The FBI Flying Saucer File — Section 8: 1954 to 1957

Source file: 65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_8.pdf Originating agency: FBI (Record Group 65) — Case File 62-HQ-83894, Section 8 Date range: July 1954 — November 1957 Page count: 217 (all read) High-significance pages: 5–9, 12–20, 34, 36–44, 78, 88, 94–95, 100, 119–120, 121–126, 132–134, 137, 144, 195, 199, 201, 208–209, 214

---

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 8 of the FBI's central unidentified phenomena case file (62-HQ-83894) covers 1954–1957 and contains 217 pages of classified and unclassified documentation. The section focuses on five principal subjects: the Truman Bethurum affair and Cincinnati flying saucer meetings; the Frances Swan case involving telepathic contact with extraterrestrials in the presence of senior U.S. Navy officials; the FBI's surveillance of Leonard Stringfield's civilian research organization CRIFO; a unique incident in which Senator Richard Russell observed a flying saucer in the Soviet Union in 1955; and a series of 1957 UAP reports including the wartime account of a Polish prisoner-of-war who witnessed a circular craft in Nazi Germany in 1944.

---

Research Article

Introduction

The declassified files in Section 8 of FBI case file 62-HQ-83894 expose a fascinating world of covert government investigations, interactions between citizens and government officials, and efforts to authenticate reports of unconventional aircraft in 1950s America. The affairs documented present a complex picture: the FBI was under pressure from the public and from military officers to investigate, while simultaneously monitoring with concern those citizens who sought to publicize their findings. The section opens in July 1954 and closes in November 1957, a period during which broad public discourse around "flying saucers" was continuing to develop.

The Truman Bethurum Affair and Cincinnati — Summer 1954

One of the opening chapters of this section deals with the investigation of the promotional activities of Truman Bethurum — a truck driver from Redondo Beach, California, who claimed to have made contact with a spacecraft commanded by a woman named "Aura" in the Nevada desert on eleven separate occasions. Bethurum became a central figure in the flying saucer scene and produced a series of public lectures.

Thomas Eickhoff, the owner of a beauty school in Cincinnati, reported to the FBI in June 1954 on Bethurum's plans to give a lecture at Taft Auditorium in Cincinnati for two dollars a ticket. Eickhoff, who had read books by Donald Keyhoe and heard radio broadcasts by Walter Winchell and Frank Edwards on the subject, was troubled: was Bethurum credible and publicizing important truths — or a fraud exploiting the public? He also approached Lieutenant Colonel John O'Mara of Air Force Intelligence headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

That meeting with O'Mara yielded a key detail: O'Mara told Eickhoff that Donald Keyhoe was "a fraud" and that there was information in Washington confirming it. The FBI documented the meeting as part of the Bethurum investigation, which also involved George Hunt Williamson, an archaeologist who introduced himself as a writer for the journal Valor, published under the direction of William Dudley Pelley in Noblesville, Indiana.

The Civilian Research Organization of Stringfield — CRIFO

One of the most prominent topics in Section 8 is the FBI's surveillance of Leonard H. Stringfield (7017 Britton Avenue, Cincinnati 27, Ohio), publisher of "Orbit," described as "the official publication of civilian research into interplanetary flying objects." Stringfield, who issued a monthly newsletter with a circulation of approximately 1,000 copies worldwide, conducted a 26-minute conversation on September 21, 1954, with Lieutenant Colonel John O'Mara.

A summary of that conversation, which Stringfield published in his newsletter on October 1, 1954, became one of the most significant quotations in the FBI's files on the subject. According to Stringfield, O'Mara told him:

"Flying saucers 'do exist'" and "Definitely not! Something does exist."

O'Mara also suggested to Stringfield that there were "three categories": craft from outer space, a secret American vehicle, and unexplained natural phenomena. The FBI monitored the dissemination of this information closely and recorded how a source at the DuBois Company who worked with Stringfield reported that Stringfield believed his home telephone was tapped — probably by the Air Force.

The FBI also recorded that Stringfield declared: "The Air Force can't do anything to me. I'm claiming saucers are interplanetary."

The CRIFO Newsletter and Specific Incidents

The CRIFO newsletter (October 1954) includes reports on incidents considered major news at the time.

The Walesville, New York, incident (July 2, 1954): An F-94-C Starfire jet sent to identify an unidentified aircraft crashed into the small town of Walesville, 11 miles southwest of Utica, killing four people. The U.S. Air Force announced an "active air defense intercept mission." The crew in the cockpit chose to bail out when the cockpit became "unbearably hot." The newsletter claims various sources stated the aircraft "made contact with the UFO but failed to identify it."

