FBI Flying Saucer File: Case 62-HQ-83894, Section 2 — Early Reports, Summer 1947

Source file: 65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_2.pdf Originating agency: FBI (Record Group 65) — Case 62-HQ-83894, Section 2 Date range: July 1947 – September 1947 Page count: 194 (all read) High-significance pages: 2, 4, 6–8, 15, 18–21, 44, 48, 50, 52, 57–61, 63–64, 68, 75, 92, 94, 96, 99–100, 104, 106–108, 113, 115, 117–119, 122, 124–125, 127, 129, 131–132, 138–142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 154, 157, 160, 162–170, 173–177, 179–180, 182–183, 188–194

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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 2 of FBI case file 62-HQ-83894 is a foundational documentary collection from the Bureau's investigation of "flying discs" (flying saucers) in the summer of 1947. The records include urgent communications between field offices, internal memoranda, investigation reports, and military intelligence documents — all from the period of the first great explosion of UFO reports in America. Among the notable findings are: eyewitness accounts from professional pilots and police officers; an internal debate over whether the saucers were a secret American weapon; physical evidence submitted to the FBI laboratory; petitions from the public; and the original eyewitness report of Kenneth Arnold from June 24, 1947, which sparked the wave of UFO sightings.

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Research Article

Introduction

In the summer of 1947, the United States was struck by a massive wave of reports of unidentified flying objects. On June 24, 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported nine "saucer-like" objects that flew past him near Mount Rainier, Washington. Within a matter of weeks, FBI field offices across the country were flooded with reports. Section 2 of case file 62-HQ-83894 — the FBI's central file on the subject — contains the documents collected during July, August, and September 1947. This file presents for the first time the full machinery of the Bureau: receiving reports from the field, checking witness credibility, coordinating with the military, and attempting to assess whether the phenomenon involved a secret weapon, espionage activity, or something else entirely.

Arnold and the Founding Moment

Pages 160–167 of the document contain the classified (CONFIDENTIAL) military intelligence reports of the 4th Army Air Forces Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), written in July 1947 in response to Arnold's report. Arnold — a well-known pilot with license No. 333487 who flew a Callair aircraft — described nine objects in the sky passing before his eyes while he was scanning the Mount Rainier area searching for a missing aircraft. He estimated their speed at 1,700 miles per hour (approximately 2,730 km/h), a speed far beyond any known aircraft of the era. Arnold wrote in his own words:

"What kept bothering me as I watched them flip and flash in the sun right along their path was the fact that I couldn't make out any tail on them."

Arnold described the objects as "flat like a disc" and as deep as "one-tenth their width." He noted that at the point where they passed behind a snow-covered ridge, he was able to estimate that the chain of objects stretched at least five miles, and that they had crossed between two distant snowy mountains in one minute and 42 seconds. That estimate implies an unprecedented speed.

CIC officer Captain William Rhoads investigated Arnold and numerous other witnesses. He also interviewed David Johnson, aviation editor of the Idaho Daily Statesman, who testified under oath that on July 9, 1947, while scanning the area from a National Guard AT-6 at 14,000 feet, he saw a black, round object performing unusual maneuvers — including sudden upward movements and a rolling motion — before it disappeared. Johnson wrote under oath:

"I cannot bring myself to the point of thinking I did not see something."

Key Incidents: Reports from Across the Country

The Hackensack, New Jersey Incident (August 3, 1947): One of the most detailed investigations in the file concerns an incident in Hackensack on August 3, 1947. Two principal witnesses, Charles Casella Jr. and Private William Truax, saw a round, black object 30 to 40 inches in diameter moving south to north at high speed about 200 yards above. Casella's companion Joyce McFarland described the object as "round and blue-silver in color, apparently rotating." The FBI investigator interviewed four witnesses separately — Casella, Truax, McFarland, and Mrs. Booth — and found that only McFarland saw the object clearly while Mrs. Booth had seen nothing. The investigator rendered no verdict on the true nature of the report.

The Midland, Michigan Incident (July 9, 1947): Raymond Edward Lane, an employee of Dow Chemical Company, reported that while gardening with his wife in a field adjacent to the plant, he heard a "whirring sound" and nearby found a white ball of fire the size of a ten-liter container burning on the ground. After the fire subsided, Lane collected the scorched sand and took it to Dow's physics laboratory. Analysis found: ordinary, non-radioactive sand; small silver fragments that could not be sourced; a bluish tin with an ammonia odor; and low levels of radioactivity. A Los Alamos weapons administration employee said the sand "exhibits certain characteristics of Los Alamos sand but is probably not the same." The FBI received Lane's details — he was described as "strange, withdrawn, and reticent with security personnel" — and sent the material to Air Force Intelligence at Selfridge Field, Michigan.

