FBI Flying Saucer File: The First Section — Origins of the Central Investigation (1947)

Source file: 65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_1.pdf Originating agency: FBI (Record Group 65) — Case 62-HQ-83894, Section 1 (first) Date range: July 1947 – August 1947 Page count: 185 (all read) High-significance pages: 24, 59, 66, 67, 68, 79, 85, 94–96, 97, 131, 136, 141, 143, 145, 157–159, 161, 169–170, 172–173, 178–179, 183–184

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Official Blurb (from war.gov)

The FBI's 62-HQ-83894 case file includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968. The records include high-profile incident accounts, photographic evidence from sites like Oak Ridge, TN, and technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems. Additional topics include convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage from the period. This file is partially posted on FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing. Included here is the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions.

Summary

Section 1 of FBI case file 62-HQ-83894 is the founding document of the Bureau's investigation of "flying saucers." Its 185 pages, covering July and August 1947, present a complete picture of the first frenzied weeks of the flying-saucer phenomenon in the United States. The file includes extensive press clippings, internal FBI memoranda, analyses of recovered discs, citizen complaints, pilot testimony, and coordination between the FBI and Army intelligence units. It is the first section, and yet it already reveals that the FBI was dragged into the subject under intense public and media pressure — not by its own initiative.

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Research Article

Introduction — The Beginning of the Investigation

In June 1947, specifically on June 24, business pilot Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho, reported seeing nine round, gleaming objects flying near Mount Rainier in Washington State. Arnold described their motion as like "saucers skipping across the water" — and in doing so coined the phrase "flying saucer" that was about to reverberate across the United States and around the world.

Section 1 of case file 62-HQ-83894 is the bureaucratic witness to that period. It opens with documents from July 1947 — days after the first wave of reports — and ends in August 1947, by which time the agency had begun to establish a systematic policy. What emerges from its pages is a complex picture: the FBI did not seek to investigate the phenomenon; it was pulled into it by enormous pressure from the press, the public, and the military.

The Weeks of Hysteria — July 1947

The section opens with press clippings from July 6–7, 1947 from the Washington Post and the Milwaukee Sentinel. The headlines concern what became the first documented story of a "disc found on the ground": a Catholic priest, Father Joseph Brasky of Saint Joseph's Church in Grafton, Wisconsin, claimed to have found in the church courtyard on the morning of July 6, 1947, a metallic, round object that had crashed, knocked a ball off the church's lightning rod, and come to rest on the grass that was still wet from rain. The object was too hot to pick up immediately.

This initial report spread quickly. UP and AP wires telephoned Special Agent Johnson of the Milwaukee FBI office between 1:00 and 2:30 a.m. on July 7, demanding a statement. Even at this early stage, a simple explanation emerged: a circular saw had been thrown into the courtyard, with wires and two tubes attached. The priest, according to the Bureau, had been drinking when he gave the interview to the newspaper.

An internal FBI memorandum of July 7, 1947, signed by H.B. Fletcher, summarizes the situation: the UP had distributed the story, the AP had decided not to publish it because of the priest's questionable credibility, and no investigation was ultimately conducted.

The Structure of the Mechanism: The FBI vs. the Military

One of the most striking features of Section 1 is the visible tension between the FBI and military intelligence (G-2, AAF Intelligence). The question arose early: who is responsible for the investigation?

A memorandum of July 10, 1947 (page 85), signed by Roy E. Wood, reports that the SAC (Special Agent in Charge) of Los Angeles notified headquarters at 5:45 a.m. that an aluminum disc about two feet in diameter and weighing about ten kilograms, with a radio tube at its center, had been found near Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood and had caught fire. The Los Angeles office turned it over to G-2 Intelligence.

But the FBI saw a problem. Brigadier General George Schulgen of the Air Force Intelligence branch asked the FBI to cooperate. In the file's margin Hoover wrote his response: "I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in the Ia. case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination."

On July 24, a memorandum signed by E.G. Fitch (page 131) reports that FBI agent Reynolds had again spoken with General Schulgen. Schulgen promised full cooperation, ordered the field to make any recovered disc available to the FBI for examination, and stated his belief that the decline in reports was due to a loss of news value. At the close of the meeting he expressed a suspicion: it was possible the entire affair had "been started by subversive individuals for the purpose of creating a mass hysteria."

