entitled "The Roswell Events"
edited by Fred Whiting, and sponsored by the Fund for UFO
Research (FUFOR). Although it was not the original intention to
comment on what comrnercial authors interpreted or claimed that
other persons supposedly said, this particular document was
different because it contained actual copies of apparently
authentic sworn affidavits received from a number of persons who
claimed to have some knowledge of the Roswell event. Although
many of the persons who provided these affidavits to the FUFOR
researchers also expressed opinions that they thought there was
something extraterrestrial about this incident, a number of them
actually described materials that sounded suspiciously like
wreckage from balloons. These included the following:
Jesse A. Marcel, MD (son of the late Major Jesse Marcel; 11 years
old at the time of the incident). Affidavit dated May 6, 1991.
"...There were three categories of debris: a thick, foil like
metallic gray substance; a brittle, brownish-black plastic-like
material, like Bakelite; and there were fragments of what
appeared to be I-beams. On the inner surface of the I-beam,
there appeared to be a type of writing. This writing was a
purple-violet hue, and it had an embossed appearance. The
figures were composed of curved, geometric shapes. It had no
resemblance to Russian, Japanese or any other foreign language.
It resembled hieroglyphics, but it had no animal-like
characters...."
Loretta Proctor (former neighbor of rancher W.W. Brazel).
Affidavit dated May 5, 1991. "...Brazel came to my ranch and
showed my husband and me a piece of material he said came from a
large pile of debris on the property he managed. The piece he
brought was brown in color, similar to plastic... 'Mac' said the
other material on the property looked like aluminum foil. It was
very flexible and wouldn't crush or burn. There was also
something he described as tape which had printing on it. The
color of the printing was a kind of purple..."
Bessie Brazel Schreiber (daughter of W.W. Brazel; 14 years old at
the time ofthe incident). Affidavit dated September 22, 1993.
"...The debris looked like pieces of a large balloon which had
burst. The pieces were small, the largest I remember measuring
about the same as the diameter of a basketball. Most of it was a
kind of double-sided material, foil-like on one side and rubber-
like on the other. Both sides were grayish silver in color, the
foil more silvery than the rubber. Sticks, like kite sticks,
were attached to some of the pieces with a whitish tape. The
tape was about two or three inches wide and had flower-like
designs on it. The 'flowers' were faint, a variety of pastel
colors, and reminded me of Japanese paintings in which the
flowers are not all connected. I do not recall any other types
of material or markings, nor do I remember seeing gouges in the
ground or any other signs that anything may have hit the ground
hard. The foil-rubber material could not be torn like ordinary
aluminum foil can be torn..."
Sally Strickland Tadolini (neighbor of WW Brazel; nine years old
in 1947). Affidavit dated September 27, 1993. "...What Bill
showed us was a piece of what I still think as fabric. It was
something like aluminum foil, something like satin, something
like well -- tanned leather in its toughness, yet was not
precisely like any one of those materials. ...It was about the
thickness of very fine kidskin glove leather and a dull metallic
grayish silver, one side slightly darker than the other. I do
not remember it having any design or
embossing on it..."
Robert R. Porter (B-29 flight Engineer stationed at Roswell in
1947). Affidavit dated June 7, 1991. "...On this occasion, I
was a member of the crew which flew parts of what we were told
was a flying saucer to Fort Worth. The people on board
included...and Maj Jesse Marcel. Capt. William E. Anderson said
it was from a flying saucer. After we arrived, the material was
transferred to a B-25. I was told they were going to Wright
Field in Dayton, Ohio. I was involved in loading the B-29 with
the material, which was wrapped in packages with wrapping paper.
One of the pieces was triangle-shaped, about 2 1/2 feet across
the bottom. The rest were in small packages, about the size of a
shoe box. The brown paper was held with tape. The material was
extremely lightweight. When I picked it up, it was just like
picking up an empty package. We loaded the triangle shaped
package and three shoe box-sized packages into the plane. All of
the packages could have fit into the trunk of a car. ...When we
came back from lunch, they told us they had transferred the
material to a B-25. They told us the material was a weather
balloon, but I'm certain it wasn't a weather balloon..."