The Found "Saucer" Incident, Seabrook, Illinois (July 26, 1947): Mrs. John Anderson, whose credibility the agent described as "questionable," reported finding a "flying saucer" in her yard. The agent examined the "saucer" and found it to be "an old wooden disc with a silver plate, a light bulb, a timer, and old brass pipes." He photographed it in six images (pages 78–90, laboratory photographs) and concluded it was "undoubtedly a neighborhood youth experiment." The agent asked Bureau headquarters whether to keep the disc "for museum purposes" before it was approved for destruction.

The Twin Falls, Idaho Incident (August 19, 1947): One of the most impressive incidents in the file. Mr. H.H. Hudstrom, director of the Twin Falls Housing Authority, was sitting with his wife and Mrs. Schultz on the balcony of his home. Between 9:30 and 11:00 p.m. they first saw a single craft moving at dizzying speed. About ten minutes later all of them saw ten craft in triangular formation. Three craft broke off from the "left wing" and changed direction. Then came groups of three, five or six, and finally a group of 35 to 50 craft in triangular formation. About 20–25 minutes later the craft returned in the opposite direction. They summoned Detective Richard Frazier of the local police, who sent two additional officers. The combined group — civilians and officers — saw twelve craft in formation. All described the saucers as appearing to be illuminated from within. The FBI agent wrote to the Bureau that "the continued appearance of these objects without official explanation may cause hysteria or panic in Twin Falls, Idaho." The Bureau replied that "extensive searches of the Army Air Forces reveal no research or experiments by the AAF near Twin Falls, Idaho on these dates."

The Myrtle Creek, Oregon Incident (August 6, 1947): Ray Hatfield, an airfield manager at Tri City Airport, saw a craft while giving a flying lesson. He turned the controls over to his student and climbed to 400 feet to investigate. The ball appeared to climb and move eastward at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour. He estimated its diameter at about 30 feet. On landing and looking again from 400 feet, his student Nowell Allison also saw the craft. Allison described "a silver ball." The FBI verified the report, noting that Hatfield had served as a naval crew officer and was described as "a well-known citizen."

The Oswego, Oregon Incident (September 3, 1947): Mrs. Raymond Dupuya saw approximately 24 silver-round objects at high altitude above Oswego. She described them as "bowl-shaped rather than spherical" and gleaming with white metal. One separated from the group and appeared to be "spinning rapidly like a wheel." It also descended slowly until hidden behind trees. Two children present also confirmed part of the description.

The Bethel, Alaska Incident (August 4, 1947): Captain Jack Peck and First Officer Vince Daley were flying a DC-3 when they saw a larger craft moving at a right angle. They turned to follow it at 170 miles per hour but the craft disappeared within four minutes. According to their testimony, the craft was "smooth and riveted with no visible means of propulsion." A non-commissioned officer at an Alaska communications station sent the report to the Fourth Air Force, which passed it to the FBI.

The Maury Island Story and the Deaths of the Officers: One of the most dramatic incidents in the file is described on pages 138–148. Harold Dahl and Fred Crisman of Tacoma, Washington, claimed to have found "strange rock fragments" from Maury Island. They sent samples to Ray Palmer, editor of Fantasy magazine in Chicago. Palmer paid Kenneth Arnold to investigate. Arnold invited intelligence officers from Hamilton Field — Captain Davidson and Lieutenant Brown — as well as Captain Emil Smith, a United Airlines pilot. After the meeting, Davidson and Brown took off in a General B-25 headed back to Hamilton Field but were killed when the left engine failed and the wing caught fire near Kelso, Washington. Subsequently, Dahl and Crisman admitted the story about the fragments was "a lie." They were accused of creating manipulative publicity through five anonymous phone calls to newspaper reporters in which they claimed the B-25 was "shot down" because of the saucer fragments. The FBI investigated the connections between Palmer, Arnold, Dahl, and Crisman to discover who had made the calls.

The Internal Debate: A Secret American Weapon?

One of the most important documents in the file appears on pages 129–131, a memorandum from E.G. Fitch to D.M. Ladd dated September 10, 1947. Agent Reynolds from the liaison story met with Lieutenant Colonel Garrett of Air Force Intelligence:

"Colonel Garrett not only agreed that this was a possibility, but confidentially stated it was his personal opinion that such was a probability."