The Logan, Utah, disaster (May 1, 1954): At midnight, 500 calls were made to the Logan police authority reporting a loud, ground-shaking blast. Geologists from the University of New Mexico, led by Dr. Lincoln La Paz, investigated a crater 16 feet in diameter and 6 feet deep — and their official conclusion was: "Not produced by a conventional meteorite fall." The investigation was closed without another explanation being offered.

The Rome, Italy, incident (September 1954): A "half-cigar" shaped object over Rome was tracked by radar for 39 minutes. Journalists reported a vertical movement after "hovering" motionless for hundreds of seconds — a motion impossible for any conventional aircraft.

The Frances Swan Affair — Summer 1954

One of the most remarkable cases in Section 8 involves Frances Swan of South Berwick, Maine. The FBI documented meetings held July 24–26, 1954, at the home of retired Admiral Herbert B. Knowles between John Hutson (security officer, Office of Naval Research, U.S. Navy) and Wilbur B. Smith, a Canadian government physicist.

According to the FBI report, Swan received "messages through thought" from "aliens" who called themselves "Affa" and "Ponnar" from spacecraft M-4 and L-11. The vessels were described as 150 miles wide, 200 miles long, and 100 miles deep. "Affa" commanded M-4 from Uranus and "Ponnar" commanded L-11 from a planet called "Hatann." They stated their mission was to "protect Earth" from the destruction being caused by atomic and hydrogen bombs.

The FBI documented that Hutson noted Swan was able to receive answers before she had finished transmitting the questions. He formulated questions in his mind and passed them to Swan — before she finished "sending" them, she had already begun writing the responses. The CIA received a copy of the documents "for whatever investigation may be deemed appropriate." Hutson also noted that the craft from "outer space" was expected to arrive within 100 miles of Ottawa, Canada, on Sunday, August 1, 1954, to allow Smith to attempt radio contact.

The Detroit Flying Saucer Club — 1954–1955

The FBI opened an espionage file (Espionage-X) on the Detroit Flying Saucer Club, headed by Henry Meade. Club members sent an open letter to the President of the United States in September 1954 demanding "open and public acknowledgment" of the phenomenon. The FBI discovered that one member of the club's leadership, Randal Cox, claimed he was "working in cooperation with the FBI" — a claim that was investigated and found to be false. Cox was interviewed by agents on January 11, 1955, denied the claim, but revealed plans to travel to Washington and submit to the Pentagon information on "flying saucer witnesses" and even photographs.

The FBI emphasized in an internal response: "Investigation re sighting of flying saucers and information concerning flying saucers is within the jurisdiction of the Air Force and not the Bureau."

The Senator Russell Incident in Russia — October 1955

One of the most significant incidents in Section 8 involves the testimony of one of the most senior politicians in the United States. Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia, traveling by train in Russia on the Baku-to-Tbilisi route in early October 1955, observed in the dark a glowing greenish-yellow sphere rising rapidly into the sky. A few minutes later he saw a second craft. Other members of his delegation, Mr. Efron and Samuel Gross, saw only points of light. But Colonel Hathaway described "a silhouetted object with similar light in the middle and top, and rotating lights resembling gas emission at the base." The colonel stated explicitly that the object resembled no aircraft, missile, or rocket he had ever seen.

The CIA analyzed the incident on October 27, 1955 (in a classified document). Analyst Dr. Francis Clauser and CIA Director Allen Dulles himself discussed the matter at the IAC (Intelligence Advisory Committee). The conclusion reached was that "further discussion" was required but there was "insufficient evidence to conclude that the Soviets have a radical new aircraft."

An FBI document from November 1955 from Director Belmont to Boardman states:

"The only testimony which would support the existence of flying saucers or radically unconventional aircraft is that of Colonel Hathaway. All other observations can probably be explained as steep-climbing aircraft or missile. All observers agree on the impression that the object was rotating or whirling."

The CIA analysis recommended that the matter "be kept secret" so as not to provoke the Russians into restricting American visits to the Soviet Union.

FBI Employee Sylvia Richards — April 1956

An unusual incident: Sylvia L. Richards, an FBI name-check unit employee, reported on April 9, 1956, that while driving on Route 1 north of Henderson, North Carolina, at 5:00 a.m. (April 6, 1956), she and her fiancé Joseph Morris (an NSA employee) observed a circular object flying at very low altitude approaching their car directly head-on. The object was described as "oval, rotating, blue-white and dazzling, as if containing a series of lights in a zigzag pattern," with a width equal to the width of the road and a thickness of no more than 2 to 4 feet. It made no sound and rose and vanished within seconds.

The FBI forwarded the report to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). Richards noted that she "had not previously believed flying saucer stories" and that had her fiancé not also seen the same object she would have thought she had imagined it.

