Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States, 1949

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APPENDIX "A"
ANALYSIS OF FLYING OB· CT INCIDENTS IN THE U. S.
AND HYPOTHETICAL TACTICS EMPLOYED
1. INTRODUCTION.
To formulate the possible tactics of flying objects reported over the U. S.
assumes ?rom he outset that firm conclusions have been reached on .both the existence and origin
o! the reported flying objects. The current status of information on such incidents and over•all
analysis does not allow substantiation for such conclusions. However, the lack of such firm con­
clusions points to the necessity for an immediate and sound statistical analysis of every aspect of
the situation and does not preclude a concurrent examination of the reported incidents to develop
explanations of their possible tactics. The latter will be useful at some future date should the
existence and origin of the flying objects be definitely established. Therefore, the following analy­
sis of available information is advanced in order to present evidence on the actual existence of
some type flying object and to relate same to tactical purposes for which the objects are possibly
designed. The following discussion must be considered a provisional analysis, pending a further
detailed analysis of all aspects of the problem.
2. SOME ASPECTS REGARDING FLYING OB CT INCIDENTS. A cursory examination of evidence
on repo
n
s poss
certain generalities which it appears
may be borne out when detailed analyses have been completed.
Among the incidents reported there are many statements by reliable and experienced persons
whlch tend to confirm that flying objects have been seen. The description of such objects seems
to fall roughly into three categories:
(1) Silver disks or balls, approximating a Horten wing type
aircraft; (2) Balls of fire of various colors and intensities; (3) Cigar or pencil-shaped objects
similar in appearance to V -2 type rockets in horizontal flight.
The numbers of configurations
might be further reduced with the following considerations in mind: Silver disks or balls have,
for the greater part, been observed in daylight and a number under clear weather conditions with
visibility unlimited. Iri most instances, balls of fire have been observed at night. Cigar, or
pencil-shaped objects have been sighted in fewer numbers but with about equal distrlbuUon 1n
dayllght and at night. A few accounts tell of the disks having a rough cigar-shape when viewed
while maneuvering. Some of the disks are described as having luminosity in daylight. It there­
fore is possible that a single type of object may be involved in all slghtlngs, and differences ln
description may result from viewing the objects at various angles and under dlffering conditions
of visibility.
The above tends to indicate that some type object ha~ been seen and the possibility exists
that the object or objects seen are conventional domestic devices, such as weather balloons, test
rockets, or jet-equipped aircraft with pancake or flying wing configurations.
The possibillty exists that the reporting of flying objects may have been influenced by earlier
reports on similar incidents in Scandinavia and Central Europe. The publication in newspaper of
details on such incidents, both foreign and domestic, may have induced eome of the description
provided in reported domestic incidents. However, one of the earliest reported sightings in the
U.S. was the one observed by U.S. Weather Bureau personnel in April 1947, at Richmond, Virginia,
and on the basis of this one report it appears that the disks are not balloons. It would seem that
this sighting was not influenced by the reports of foreign incidents, the newspaper accounts of
domestic incidents, nor by misident1.f1cation of a conventional object.
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