Garrett explained his reasoning: when similar craft were seen over Sweden, "high-level leadership" pressured Air Force Intelligence to investigate and collect information. By contrast, when reports of unidentified craft came from within the United States, "high-level leadership appeared unconcerned." Garrett concluded "there are objects being seen and someone in the government knows all about it."

Reynolds raised the issue with Garrett: if these were American experiments, it made no sense to ask the FBI to invest budget and manpower. Garrett agreed. A follow-up document (page 131) shows that General Schulgen went to General LeMay, Chief of the Air Force Research and Development Division, to demand clarification.

On September 5, 1947, an official letter arrived from Brigadier General George Schulgen, Acting Chief Air Intelligence (A-2) of the AAF, to the FBI (page 124):

"A complete survey of research activities discloses that the Army Air Forces has no project with the characteristics similar to those which have been associated with the Flying Discs."

This document, which was classified, formally declared that the AAF was not running any project related to flying discs.

The Internal View: The FBI Playing "Bird Dog"

Another critical document (page 132) is a memorandum from J.P. Coyne to D.M. Ladd from late September 1947, expressing internal criticism of FBI involvement in the subject. Coyne compared the flying-saucer situation to the wartime Japanese balloon bomb (Fu-Go) incidents:

"This does not appear that these discs should be treated other than as a military weapon... It would certainly appear that this is a military situation and should be handled strictly by military authorities."

Coyne argued that the FBI was "merely playing bird-dog for the Army" and investing valuable manpower in investigations that had no connection to a Russian espionage program. Reading between the lines, one senses dissatisfaction with the way the military was exploiting FBI capabilities without sharing vital information in return.

Lake Intelligence — Espionage Information and Contact with Shaver

Several documents in the file deal with a request to investigate Richard F. Shaver from Lily Lake, Illinois. An anonymous telegram sent to the AAF on July 5, 1947 from New York stated:

"FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONCERNING FLYING DISKS SUGGEST IMMEDIATE CONTACT OF MR. RICHARD F. SHAVER LILY LAKE ILLINOIS WHO MAY HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING THEIR ORIGIN."

The telegram reached the Army, which passed it to the FBI together with documents on craft sightings over Wisconsin. Shaver, a fiction writer known for his stories about "deros" — underground creatures — was placed under investigation. The Chicago FBI office was directed to investigate Shaver and "interview him regarding information he may have concerning flying saucers."

Other documents describe an approach by Mrs. Madeline Gwynne Merchant of Santa Fe, New Mexico (pages 104–108), who wrote to Walter Winchell claiming she had "important data on the saucers" and had worked with Dr. Norris Bradbury, director of Los Alamos, and General Herbert Gay. She requested $10,000 in funding to continue her research. Winchell passed the letter to the FBI, which investigated and found no record of Mrs. Merchant.

Decoding Failure and Encrypted Messages — "From Martians"

A special incident is described on pages 44 and 157: Mrs. A.G. Servanis of Hicksville, Long Island, sent a newspaper clipping to the Bureau that included a coded message signed "Radio Ham." The FBI laboratory cracked the code and produced the result:

"TIRED OF HUMAN NONSENSE WONT AWAIT ATOMIC WAR DISRUPTING ORDER SOLAR SYSTEM SO SENT FLYING DISKS AND WILL SET UP WORLD ORDER UNDER MARTIANS LATE THIS YEAR."

The FBI investigated the Newsday editor and found the message was sent in handwriting signed only "Radio Ham" with no way to trace the sender. The editor assumed it was "a local crank influenced by the publicity."

The Arizona Saucer Photographs — William Rhoads

One of the most fascinating parts of the file (pages 115–119) concerns William Albert Rhoads of Phoenix, Arizona, who claimed to have photographed an unidentified object on July 7, 1947. Rhoads, who ran Panoramic Research Laboratory and also managed a Hobby Shop, heard a noise resembling a P-80, rushed to grab a Brownie 620 camera, and took two photographs of a flat, round craft. The craft was estimated at 20–30 feet in diameter and moving at 100 miles per hour.

The Phoenix field office arranged an interview with Army representative Fugate (from A-2, Hamilton Field). FBI Agent Brewer attended the interview but was presented as a "U.S. government representative" rather than an FBI agent. At the end of the interview the Army requested the negatives. Rhoads asked for them to be returned. Fugate "doubted they would be returned to him." Brewer insisted that before the negatives were handed over, Rhoads must be informed. The negatives were delivered to Army Intelligence — and were never returned to Rhoads.