In addition to those persons above still living who claim to have
seen or examined the original material found on the Brazel Ranch,
there is one additional person who was universally acknowledged
to have been involved in its recovery, Sheridan Cavitt, Lt Col,
USAF, (Ret). Cavitt is credited in all claims of having
accompanied Major Marcel to the ranch to recover the debris,
sometimes along with his Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC)
subordinate, William Rickett, who, like Marcel, is deceased.
Although there does not appear to be much dispute that Cavitt was
involved in the material recovery, other claims about him prevail
in the popular literature. He is sometimes portrayed as a
closed-mouth (or sometimes even sinister) conspirator who was one
of the early individuals who kept the "secret of Roswell" from
getting out. Other things about him have been alleged, including
the claim that he wrote a report of the incident at the time that
has never surfaced.
Since Lt Col Cavitt, who had first-hand knowledge, was still
alive, a decision was made to interview him and get a signed
sworn statement from him about his version of the events. Prior
to the interview, the Secretary of the Air Force provided him
with a written authorization and waiver to discuss classified
information with the interviewer and release him from any
security oath he may have taken. Subsequently, Cavitt was
interviewed on May 24, 1994, at his home. Cavitt provided a
signed, sworn statement (Atch 17 ) of his recollections in this
matter. He also consented to having the interview tape-recorded.
A transcript of that recording is at Atch 18. In this interview,
Cavitt related that he had been contacted on numerous occasions
by UFO researchers and had willingly talked with many of them;
however, he felt that he had oftentimes been misrepresented or
had his comments taken out of context so that their true meaning
was changed. He stated unequivocally, however, that the material
he recovered consisted of a reflective sort of material like
aluminum foil, and some thin, bamboo-like sticks. He thought at
the time, and continued to do so today, that what he found was a
weather balloon and has told other private researchers that. He
also remembered finding a small "black box" type of instrument,
which he thought at the time was probably a radiosonde. Lt Col
Cavitt also reviewed the famous Ramey/Marcel photographs (Atch
16) of the wreckage taken to Ft. Worth (often claimed by UFO
researchers to have been switched and the remnants of a balloon
substituted for it) and he identified the materials depicted in
those photos as consistent with the materials that he recovered
from the ranch. Lt Col Cavitt also stated that he had never
taken any oath or signed any agreement not to talk about this
incident and had never been threatened by anyone in the
government because of it. He did not even know the "incident"
was claimed to be anything unusual until he was interviewed in
the early 1980's.
Similarly, Irving Newton, Major, USAF, (Ret) was located and
interviewed. Newton was a weather officer assigned to Fort
Worth, who was on duty when the Roswell debris was sent there in
July, 1947. He was told that he was to report to General Ramey's
office to view the material. In a signed, sworn statement (Atch
30) Newton related that "...I walked into the General's office
where this supposed flying saucer was Iying all over the floor.
As soon as I saw it, I giggled and asked if that was the flying
saucer...I told them that this was a balloon and a RAWIN
target..." Newton also stated that "...while I was examining the
debris, Major Marcel was picking up pieces ofthe target sticks
and trying to convince me that some notations on the sticks were
alien writings. there were figures on the sticks, lavender or
pink in color, appeared to be weather faded markings, with no
rhyme or reason (sic). He did not convince me that these were
alien writings." Newton concluded his statement by relating that
"...During the ensuing years I have been interviewed by many
authors, I have been quoted and misquoted. The facts remain as
indicated above. I was not influenced during the original
interview, nor today, to provide anything but what I know to be
true, that is, the material I saw in General Ramey's office was
the remains of a balloon and a RAWIN target."