The Krasuski Incident — Polish POW in 1944

The historically most startling incident in Section 8 is that of Wladyslaw Krasuski (Walter Krasuski), a Polish prisoner of war who had worked in Germany in 1944. Krasuski wrote to Robert Cutler, Assistant to the President, in November 1957, claiming to have information "about the rocket in Texas." The NSC sent his letter to the FBI for investigation.

When Krasuski was interviewed on November 7, 1957, he described:

• A circular craft approximately 75 to 100 yards in diameter and roughly 14 feet tall
• The craft rose vertically to sufficient height to clear a 50-foot wall
• His tractor engine failed in the presence of the craft
• He saw long metal cables (one and a half to two inches in diameter, apparently copper) on and below the ground surface, seemingly connecting a bunker structure to a small concrete post
• After the war, when he returned to the site, the cables, the post, and the launch pad had been covered by water

The FBI forwarded this information to G-2, the CIA, Army Intelligence, Naval Intelligence, the OSI, and the Immigration Service. Agent Belmont noted in the report that Krasuski "spoke rationally and without any sign of mental instability."

The CRIFO Newsletter and Stringfield's Activities in 1957

On March 25, 1957, Stringfield appeared at the Cincinnati FBI office with a letter he had received from Dr. Eva Reich, daughter of Dr. Wilhelm Reich. Dr. Eva Reich had written to Stringfield about "Expedition OROP Desert Ea," conducted in 1954–1955, during which, she said, UFOs were observed and she attempted to use an "orgone energy weapon" capable of driving them off. She accused the FBI of "refusing to investigate" and claimed there was a broad "conspiracy" of "background men" controlling all branches of government.

The FBI established that Wilhelm Reich (who died in prison in March 1957 following a contempt of court conviction) and his daughter Eva had sent numerous letters to the government. The matter was deemed "outside the Bureau's jurisdiction."

The FBI's Stance toward the Subject

A clear pattern emerges from the documentation: the FBI received thousands of citizen approaches and forwarded them to the Air Force (OSI), while consistently emphasizing that it had no "jurisdiction" in the matter. Internal memoranda uniformly state that investigating UFO sightings was "within the jurisdiction of the Air Force and not the Bureau." Yet the files reveal that the FBI continued to supply information to the CIA, OSI, G-2 (Army Intelligence), and Naval Intelligence.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover signed reply letters to citizens who wrote him on the subject, consistently saying the Bureau had no information it could share. At the same time, meetings, analyses, and documents in Section 8 make plain that the FBI tracked the subject persistently and systematically.

The Gap between Public Posture and Internal Reality

On February 19, 1957, Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee that "there is no such thing as a flying saucer." Congressman Dougall added that the Air Force should "state once and for all that this is pure fiction."

At exactly the same period, the FBI's internal files in Section 8 are filled with UFO reports being forwarded to various intelligence bodies, covert meetings, and in-depth analyses — with Senator Russell's sighting being examined at the highest CIA and IAC level simultaneously.

---

Key People

• J. Edgar Hoover — FBI Director; signed reply letters to citizens
• Leonard H. Stringfield — CRIFO director and Orbit publisher; DuBois Company, Cincinnati
• Senator Richard B. Russell — Georgia senator who observed a flying saucer in Russia, 1955
• Truman Bethurum — truck driver who claimed contact with aliens; author of Aboard a Flying Saucer
• George Hunt Williamson — archaeologist, Valor writer, Bethurum associate
• Frances Swan — "medium" who received messages from "Affa" and "Ponnar"
• Admiral Herbert B. Knowles (ret.) — liaison between Swan and the military establishment
• John Hutson — security officer, Office of Naval Research; investigated the Swan affair
• Wilbur B. Smith — Canadian physicist; attended meetings with Swan; attempted radio contact
• Lieutenant Colonel John O'Mara — deputy, Intelligence, Wright-Patterson AFB; confirmed saucers exist
• Colonel Hathaway — witnessed the craft with Senator Russell in Russia; supplied the most significant testimony
• Wladyslaw Krasuski — Polish POW who saw a circular craft in Germany in 1944
• Sylvia L. Richards — FBI employee who reported a UFO sighting in 1956
• Dr. Eva Reich — daughter of Wilhelm Reich; approached Stringfield on "orgone energy"
• Henry Meade — chairman of the Detroit Flying Saucer Club
• Randal Cox — Detroit club official who falsely claimed FBI cooperation
• Frank Edwards — radio journalist dismissed after covering flying saucers; per Stringfield, dismissed at the Air Force's instigation