The Johnson Sighting and the Attempted Photography on July 9

David Johnson, aviation editor of the Idaho Daily Statesman, testified under oath (pages 169–173) about a sighting he made on July 9, 1947. He was flying a National Guard AT-6 at 14,000 feet altitude. Operating a 16mm camera, he attempted to film a black, round object performing unusual maneuvers. The object made "leaping upward" movements and then "rolled over itself" before disappearing. Johnson expressed frustration that the photography failed: the film showed no object "because if it were more than one mile away it would not record sufficiently on the film."

Testimony from Military Pilots

• Sergeant Edward R. Baker from Hamilton Field (July 15, 1947): saw three objects at 8,000–10,000 feet, two round and one "spinning." The objects vanished within four seconds.
• First Lieutenant Armstrong (June 28, 1947): saw 5–6 white, round objects approximately 36 inches in diameter at 6,000 feet, 30 miles northwest of Lake Mead, Nevada. They flew in tight formation at approximately 285 miles per hour.
• Captain Emil Smith of United Airlines: saw objects on July 4, 1947, eight minutes out of Boise en route to Seattle. He stated that seeing the saucers "would have to be compelling enough to make me lay myself open to ridicule" before he would report it.

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Key People

Name	Role	Pages
Kenneth Arnold	Private pilot, Boise, Idaho — the founding June 24, 1947 report	160–167
D.M. Ladd	FBI Assistant Director, principal addressee	48, 64, 96, 125, 129, 131
E.G. Fitch	FBI officer (liaison), author of several memoranda	48, 96, 125, 129
J.P. Coyne	FBI officer, author of critical memo on FBI involvement	132
Lieutenant Colonel George Garrett	Air Force Intelligence; said the phenomenon was "probably governmental"	64, 96, 125, 129, 131
Brigadier General Schulgen	Acting AAF A-2; officially stated no military project existed	124, 125
Lieutenant Colonel Donald Springer	A-2 chief, Fourth Air Force, Hamilton Field	2, 115, 150, 180, 188
Captain Davidson	CIC officer killed in the B-25 crash at Kelso	140, 146
Lieutenant Brown	CIC officer killed in the B-25 crash	140, 146
Ray Palmer	Editor of Fantasy/Venture magazine in Chicago	138, 142, 144, 146
William Rhoads	Owner of Panoramic Research, photographed a UFO in Phoenix	115–119
Harold Dahl	One of the creators of the Maury Island hoax	138–142, 144, 146
Fred Crisman	Dahl's partner; admitted to fabricating the story	138–142, 144, 146
Richard Shaver	American fiction writer; investigated by the FBI	17–20
Madeline Gwynne Merchant	Claimed to have information on saucers; approached Winchell	104–108
Captain Jack Peck	Pilot who saw a UFO from a DC-3 near Bethel, Alaska	180–183
David Johnson	Aviation editor, Idaho Statesman; credible witness	168–173
Emil Smith	United Airlines captain; saw a UFO on July 4, 1947	146, 174
Raymond Lane	Dow Chemical employee; reported scorched sand	7–14
H.H. Hudstrom	Twin Falls Housing Authority director; central witness	57–61, 177–179
John Edgar Hoover	FBI Director; signed response letters	31, 70, 91, 98, 134

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Locations

Location	Incident	Pages
Mount Rainier, Washington	Arnold's original June 24, 1947 report	160–167
Hackensack, New Jersey	Round black ball; three witnesses	4, 6–8
Midland, Michigan	Scorched sand and silver fragments	7–14
Maury Island, Washington	"UFO fragments" proven a hoax	138–148
Kelso, Washington	B-25 crash with CIC officers aboard	140, 146
Phoenix, Arizona	Rhoads photographs, July 7, 1947	115–119
Myrtle Creek, Oregon	Hatfield — silver sphere, 30 feet	52–54
Oswego, Oregon	24 silver-round objects	92–94
Twin Falls, Idaho	35–50 objects in triangular formation	57–61, 177–179
Boise, Idaho	David Johnson sighting, July 9, 1947	168–173
Bethel, Alaska	Captain Peck; DC-3 follows UFO	180–183
Lake Mead, Nevada	Armstrong — 5–6 white balls	189
Cascade Range, Washington	Johnson over the Cascade Range	127
Seabrook, Illinois	Fabricated "saucer" found in a yard	75, 78–90
Los Alamos, New Mexico	Mentioned in connection with Merchant	104–108
Lily Lake, Illinois	Shaver's address	18–20