Another memorandum (K.C. Howe, July 11, page 66) describes a disc that landed in a yard in Laurel, Maryland. Laurel police examined it and found: the disc was made from a Gulf Oil sign and a garbage-can lid, painted aluminum (still wet). On it: a pocket battery, a flashlight bulb, wiring, and a buzzer mechanism.

Anatomy of a "Disc" — Physical Descriptions of Recovered Objects

The section consolidates detailed descriptions of physical finds. Among the most notable:

Grafton, Wisconsin — A Dunlop circular saw approximately 16 inches in diameter, with wires and two tubes. It landed in the courtyard of Saint Joseph's Church on July 6. The ball on the church's lightning rod was knocked off. FBI assessment: a prank.

Laurel, Maryland — A Gulf Oil sign and garbage-can lid, July 11 version. Battery, light bulb, and buzzer. FBI assessment: a prank.

Black River Falls, Wisconsin — A disc 17 inches in diameter, possibly cardboard coated in silver paint, with a wooden fin, a motor housing, a propeller, and a photoelectric cell. Found July 10. The Air Force declared it incapable of self-powered flight.

Twin Falls, Idaho — A disc 30 inches in diameter, shaped like a cymbal, with a plastic dome, a gold-silver metal dome, three radio tubes, wiring, a spool mechanism, and the inscription "Inspected TS." Found July 11. Schulgen examined it and did not allow the FBI to see it.

North Hollywood, California — Two convex steel discs two feet in diameter, joined at their rims and at the center. A vertical fin, a tube, and a pipe; weight 20 pounds. Found July 9. Photographed by the FBI and turned over to G-2 at Fort MacArthur, which confirmed: fabricated, incapable of flight.

Credible Eyewitness Accounts — Cases That Were Never Closed

In contrast to the recovered discs that were dismissed as pranks, a number of credible eyewitness accounts are catalogued in the file and never receive an explanation:

Four Portland, Oregon Police Officers, July 4, 1947: Officer McDowell was carrying food for pigeons in the station courtyard when all the pigeons were startled simultaneously. He looked up and saw five large discs — two heading south, three heading east. A wobbling motion, tremendous speed. They left his field of view before he could note any details. The sighting was confirmed by a corporal from the Oregon State Police who witnessed three discs from the Norblasi River area. Also confirmed by Officer Merl Patterson, a former wartime pilot, who estimated the altitude at 50,000 feet.

Civil Aviation Pilots, Oregon and Idaho: Captain E.J. Smith of United Airlines and his co-pilot Ralph Stevens saw on July 4, five objects "thin and smooth on the bottom, rough on top" silhouetted against the setting sun. They followed them for approximately 45 miles. "We were unable to tell whether they outspeed us or disintegrated."

Navy Petty Officer, Grand Canyon: On June 30, 1947, Petty Officer William McGinty was flying a P-80 at 25,000 feet above the Grand Canyon. He saw two round objects diving at unimaginable speed. His reaction: evasive maneuver. He estimated their diameter at approximately 8 feet and thought they may have struck the ground 25 miles south of the canyon rim.

Dick Rankin, pilot with 7,000 flying hours, Bakersfield, California: On June 23, 1947, Rankin was lying on the grass and told his son he had seen ten round objects at approximately 9,000 feet altitude moving at 300–400 miles per hour, heading north. They returned at 2:15 p.m. heading south — but only seven of them. He believed them to be "Navy Flapjack aircraft" — but the Navy formally stated that only one such aircraft had ever been built and that it had never left Connecticut.

The FBI Crosses a Line — Official Responsibility

On July 30, 1947, the FBI distributed "Field Circular No. 42, Series 1947" (Bureau Bulletin No. 42) — the moment at which the agency formally acknowledged that investigating flying-saucer reports was its responsibility. From that point all field offices were required to investigate every report.

A Milwaukee memorandum of August 12, 1947 (pages 169–170) summarizes two cases handled before the Bulletin directive and one handled afterward. The field agent notes that prior to receiving the directive, no investigation had been initiated at the FBI's own initiative.