Balloon Research
The original tasking from GAO noted that the search for
information included "weather balloons." Comments about balloons
and safety reports have already been made, however the SAF/AAZ
research efforts also focused on reviewing historical records
involving balloons, since, among other reasons, that was what was
officially claimed by the AAF to have been found and recovered in
1947.
As early as February 28, 1994, the AAZD research team found
references to balloon tests taking place at Alamogordo AAF (now
Holloman AFB) and White Sands during June and July 1947, testing
"constant level balloons" and a New York University (NYU)/Watson
Labs effort that used "...meteorological devices...suspected for
detecting shock waves generated by Soviet nuclear explosions" --
a possible indication of a cover story associated with the NYU
balloon project. Subsequently, a 1946 HQ AMC memorandum was
surfaced, describing the constant altitude balloon project and
specified that the scientific data be classified TOP SECRET
Priority 1A. Its name was Project Mogul (Atch 19).
Project Mogul was a then-sensitive, classified project, whose
purpose was to determine the state of Soviet nuclear weapons
research. This was the early Cold War period and there was
serious concern within the US government about the Soviets
developing a weaponized atomic device. Because the Soviet
Union's borders were closed, the US Government sought to develop
a long range nuclear explosion detection capability. Long range,
balloon-borne, low frequency acoustic detection was posed to
General Spaatz in 1945 by Dr. Maurice Ewing of Columbia
University as a potential solution (atmospheric ducting of low
frequency pressure waves had been studied as early as 1900).
As part of the research into this matter, AAZD personnel located
and obtained the original study papers and reports of the New
York University project. Their efforts also revealed that some
of the individuals involved in Project Mogul were still living.
These persons included the NYU constant altitude balloon Director
of Research, Dr. Athelstan F. Spilhaus; the Project Engineer,
Professor Charles B. Moore; and the military Project Officer,
Colonel Albert C. Trakowski .
All of these persons were subsequently interviewed and signed
sworn statements about their activities. A copy of these
statements are appended at Atch 20-22. Additionally, transcripts
of the interview with Moore and Trakowski are also included
(equipment malfunctioned during the interview of Spilhaus) (Atch
23-24). These interviews confirmed that Project Mogul was a
compartmented, sensitive effort. The NYU group was responsible
for developing constant level balloons and telemetering equipment
that would
remain at specified altitudes (within the acoustic duct) while a
group from Columbia was to develop acoustic sensors. Doctor
Spilhaus, Professor Moore, and certain others of the group were
aware of the actual purpose of the project, but they did not know
of the project nickname at the time. They handled casual
inquiries and/or scientific inquiries/papers in terms of
"unclassified meteorological or balloon research." Newly hired
employees were not made aware that there was anything special or
classified about
their work; they were told only that their work dealt with
meteorological equipment.
An advance ground team, led by Albert P. Crary, preceded the NYU
group to
Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico, setting up ground sensors and
obtaining facilities for the NYU group. Upon their arrival,
Professor Moore and his team experimented with various
configurations of neoprene balloons; development of balloon
"trains" (see illustration, Atch 25); automatic ballast systems;
and use of Naval sonobuoys (as the Watson Lab acoustical sensors
had not yet arrived). They also launched what they called
"service flights." These "service flights" were not logged nor
fully accounted for in the published Technical Reports generated
as a result of the contract between NYU and Watson Labs.
According to Professor Moore, the "service flights" were composed
of balloons, radar reflectors and payloads specifically designed
to test acoustic sensors (both early sonobuoys and the later
Watson Labs devices). The "payload equipment" was expendable and
some carried no "REWARD" or "RETURN TO..." tags because there was
to be no association between these flights and the logged
constant altitude flights which were fully acknowledged. The NYU
balloon flights were listed sequentially in their reports (i.e.,
A,B, 1,5,6,7,8,10...) yet gaps existed for Flights 2-4 and Flight
9. The interview with Professor Moore indicated that these gaps
were the unlogged "service flights."