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Incidents

Incident	Date	Location	Pages
Arnold report — 9 fast craft	June 24, 1947	Mount Rainier, Washington	160–167
Scorched sand and silver fragments — Lane	July 9, 1947	Midland, Michigan	7–14
Black round ball — Casella/Truax	August 3, 1947	Hackensack, New Jersey	4, 6–8
Silver sphere — Hatfield	August 6, 1947	Myrtle Creek, Oregon	52–54
Rhoads photographs	July 7, 1947	Phoenix, Arizona	115–119
Craft in triangular formation — Hudstrom	August 19, 1947	Twin Falls, Idaho	57–61, 177–179
24 silver craft — Dupuya	September 3, 1947	Oswego, Oregon	92–94
UFO from DC-3 — Peck	August 4, 1947	Bethel, Alaska	180–183
5–6 white balls — Armstrong	June 28, 1947	Near Lake Mead, Nevada	189
Fabricated "saucer" found	July 26, 1947	Seabrook, Illinois	75, 78–90
"From Martians" code deciphered	July–August 1947	Long Island, New York	44, 157
B-25 crash with CIC officers	August 1, 1947	Kelso, Washington	140, 146
Johnson sighting at 14,000 feet	July 9, 1947	Over Boise, Idaho	168–173
Johnson ground-level sighting	July 9, 1947	Field over Wisconsin	21

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Notable Quotes

"Colonel Garrett not only agreed that this was a possibility, but confidentially stated it was his personal opinion that such was a probability." — Lieutenant Colonel Garrett agreed the saucers were probably a secret American government project, page 129

"He indicated this led him to believe that they knew enough about these objects to express no concern." — Garrett inferred that "high-level leadership" already knew what the objects were and therefore was not concerned, page 129

"It is believed the Bureau is merely playing bird-dog for the Army by using our manpower to run out these complaints on flying discs." — Internal FBI memorandum by Coyne: "we are just playing bird dog for the Army," page 132

"A complete survey of research activities discloses that the Army Air Forces has no project with the characteristics similar to those which have been associated with the Flying Discs." — Official letter from General Schulgen: "the Air Forces have no project resembling the flying discs," page 124

"The continued appearance of such objects without official explanation may result in hysteria or panic in Twin Falls, Idaho." — The Twin Falls field agent: the appearance of objects without explanation will cause hysteria, page 61

"TIRED OF HUMAN NONSENSE WONT AWAIT ATOMIC WAR DISRUPTING ORDER SOLAR SYSTEM SO SENT FLYING DISKS AND WILL SET UP WORLD ORDER UNDER MARTIANS LATE THIS YEAR." — Deciphered code published in Newsday, investigated by the FBI, pages 44 and 157

"What kept bothering me as I watched them flip and flash in the sun right along their path was the fact that I couldn't make out any tail on them." — Kenneth Arnold: "What troubled me was that I could not see a tail on any of them," page 165

"Captain Peck is Chief Pilot for Al Jones flying service and is not a man given to exaggeration." — NCO from Bethel: "Captain Peck is not a man prone to exaggeration," page 183

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Significance

Section 2 of case file 62-HQ-83894 is a historically unique document for several reasons.

First, it contains the FBI's first and most comprehensive institutional response to the summer 1947 UFO wave, including sightings by a diverse range of witnesses — professional pilots, police officers, and scientists.

Second, the document reveals genuine institutional confusion: the FBI sought a declaration from the military; the military replied that no research existed; yet senior intelligence officers such as Garrett privately expressed the view that "the government knows all about it." This gap between official statements and private opinions implies different tiers of knowledge within the government itself.

Third, the document exposes bottom-up pressure: civilians, police officers, pilots, and journalists — all pressing the establishment for an explanation. The geographic concern and "potential hysteria" noted by the Twin Falls agent is a distillation of the problem the administration faced.

Fourth, the episode of the deaths of officers Davidson and Brown — who had been travelling with samples from "saucer fragments" and were killed in a crash — created a foundation for conspiracy theories that resonated for decades. The FBI carefully documented all of the evidence proving the story was an admitted fabrication.

In sum, Section 2 of this FBI file is a living slide of the period in which the "UFO phenomenon" transformed from a single pilot's isolated report into a national phenomenon that engaged the attention of the FBI Director, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and dozens of field offices — all attempting to determine exactly what people across America had seen in the summer skies of 1947.