Current Status Of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) Project.

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SECRET

Investigative work of the project and "if it turns out that these things (UFOB's) are space ships or long range aircraft from another country, ADC is the (Air Force) Command that would have to take action." Col. Johnston followed this comment with the somewhat contradictory statement that the project transfer did not reflect any change in Air Force policy. It is undoubtedly true that ADC is the Air Force Command primarily concerned with UFOB's at the present time in that their interceptors are occasionally dispatched "against" reported UFOB's and that their reporting stations and communications systems are involved in a considerable portion of the UFOB activity. ATIC will maintain liaison with the project.

Approximately a year and one half ago ATIC initiated a program to purchase cameras for selected ADC radar sites and AACS control towers in locations where consistent UFOB reports were received in the hopes of photographing UFOB's. One lens of the camera (a stereoscopic type) was to be covered with a simple grating to record the spectrographic nature of the UFOB photographed. One hundred "Videon" 35 mm. cameras with "stereon" anastigmat f 3.5 lenses were purchased along with 100 gratings (15,000 line) from CENCO, Chicago. Seventy-four (74) cameras were distributed. Ninety percent of the gratings have "gone bad"--the actual grating separating from the plastic mounting plates. New gratings are expected shortly and ATIC expects to recall all of the 74 distributed cameras and re-equip them with the new gratings.

Several months ago we were advised that ATIC planned to set up a concentrated instrumentation observational effort in the Albuquerque area. This has now been dropped.

Project STORK (SECRET) has been preparing, at ATIC request a comprehensive statistical report on UFOB sightings during the period 1947 through 1952. This study is now expected to be completed by 1st December 1953.

ATIC issues status reports on Project Bluebook on a tri-monthly basis the most recent being Report No. 12 30 September 1953.

b. Navy. The Navy in spite of press reports to the contrary, is presently devoting only part of one ONI analyst's time to maintaining cognizance of UFOB's.

c. Army. The Army has evidenced little or no interest in UFOB's other than cooperating with the Air Force in reporting sightings and pertinent data using the Air Force format.

4. Investigations or Interests of Foreign Governments.

a. Canada. Considerable attention in the U. S. press was recently given to reports that the Canadian Defence Research Board and Department of Transport had jointly and officially established a

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