Professor Moore, the on-scene Project Engineer, gave detailed
information concerning his team's efforts. He recalled that
radar targets were used for tracking balloons because they did
not have all the necessary equipment when they first arrived in
New Mexico. Some of the early developmental radar targets were
manufactured by a toy or novelty company. These targets were
made up of aluminum "foil" or foil-backed paper, balsa wood beams
that were coated in an "Elmer's-type" glue to enhance their
durability, acetate and/or cloth reinforcing tape, single strand
and braided nylon twine, brass eyelets and swivels to form a
multi-faced reflector somewhat similar in construction to a box
kite (see photographs, Atch 26). Some of these targets were also
assembled with purplish-pink tape with symbols on it (see drawing
by Moore with Atch 21).
According to the log summary (Atch 27) of the NYU group, Flight A
through Flight 7 (November 20, 1946-July 2, 1947) were made with
neoprene meteorological balloons (as opposed to the later flights
made with polyethylene balloons). Professor Moore stated that
the neoprene balloons were susceptible to degradation in the
sunlight, turning from a milky white to a dark brown. He
described finding remains of balloon trains with
reflectors and payloads that had landed in the desert: the
ruptured and shredded neoprene would "almost look like dark gray
or black flakes or ashes after exposure to the sun for only a few
days. The plasticizers and antioxidants in the neoprene would
emit a peculiar acrid odor and the balloon material and radar
target material would be scattered after returning to earth
depending on the surface winds." Upon review ofthe local
newspaper
photographs from General Ramey's press conference in 1947 and
descriptions in popular books by individuals who supposedly
handled the debris recovered on the ranch, Professor Moore opined
that the material was most likely the shredded remains of a
multi-neoprene balloon train with multiple radar reflectors. The
material and a "black box," described by Cavitt, was, in Moore's
scientific opinion, most probably from Flight 4, a "service
flight"
that included a cylindrical metal sonobuoy and portions of a
weather instrument housed in a box, which was unlike typical
weather radiosondes which were made of cardboard. Additionally,
a copy of a professional journal maintained at the time by A.P.
Crary, provided to the Air Force by his widow, showed that Flight
4 was launched on June 4, 1947, but was not recovered by the NYU
group. It is very probable that this TOP SECRET project balloon
train (Flight 4), made up of unclassified components; came to
rest some miles northwest of Roswell, NM, became shredded in the
surface winds and was
ultimately found by the rancher, Brazel, ten days later. This
possibility was supported by the observations of Lt Col Cavitt
(Atch 17-18), the only living eyewitness to the actual debris
field and the material found. Lt Col Cavitt described a small
area of debris which appeared, "to resemble bamboo type square
sticks one quarter to one half inch square, that were very light,
as well as some sort of metallic reflecting material that was
also very light...I remember recognizing this material as being
consistent with a weather balloon."
Concerning the initial announcement, "RAAF Captures Flying Disc,"
research failed to locate any documented evidence as to why that
statement was made. However, on July 10, 1947, following the
Ramey press conference, the Alamogordo News published an article
with photographs demonstrating multiple balloons and targets at
the same location as the NYU group operated from at Alamogordo
AAF. Professor Moore expressed surprise at seeing this since
his, was the only balloon test group in the area. He stated, "It
appears that there was some type of umbrella cover story to
protect our work with Mogul." Although the Air Force did not
find documented evidence that Gen. Ramey was directed to espouse
a weather balloon in his press conference, he may have done so
because he was either aware of Project Mogul and was trying to
deflect interest from it, or he readily perceived the material to
be a weather balloon based on the identification from his weather
officer, Irving Newton. In either case, the materials recovered
by the AAF in July, 1947, were not readily recognizable as
anything special (only the purpose was special) and the recovered
debris itself was unclassified. Additionally, the press dropped
its interest in the matter as quickly as they had jumped on it.