---

Locations

• Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio — Air Force Intelligence headquarters; O'Mara; ATIC
• Cincinnati, Ohio — CRIFO and Stringfield activity hub; Bethurum investigation base
• Detroit, Michigan — Flying Saucer Club; McDonnell Aircraft workers
• South Berwick, Maine — Admiral Knowles's home; Frances Swan meetings
• Nevada — desert in which Bethurum claimed to meet "Aura"
• Walesville, New York — crash site of F-94-C Starfire after UFO intercept
• Logan, Utah — the unexplained crater, May 1, 1954
• Baku-Tbilisi, Russia — railway route on which Senator Russell saw the craft
• Henderson, North Carolina — location of the Sylvia Richards incident
• Antarctica — UFO photographs allegedly taken by Chilean Navy Captain Orrego
• Germany (location unknown) — site of Krasuski's circular craft sighting, 1944

---

Incidents

Incident	Date	Location	Pages
Truman Bethurum — saucer lectures in Cincinnati	June–July 1954	Cincinnati, Ohio	3–11
Frances Swan — messages from "Affa" and "Ponnar"	July–August 1954	South Berwick, Maine	12–21
Walesville — F-94 Starfire crashes after UFO intercept	July 2, 1954	Walesville, New York	44
Unexplained crater in Logan, Utah	May 1, 1954	Logan, Utah	43
CRIFO — Stringfield conversation with O'Mara	September 21, 1954	Wright-Patterson AFB	40–41, 49
UFO over Rome — 39 minutes on radar	September 1954	Rome, Italy	47
Detroit Flying Saucer Club — espionage investigation	December 1954–January 1955	Detroit, Michigan	74, 88, 90, 94–95
Circular craft at "Sandia" — John Fry	January 1955	Sandia, New Mexico	95
Senator Russell observes UFO in Russia	October 1955	Baku-Tbilisi, Russia	119–126
Sylvia Richards — UFO 25 feet from the road	April 6, 1956	Henderson, North Carolina	132–135
Bright object over Oxford, Pennsylvania	May 4, 1956	Oxford, Pennsylvania	137, 139, 141
UFO over Old Brookville, Long Island	November 6, 1957	Long Island, New York	195
Illinois state police try to pursue UFO	November 7, 1957	Danville, Illinois	201
Krasuski — circular craft in Germany 1944	1944 (reported 1957)	Germany	208–209, 214, 216

---

Notable Quotes

"Flying saucers 'do exist,' the Colonel told me, and he added, in effect, past contradictions were unfortunate." — Lieutenant Colonel John O'Mara to Stringfield, September 1954, page 40

"Definitely not! Something does exist." — O'Mara in response to a question whether all saucers are American vehicles, page 40

"The Air Force can't do anything to me. I'm claiming saucers are interplanetary." — Stringfield, page 37

"The only testimony which would support the existence of flying saucers or radically unconventional aircraft is that of Colonel Hathaway. All other observations can probably be explained as steep-climbing aircraft or missile." — CIA analysis of the Russell incident, page 121

"Colonel Hathaway believes that the object did not resemble any aircraft, rocket or missile that he had ever seen. All observers agree on the impression that the object was rotating or whirling." — CIA document, page 120

"I have met and talked with the man who wrote the book 'Aboard a Flying Saucer.' He sounds sincere but I am always sceptical and I have been wondering if he could be trying to put over any propaganda." — president of the Palm Springs Republican Club to Hoover, page 86

"Investigation re sighting of flying saucers and information concerning flying saucers is within the jurisdiction of the Air Force and not the Bureau. The Bureau does not desire your office to obtain from captioned club or its members material concerning flying saucers." — Hoover's directive to the Detroit office, January 1955, page 99

---

Significance

Section 8 reveals the central paradox in the FBI's approach to the UFO subject: the Bureau officially declared it had no "jurisdiction" and that all information was forwarded to the Air Force — but simultaneously maintained extensive files, passed documents to the CIA and the National Security Council, monitored civilian research organizations, and investigated individual claims.

The most striking incident is the Senator Russell affair: a senior statesman, known for his judgment and integrity, who reported observing an unidentified craft in Russia in 1955 — a matter handled at the highest CIA and IAC level, with a recommendation to keep it secret. The dichotomy between public denial (Dryden in 1957: "there is no such thing as a flying saucer") and concealed internal investigation is the very heart of the paradox.

Section 8's findings contribute to an understanding of the roots of public distrust of government on this subject: while the government denied, its internal documents recorded, investigated, and analyzed. And perhaps most fascinating of all: Krasuski's account of a circular craft observed in Germany in 1944 is consistent both with claims about classified German experiments and with theories that such craft were built by Nazi Germany and subsequently came into the possession of the United States and/or the Soviet Union.