Special Documents — The Most Secret

The Kelso, Washington Crash: An urgent memorandum of August 5, 1947 (pages 143–145) reports that a plane carrying two Army intelligence officers, Captain William Davidson and Lieutenant Frank Brown of the Fourth AAF headquarters in San Francisco, had crashed on August 1 near Kelso, Washington, killing both. According to a pilot source at the Oregonian, the AAF had been trying to interview witnesses of saucer sightings — including Kenneth Arnold himself. The Tacoma News Tribune published that the plane had been carrying parts of a "saucer" that had struck the boat of Harold Dahl and Fred Crisman in Tacoma. The truth, according to the Army: the AAF examined the metal pieces submitted by Dahl and Crisman and determined they were foundry slag. But the details of the serial mission remained "classified" at that stage.

N. Meade Layne's Letter from San Diego (page 161): A document unique in the file — a letter "written by supernatural means," sent to the Bureau on July 8, 1947. The author, who identified himself as a former university department head, claimed the saucers came from an "etheric plane" that was seeping into our planet, that their occupants were larger than us, that their mission was peaceful, and that if anyone attacked them their aircraft would be destroyed. The FBI catalogued it — and nothing more.

Mrs. Gwynne Merchant, Santa Fe (page 132): A woman who contacted the FBI's Santa Fe office several times with reports of nocturnal lights, explosions, and shield-like objects over New Mexico. Her accounts include: lights ending in an explosion near Canjilon, New Mexico; objects at Park View and Tierra Amarilla. She described herself as a radio wave researcher and had contacted the Atomic Energy Commission and the Secretary of War. The AEC Commissioner assessed her as "not reliable and possibly not mentally well."

The FBI in Practice — Eyes Open, Mouth Shut

What emerges from Section 1 is a clear policy: the FBI received reports, examined physical evidence, but passed everything relevant to the military. The internal instruction recurs again and again: "It is preferable to allow G-2 to handle, rather than assume investigative authority ourselves."

K.C. Howe, in a July memorandum (page 134), stated this policy explicitly to SAC Weeks of New Orleans: "not to let you get in a position where investigative responsibility will be placed upon us."

Nevertheless, the FBI maintained active interest. It recorded testimonies, analyzed finds, and photographed discs. The July 30 Bulletin established that even where there was a provocation or a crime (sabotage), field investigators must act.

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Key People

Name	Role	Connection
J. Edgar Hoover	FBI Director	Signed letters and approached the Pentagon
Brigadier General George Schulgen	AAF Intelligence	Requested FBI–AAF cooperation
Kenneth Arnold	Business pilot, Idaho	The founding report — June 24, 1947
H.B. Fletcher	FBI Agent	Supervised the Brasky case
E.G. Fitch	FBI Division	Coordinated with AAF Intelligence
S.W. Reynolds	FBI Agent, Liaison Division	Spoke directly with General Schulgen
K.C. Howe	FBI Agent	Managed the Laurel case; established policy
Father Joseph Brasky	St. Joseph's Church, Grafton	The first reported "physical find"
Captain William Davidson	AAF Intelligence, 4th Air Force	Killed in the Kelso crash, August 1
Lieutenant Frank Brown	AAF Intelligence, 4th Air Force	Killed in the Kelso crash, August 1
Dick Rankin	Pilot, 7,000 hours, Bakersfield	Saw 10 objects on June 23
Captain E.J. Smith	Pilot, United Airlines	Saw 5 objects on July 4
Petty Officer McGinty	Navy pilot, P-80	Saw two objects, Grand Canyon, June 30
N. Meade Layne	Civilian, San Diego	Letter about "etheric planet ambassadors"
Gwynne Merchant	Civilian, Santa Fe	Reports of nocturnal lights, New Mexico

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Locations

• Grafton, Wisconsin — Saint Joseph's Church; Brasky find, July 6
• Laurel, Maryland — Fabricated disc from Gulf Oil sign and garbage lid, July 11
• Black River Falls, Wisconsin — Disc with motor and propeller, July 10
• Twin Falls, Idaho — Dome-topped disc with radio tubes, July 11
• North Hollywood, California — Two steel discs, July 9
• Bakersfield, California — Dick Rankin testimony, June 23
• Kelso, Washington — AAF aircraft crash, August 1
• Portland, Oregon — Police officer testimonies, July 4
• Grand Canyon, Arizona — McGinty testimony, June 30
• Boise, Idaho — Kenneth Arnold, June 24
• Mount Rainier, Washington — The location where Arnold saw the objects
• Canjilon, New Mexico — Nocturnal lights reported by Merchant
• San Diego, California — Layne's letter about "extra-planetary ambassadors"
• Hackensack, New Jersey — Observed disc, August 3
• Myrtle Creek, Oregon — Airfield manager testimony, August 6