Hence, there would be no particular reason to further document
what quickly became a "non-event."
The interview with Colonel Trakowski (Atch 23-24) also proved
valuable information. Trakowski provided specific details on
Project Mogul and described how the security for the program was
set up, as he was formerly the TOP SECRET Control Officer for the
program. He further related that many of the original radar
targets that were produced around the end of World War II were
fabricated by toy or novelty companies using a purplish-pink tape
with flower and heart symbols on it. Trakowski also recounted a
conversation that he had with his friend, and superior military
officer in his chain of command, Colonel Marcellus Duffy, in
July, 1947. Duffy, formerly had Trakowski's position on Mogul,
but had subsequently been transferred to Wright Field. He
stated: "...Colonel Duffy called me on the telephone from Wright
Field and gave me a story about a fellow that had come in from
New Mexico, woke him up in the middle of the night or some such
thing with a handful of debris, and wanted him, Colonel Duffy, to
identify it. ...He just said 'it sure looks like some of the
stuff you've been launching at Alamogordo' and he described it,
and I said 'yes, I think it is.' Certainly Colonel Duffy knew
enough about radar targets, radiosondes, balloon-borne weather
devices. He was intimately familiar with all that apparatus."
Attempts were made to locate Colonel Duffy but it was ascertained
that he had died. His widow explained that, although he had
amassed a large amount of personal papers relating to his Air
Force activities, she had recently disposed of these items.
Likewise, it was leamed that A.P. Crary was also deceased;
however his surviving spouse had a number of his papers from his
balloon testing days, including his professional journal from the
period in question. She provided the Air Force researchers with
this material. It is discussed in more detail within Atch 32.
Overall, it helps fill in gaps of the Mogul story.
During the period the Air Force conducted this research, it was
discovered that several others had also discovered the
possibility that the "Roswell Incident" may have been generated
by the recovery of a Project Mogul balloon device. These persons
included Professor Charles B. Moore, Robert Todd, and
coincidentally, Karl Pflock, a researcher who is married to a
staffer who works for Congressman Schiff. Some of these persons
provided suggestions as to where documentation might be located
in various archives, histories and libraries. A review of
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests revealed that Robert
Todd, particularly, had become aware of Project Mogul several
years ago and had doggedly obtained from the Air Force, through
the FOIA, a large amount of material pertaining to it; long
before the AAZD researchers independently seized on the same
possibility.
Most interestingly, as this report was being written, Pflock
published his own report of this matter under the auspices of
FUFOR, entitled "Roswell in Perspective" (1994). Pflock
concluded from his research that the Brazel Ranch debris
originally reported as a "flying disc" was probably debris from a
Mogul balloon; however, there was a simultaneous incident that
occurred not far away, that caused an alien craft to crash and
that the AAF subsequently recovered three alien bodies therefrom.
Air Force research did
not locate any information to corroborate that this incredible
coincidence occurred, however.
In order to provide a more detailed discussion ofthe specifics of
Project Mogul and how it appeared to be directly responsible for
the "Roswell Incident," a SAF/AAZD researcher prepared a more
detailed discussion on the balloon project which is appended to
this report as Atch 32.
Other Research
In the attempt to develop additional information that could help
explain this matter, a number of other steps were taken. First,
assistance was requested from various museums and other archives
(Atch 28) to obtain information and/or examples of the actual
balloons and radar targets used in connection with Project Mogul
and to correlate them with the various descriptions of wreckage
and materials recovered. The blueprints for the "Pilot Balloon
Target ML307C/AP Assembly" (generically, the radar target
assembly) were
located at the Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Monmouth and
obtained. A copy is appended as Atch 29. This blueprint
provides the specification for the foil material, tape, wood,
eyelets, and string used and the assembly instructions thereto.
