DOW-UAP-D084: U.S. Army Evaluation Study of the Flying Saucer Phenomenon, 1949

Source file: DOW-UAP-D084_USArmy-Flying-Saucer-Study_1949.pdf Originating agency: Department of War, General Staff U.S. Army, Plans and Operations Division Classification: CONFIDENTIAL (Approved for Release, Authority NND 803133) Date range: February 24 – April 20, 1949 Page count: 15 (read) PURSUE Release: 3

Summary

This file is a collection of internal U.S. Army correspondence and memoranda spanning February 24 to April 20, 1949, generated by the Plans and Operations Division (P&O) of the General Staff, U.S. Army, in connection with its formal request for an evaluation study of the flying saucer phenomenon. The file includes cover sheets (Combined Routing-Information-Filing Forms), disposition forms, outbound dispatch records, and the evaluation study itself. The study was prepared by the Intelligence Division (ID) and forwarded to P&O on 7 March 1949.

The core finding of the Evaluation Study, as summarized in the document and recorded in the transmittal memoranda, was: "Evaluation study was prepared at request of P&O to determine if the various reports on this subject stemmed from natural phenomena or if the origin could be traced definitely to the activities of a foreign power." The ID's study indicated "of all cases investigated there was no foreign nation implication in these flying saucers."

A secondary driver for the file's later documents was broadcaster Walter Winchell's April 3, 1949 broadcast about flying saucers, which prompted P&O to ask ID to verify Winchell's accuracy.

Research Article

Origins: Why the Army Asked the Question

The file opens with a memorandum for record dated February 24, 1949, from Lt. Col. Peisinger of the Executive Branch, P&O. It notes that conversations with the Chief of North American Branch and the Office of Deputy Director P&O (AE) "reveal that P&O has not received any evaluation of the flying saucer type of phenomenon." The memo further states that the North American Branch "feels that P&O, and themselves in particular, have a direct interest in this phenomenon because, until it is properly evaluated, a possibility exists that this phenomenon may have foreign implication."

Col. Ligon of the Intelligence Group, ID, suggested that the division request ID to make a study on the subject "insofar as it pertains to continental U.S." Three Air Force radio messages from Kirtland AFB and Wright-Patterson AFB (dated February 2, 8, and 19, 1949) were cited as the triggering operational context.

The Evaluation Study: Findings

The Evaluation Study — one page of substantive analysis, classified CONFIDENTIAL — was prepared by a special project group at Headquarters, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The study covered incidents reported from June 1945 to the date of writing.

Key findings, verbatim from the document:

"Detailed investigations of all incidents reported to involve unusual flying objects during the period June 1945 to date have been conducted by a special project group of Headquarters, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio."

"Of some 210 incidents, approximately twenty (20) per cent have been explained. The majority of these involved misidentification of synoptic weather balloons. Others involved observations of airborne cosmic ray research equipment, bolides, meteors, and in one instance, the daylight observation of the planet Venus. Only two reported incidents were determined to have been hoax."

"To date there has been no tangible evidence which would support a theory that any incidents are attributable to activity of a foreign nation. There are no highly secret experimental Projects of the U.S. Government that could be responsible."

"The ID feels that if complete data were available the remaining 80% of the reported sightings could be eliminated as due to natural meteorological phenomena or domestic weather balloons and the like."

The Walter Winchell Episode

A later document in the file, a memorandum for record dated April 20, 1949 from Maj. J. S. Byrne, records that following Walter Winchell's April 3, 1949 broadcast about flying saucers, "the D/F Cmt #1 was sent to ID requesting verification of the accuracy of the broadcast." ID's response (D/F Cmt #2) constituted the official Army reply. This episode illustrates the degree to which public media discourse about flying saucers was actively monitored by the Army staff and treated as a coordination issue requiring official response.

Significance

This file is the Army's earliest known formal internal study of the flying saucer phenomenon. It documents the institutional decision-making process by which a major military staff division moved from informal awareness of reports to a structured intelligence request, received an official assessment, and established a standing requirement for ID to inform P&O of any future changes in that assessment. The 210-incident baseline, the 20% explained rate, and the explicit exclusion of foreign-nation and U.S. government secret-program explanations make this document a foundational record in the official U.S. government effort to evaluate UAP.

Key People

Notable Quotes

"P&O has not received any evaluation of the flying saucer type of phenomenon... a possibility exists that this phenomenon may have foreign implication." — Memorandum for Record, Lt. Col. Peisinger, 24 Feb 1949

"To date there has been no tangible evidence which would support a theory that any incidents are attributable to activity of a foreign nation." — Evaluation Study, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB

"The ID feels that if complete data were available the remaining 80% of the reported sightings could be eliminated as due to natural meteorological phenomena or domestic weather balloons and the like." — Evaluation Study