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Incidents

Incident	Date	Location	Pages
Arnold testimony, start of the wave	June 24, 1947	Mount Rainier, Washington	2, 51, 131
McGinty find, P-80	June 30, 1947	Grand Canyon, Arizona	136
Dick Rankin testimony, 10 objects	June 23, 1947	Bakersfield, California	179–180
Brasky find — circular saw and wires	July 6, 1947	Grafton, Wisconsin	2, 24, 46, 56, 59
Portland police officer testimonies	July 4, 1947	Portland, Oregon	182–184
Captain E.J. Smith, UAL	July 4, 1947	Boise/Portland	178
North Hollywood disc and fire	July 9, 1947	North Hollywood, CA	85, 94–96
Laurel, MD disc — Gulf Oil sign	July 11, 1947	Laurel, Maryland	66–68
Black River Falls disc	July 10, 1947	Wisconsin	67, 169
Twin Falls, ID disc	July 11, 1947	Twin Falls, Idaho	79
FBI–Schulgen meeting, summary	July 24, 1947	Washington	131
Layne letter, "etheric ambassadors"	July 8, 1947	San Diego, CA	161
AAF aircraft crash, Kelso	August 1, 1947	Kelso, Washington	141, 145
Rhoads photograph, Phoenix	July 7, 1947	Phoenix, Arizona	172
Turrentine photograph, Norfolk	July 8, 1947	Norfolk, Virginia	157–160

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Notable Quotes

"I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in the Ia. case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination." — J. Edgar Hoover's annotation on the AAF–FBI file, page 131

"General Schulgen indicated to Mr. Reynolds that he believed that there was a possibility that this entire matter might have been started by subversive individuals for the purpose of creating a mass hysteria." — page 131

"Not in our custody and we had no control... I instructed him to make no comment to the press." — D.M. Ladd's instruction regarding the Black River Falls disc, page 67

"We saw them clearly. We followed them in a northwesterly direction for about 45 miles. Finally the objects disappeared. We were unable to tell whether they outspeed us or disintegrated." — Captain E.J. Smith, United Airlines, page 178

"Whatever they are, there are some disk-like objects flying around in the sky." — Oregon Journal, July 6, 1947, page 182

"He saw five large discs in the air to the East of Portland... dipping in an up and down oscillating motion and were traveling at a great speed. He was unable to give an estimate of the speed or altitude of these discs as they were out of sight before any detailed observation could be made." — Testimony of Officer McDowell, July 4, 1947, page 184

"Part of the disks carry crews, others are under remote control. Their mission is peaceful. The visitors contemplate settling on this planet." — Letter from N. Meade Layne to the FBI, July 8, 1947, page 161

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Significance

Section 1 is a founding document for several reasons.

First, it illustrates that the FBI's entry into UAP investigation was pressure-driven rather than voluntary. The Bureau did not seek to contribute to the subject. It was drawn in by an unprecedented media wave, and subsequently by the military as well.

Second, it defines the fundamental boundary between the FBI and the military. The FBI investigated and collected information, but did not lead. The military (G-2, AAF Intelligence) was the formal leader, yet it withheld information from the FBI. When General Schulgen requested cooperation, he was met with friendly but frustrated resistance: "Pay me first with access to the physical finds."

Third, the section documents that within a matter of weeks a clear mechanism was established: all physical finds go to the military, all testimony enters the file. In case 62-HQ-83894 the institutional memory would be preserved — for whatever that was worth.

Fourth, the verified accounts — especially those of the Portland officers, the pilots, and McGinty — remain unexplained. The FBI wrote them up, collected them, but did not know what to do with them. They were never closed. Never dismissed. They were filed.

Fifth, the decisive separation between "pranks" (the fabricated discs) and "open cases" (credible eyewitness accounts) suggests that the FBI recognized as early as 1947 that not everything was explained. Yet the government apparatus chose to shelter behind the fabricated discs.

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This article is based on a full reading of the 185-page original document released from FBI case file 62-HQ-83894, Section 1 (Record Group 65). All materials are primary source documents scanned from the archive and processed by OCR for this research. Processing date: May 2026.