An actual device was also obtained for study with the assistance
of Professor Moore. (The example actually procured was a 1953-
manufactured model "C" as compared to the Model B which was in
use in 1947. Professor Moore related the differences were
minor). An examination of this device revealed it to be simply
made of aluminum-colored foil-like material over a stronger
paper-like material, attached to balsa wood sticks, affixed with
tape, glue, and twine. When opened, the device appears as
depicted in Atch 31 (contemporary photo) and Atch 25 (1947 photo,
in a "balloon train"). When folded, the device is in a series of
triangles, the largest being four feet by two feet ten inches.
The
smallest triangle section measures two feet by two feet ten
inches. (Compare with descriptions provided by Lt Col Cavitt and
others, as well as photos of wreckage).
Additionally, the researchers obtained from the Archives of the
University of Texas-Arlington (UTA), a set of original (i.e.
first generation) prints of the photographs taken at the time by
the FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, that depicted Ramey and Marcel with
the wreckage. A close review of these photos (and a set of first
generation negatives also subsequently obtained from UTA)
revealed several interesting observations. First, although in
some of the literature cited above, Marcel allegedly stated that
he had his photo taken with the "real" UFO wreckage and then it
was subsequently removed and the weather balloon wreckage
substituted for it, a comparison shows that the same wreckage
appeared in the photos of Marcel and Ramey. The photos also
depicted that this material was Iying on what appeared to be some
sort of wrapping paper (consistent with affidavit excerpt of crew
chief Porter, above). It was also noted that in the two photos
of Ramey he had a piece of paper in his hand. In one, it was
folded over so nothing could be seen. In the second, however,
there appears to be text printed on the paper. In an attempt to
read this text to determine if it could shed any further light on
locating documents relating to this matter, the photo was sent to
a national level organization for digitizing and subsequent photo
interpretation and analysis. This organization was also asked to
scrutinize the digitized photos for any indication of the
flowered tape (or "hieroglyphics," depending on the point of
view) that were reputed to be visible to some of the persons who
observed the wreckage prior to it getting to Fort Worth. This
organization reported on July 20, 1994, that even after
digitizing, the photos were of insufficient quality to visualize
either of the details sought for analysis. This organization was
able to obtain measurements from the "sticks" visible in the
debris after it was ascertained by an interview of the original
photographer what kind of camera he used. The results of this
process are provided in Atch 33, along with a reference diagram
and the photo from which the measurements were made. All these
measurements are compatible with the wooden materials used in the
radar target previously described.
CONCLUSION
The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information
that the "Roswell Incident" was a UFO event. All available
official materials, although they do not directly address Roswell
PER SE, indicate that the most likely source of the wreckage
recovered from the Brazel Ranch was from one of the Project Mogul
balloon trains. Although that project was TOP SECRET at the
time, there was also no specific indication found to indicate an
official pre-planned cover story was in place to explain an event
such as that which ultimately happened. It appears that the
identification of the wreckage as being part of a weather balloon
device, as reported in the newspapers at the time, was based on
the fact that there was no physical difference in the radar
targets and the neoprene balloons (other than the numbers and
configuration) between Mogul balloons and normal weather
balloons. Additionally, it seems that there was over-reaction by
Colonel Blanchard and Major Marcel, in originally reporting that
a "flying disc" had been recovered when, at that time, nobody for
sure knew what that term even meant since it had only been in use
for a couple of weeks.
Likewise, there was no indication in official records from the
period that there was heightened military operational or security
activity which should have been generated if this was, in fact,
the first recovery of materials and/or persons from another
world. The post-War US Military (or today's for that matter) did
not have the capability to rapidly identify, recover, coordinate,
cover-up, and quickly minimize public scrutiny of such an
event. The claim that they did so without leaving even a little
bit of a suspicious paper trail for 47 years is incredible.
It should also be noted here that there was little mentioned in
this report about the recovery of the so-called "alien bodies."
