CIA-UAP-D023: Briefing Notes for Mr. Walter Elder - The F-8 Crusader Chase and the 3,800-Knot Track, Puerto Rico 1964
Source file: CIA-UAP-D023_Briefing-Notes-for-Mr-Walter-Elder.pdf Originating agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Document type: Briefing Notes for the Executive Assistant to the Director Date: Undated; refers to incidents of 16 to 24 November 1964, and apparently precedes the analysis of 11 February 1965 Classification: SECRET (declassified; Approved for Release 2026) Page count: 2 VIRIN: 260807-O-D0360-1140 PURSUE Release: 5
Summary
This is a short document, just two pages, but it contains one of the most dramatic and detailed accounts of a combined radar and visual encounter in the entire collection. It was prepared for Walter N. Elder, Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence, that is, for a man sitting in the Director's own front office, and it is headed "UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT FLYING IN THE VICINITY OF PUERTO RICO ON 16, 17, 18, 19, AND 24 NOVEMBER."
The heading alone conveys the scale of the event: not a single sighting but a series across five separate days in one month, in the area of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range.
The briefing is organized in six numbered paragraphs: the 19 November event, the 24 November event, visibility conditions and the visual identification, radar confirmation on film, the state of Naval Intelligence's knowledge, and a closing note on the radar capability of the ship involved.
Research Article
19 November: the chase
The first paragraph describes the central sequence. On 19 November, USS Gyatt picked up on its radar a contact tracking in excess of 3,800 knots. At that time, it records, the Gyatt was working an F-8 Crusader fighter aircraft at 35,000 feet when a high-altitude, high-speed object was detected.
What happened next is the heart of the document: "The object slowed and steadied down, maintaining a position to the fighter at nine o'clock, about nine miles from the Crusader." After moving at an implausible speed, in other words, the object slowed and settled into a fixed relative position alongside the fighter.
The Crusader pilot responded: "The Crusader pilot selected afterburner and attempted to close on the UFO." The result is described precisely: "At about five miles, the object accelerated at extremely high speed in a 20 degree climb and pulled away from the fighter rapidly."
Two further details complete the picture. First, duration: "The object appeared on Gyatt's radar for twenty-one minutes." That is a far longer contact than is typical of a momentary glitch or interference. Second, the return leg: "On returning to Roosevelt Road's Naval Air Station, object again closed on the fighter from astern to four miles."
24 November: the return
The second paragraph records a second event five days later. On 24 November the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range again held a high-speed, high-altitude target, "which simultaneously pulled away rapidly from another Crusader aircraft which at that time was flying at Mach .99, 45,000 feet."
This detail strengthens the case evidentially: this is not one pilot on one day, but a repeated pattern of a target outperforming an operational American fighter even when that fighter is flying at nearly Mach 1 at 45,000 feet.
Visibility and identification
The third paragraph addresses what usually determines the weight of an eyewitness account: "The Crusader pilot on the night of the 19th observed the UFO in full moonlight, weather was good and visibility was good."
Then the visual identification: "UFO was identified as a Delta shaped object about the size of a jet fighter."
Radar confirmation and the limits of knowledge
The fourth paragraph adds the technical corroboration layer: "The U.S.S. Gyatt confirmed radar tracks with motion pictures of radar scope presentation. The pilot estimated speed to be in excess of Mach 3." There is, in other words, photographic documentation of the radar scope, not merely an operator's recollection.
The fifth paragraph is an admission of a gap: "ONI has no further information on this subject and we have requested that they notify us of similar incidents in the future." This is an important detail: the CIA was not merely briefed on the event but actively requested an ongoing reporting channel from the Navy for cases of this kind.
The sixth and final paragraph supplies the context intended to bolster confidence in the sensor: "For your information, the U.S.S. Gyatt is a Navy Surface-to-Air Missile Destroyer equipped with the latest and most accurate radars." The Gyatt was indeed an unusual ship: a destroyer converted to carry guided missiles and used as a trials platform, which is why she carried experimental equipment and recording systems.
What the document does not do
It is worth noting clearly what the briefing does not contain. There is no hypothesis about the object's origin. There is no mention of extraterrestrials, of the Soviets, or of an American program. It is a purely descriptive document, intended to put before the Director's Executive Assistant the facts as relayed by the Navy, ahead of a discussion or a question.
It is also the earlier of the two documents in terms of processing stage. Its companion in the collection, CIA-UAP-D022 of 11 February 1965, is the analysis performed after close examination of the radar photography, and it reaches far more restrained conclusions. Reading the two in sequence is the principal value they offer.
Significance
This is one of the strongest combined radar and visual documents in the collection, for three reasons. First, sensor combination: a radar track from a ship carrying modern equipment, documented on motion picture film, alongside a visual observation by a fighter pilot in full moonlight and good visibility. Second, the behavioral pattern: the object did not merely flee, but slowed, settled alongside the fighter, and later closed on it again from astern on the way back to base. Third, the organizational level: the material was prepared for the Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence, indicating the matter reached the top of the Agency.
At the same time it should be remembered that this is a briefing summarizing a report received, not an independent CIA investigation. The figure of 3,800 knots, roughly 4,373 mph, is a raw radar value, and the later analysis in CIA-UAP-D022 offers a different explanation for it.
Key People
| Role | Identity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Briefing recipient | Walter N. Elder | Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence |
| Eyewitness | F-8 Crusader pilot (not named) | Selected afterburner and attempted to close; identified a delta-shaped object about the size of a jet fighter |
| Information source | Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) | Provided the details; asked to notify the Agency of similar incidents in future |
Locations
| Location | Details |
|---|---|
| Vicinity of Puerto Rico | Area of the incidents on 16, 17, 18, 19 and 24 November 1964 |
| Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range (AFWR) | Where a target was again held on 24 November |
| Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station | The Crusader's recovery base; the object closed on it during the return |
| Caribbean Sea | Operating area of USS Gyatt |
Incidents
| Incident | Date | Location | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radar contact in excess of 3,800 knots; Crusader chase; 20-degree climb | 19 November 1964, night | Vicinity of Puerto Rico | 1 |
| Object closes on the fighter from astern to four miles | 19 November 1964 | En route to Roosevelt Roads | 1 |
| High-speed, high-altitude target pulls away from a Crusader at Mach .99, 45,000 feet | 24 November 1964 | Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range | 1 |
| Further sightings in the series | 16, 17, 18 November 1964 | Vicinity of Puerto Rico | 1 |
Notable Quotes
"On 19 November, the U.S.S. Gyatt picked up on its radar a contact tracking in excess of 3,800 knots." -- page 1
"The object slowed and steadied down, maintaining a position to the fighter at nine o'clock, about nine miles from the Crusader." -- page 1
"The Crusader pilot selected afterburner and attempted to close on the UFO. At about five miles, the object accelerated at extremely high speed in a 20 degree climb and pulled away from the fighter rapidly." -- page 1
"The object appeared on Gyatt's radar for twenty-one minutes. On returning to Roosevelt Road's Naval Air Station, object again closed on the fighter from astern to four miles." -- page 1
"The Crusader pilot on the night of the 19th observed the UFO in full moonlight, weather was good and visibility was good. UFO was identified as a Delta shaped object about the size of a jet fighter." -- page 1
"The U.S.S. Gyatt confirmed radar tracks with motion pictures of radar scope presentation. The pilot estimated speed to be in excess of Mach 3." -- page 2
"ONI has no further information on this subject and we have requested that they notify us of similar incidents in the future." -- page 2
"For your information, the U.S.S. Gyatt is a Navy Surface-to-Air Missile Destroyer equipped with the latest and most accurate radars." -- page 2
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