This is for several reasons: First, the recovered wreckage was
from a Project Mogul balloon. There were no "alien" passengers
therein. Secondly, the pro-UFO groups who espouse the alien
bodies theories cannot even agree among themselves as to what,
how many, and where, such bodies were supposedly recovered.
Additionally, some of these claims have been shown to be hoaxes,
even by other UFO researchers. Thirdly, when such claims are
made, they are often attributed to people using pseudonyms or who
otherwise do not want to be publicly identified, presumably so
that some sort of retribution cannot be taken against them
(notwithstanding that nobody has been shown to have died,
disappeared or otherwise suffered at the hands of the government
during the last 47 years). Fourth, many of the persons making
the biggest claims of"alien bodies" make their living from the
"Roswell Incident." While
having a commercial interest in something does not automatically
make it suspect, it does raise interesting questions related to
authenticity. Such persons should be encouraged to present their
evidence (not speculation) directly to the government and provide
all pertinent details and evidence to support their claims if
honest fact-finding is what is wanted. Lastly, persons who have
come forward and provided their names and made claims, may have,
in good faith but in the "fog of time," misinterpreted past
events. The review of Air Force records did not locate even one
piece of evidence to indicate that the Air Force has had any part
in an "alien" body recovery operation or continuing cover-up.
During the course of this effort, the Air Force has kept in close
touch with the GAO and responded to their various queries and
requests for assistance. This report was generated as an
official response to the GAO, and to document the considerable
effort expended by the Air Force on their behalf. It is
anticipated that that they will request a copy of this report to
help formulate the formal report of their efforts. It is
recommended that this
document serve as the final Air Force report related to the
Roswell matter, for the GAO, or any other inquiries.
RICHARD L. WEAVER
DlRECTOR, SECURITY AND SPECIAL PROGRAM OVERSIGHT
Attachments
1. WASHINGTON POST Article, "GAO Turns to Alien Turf in New
Probe," January 14,1994
2. GAO Memo, February 15,1994
3. DoD/IG Memo, February 23, 1994
4. SAF/FM Memo, February 24,1994, w/Indorsement
5. SAF/AA Memo, March 1, 1994, w/ March 16, 1994 Addendum
6. AF/IN Memo, March 14, 1994
7. AF/SE Memo, March 14, 1994
8. SAF/AQL Memo, March 22, 1994
9. AF/XOWP Memo, March 9, 1994
10. SAF/AAI Memo, March 10, 1994
11. AFHRA/CC Memo, March 8, 1994
12. AFOSI/HO Memo, May 11, 1994
13. List of Locations and Records Searched
14. HQ AAF "Issuance of Orders," June 5, 1947
15. Copy of Vandenberg's Appointment Book and Diary, July 7-9,
1947
16. July 9, 1947 Photos of Balloon Wreckage, FT WORTH STAR
TELEGRAM
17. Signed Sworn Statement of Cavitt, May 24, 1994
18. Transcript of Cavitt Interview, May 24, 1994
19. Letter, July 8, 1946, Project Mogul
20. Signed Sworn Statement of Spilhaus, June 3, 1994
21. Signed Sworn Statement of Moore, June 8, 1994
22. Signed Sworn Statement of Trakowski, June 29, 1994
23. Transcript of Interview with Moore, June 8, 1994
24. Transcript of Interview with Trakowski, June 29, 1994
25. Illustration of Project Mogul "Balloon Trains"
26. Two Photos of Project Mogul "Balloon Trains"
27. Log Summary, NYU Constant Level Balloon Flights
28. List of Museums Contacted
29. Copy of Blueprint for "Pilot Balloon Target, ML-307C/AP
Assembly"
30. Signed Sworn Statement of Newton, July 21, 1994
31. Photos of ML-307C/AP Device, With Vintage Neoprene Balloon
and Debris
32. Synopsis of Balloon Research Findings by 1LT James McAndrew
33. "Mensuration Working Paper," With Drawing and Photo
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