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Majestic Document - Booklet On 1947 Roswell Incide
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United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
National Security and
International Affairs Division
B-262046
July 28, 1995
The Honorable Steven H. Schiff
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Schiff:
On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) public information
office in Roswell, New Mexico, reported the crash and recovery of a
“flying disc.” Army Air Forces personnel from the RAAF’s 509th Bomb
Group were credited with the recovery. The following day, the press
reported that the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Fort
Worth, Texas, announced that RAAF personnel had recovered a crashed
radar-tracking (weather) balloon, not a “flying disc.”
After nearly 50 years, speculation continues on what crashed at Roswell.
Some observers believe that the object was of extraterrestrial origin. In the
July 1994 Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident,
the Air Force did not dispute that something happened near Roswell, but
reported that the most likely source of the wreckage was from a
balloon-launched classified government project designed to determine the
state of Soviet nuclear weapons research. The debate on what crashed at
Roswell continues.Concerned that the Department of Defense (DOD) may not have providedyou with all available information on the crash, you asked us to determinethe requirements for reporting air accidents similar to the crash near
Roswell and identify any government records concerning the Roswell
crash.We conducted an extensive search for government records related to the
crash near Roswell. We examined a wide range of classified and
unclassified documents dating from July 1947 through the 1950s. These
records came from numerous organizations in New Mexico and elsewhere
throughout DOD as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council. The
full scope and methodology of our work are detailed at the end of this
report.
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 1
B-262046
Results in Brief In 1947, Army regulations required that air accident reports be maintained
permanently. We identified four air accidents reported by the Army Air
Forces in New Mexico during July 1947. All of the accidents involved
military aircraft and occurred after July 8, 1947—the date the RAAF public
information office first reported the crash and recovery of a “flying disc”
near Roswell. The Navy reported no air accidents in New Mexico during
July 1947. Air Force officials told us that according to record-keeping
requirements in effect during July 1947, there was no requirement to
prepare a report on the crash of a weather balloon.
In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that
some government records covering RAAF activities had been destroyed and
others had not. For example, RAAF administrative records (from Mar. 1945
through Dec. 1949) and RAAF outgoing messages (from Oct. 1946 through
Dec. 1949) were destroyed. The document disposition form does not
indicate what organization or person destroyed the records and when or
under what authority the records were destroyed.
Our search for government records concerning the Roswell crash yielded
two records originating in 1947—a July 1947 history report by the
combined 509th Bomb Group and RAAF and an FBI teletype message dated
July 8, 1947. The 509th-RAAF report noted the recovery of a “flying disc”
that was later determined by military officials to be a radar-tracking
balloon. The FBI message stated that the military had reported that an
object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector
had been recovered near Roswell.The other government records we reviewed, including those previouslywithheld from the public because of security classification, and the AirForce’s analysis of unidentified flying object1 sightings from 1946 to 1953
(Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14), did not mention the crash or
the recovery of an airborne object near Roswell in July 1947. Similarly,
executive branch agencies’ responses to our letters of inquiry produced no
other government records on the Roswell crash.
Reporting AirAccidents
According to press accounts from July 1947, Army Air Forces personnel
from RAAF were involved in the recovery of an airborne object near
Roswell. Therefore, if an air accident report was prepared, it should have
1According to Air Force regulation, an unidentified flying object is an airborne object that byperformance, aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not conform to known aircraft or
missiles, or does not correspond to Air Force definitions of familiar or known objects or unidentifiedaircraft.
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 2,B-262046
been prepared in accordance with Army regulations. According to an
Army records management official, in 1947 Army regulations required that
air accident reports be maintained permanently. An Air Force official said
there was no similar requirement to report a weather balloon crash.
According to an Air Force official who has worked in the records
management field since the mid-1940s, air accident reports prepared in
July 1947 under Army regulations should have been transferred to Air
Force custody in September 1947, when the Air Force was established as a
separate service.
The Air Force Safety Agency is responsible for maintaining reports of air
accidents. We examined its microfilm records to determine whether any
air accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. We
identified four air accidents during this time period.2 All of the accidents
involved military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred after July 8,
1947—the date the RAAF public information office first reported the crash
and recovery of a “flying disc” near Roswell. According to the Army Air
Forces’ Report of Major Accident, these four accidents occurred at or near
the towns of Hobbs, Albuquerque, Carrizozo, and Alamogordo, New
Mexico. Only one of the four accidents resulted in a fatality. The pilot died
when the aircraft crashed during an attempted take-off.
Search for Records In searching for government records on the Roswell crash, we wereparticularly interested in identifying and reviewing records of military
units assigned to RAAF in 1947—to include the 509th Bomb Group, the
1st Air Transport Unit, the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit, and the
1395th Military Police Company (Aviation).
Document disposition forms obtained from the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, indicate that in 1953, the Walker Air
Force Base (formerly RAAF) records officer transferred to the Army’s
Kansas City records depository the histories of units stationed at Walker
Air Force Base. These histories included the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF
for February 1947 through October 1947; the 1st Air Transport Unit for
July 1946 through June 1947; and the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit for
January 1946 to February 1947. We could not locate any documentation
indicating that records of the 1395th Military Police Company (Aviation)
2These records do not include information regarding mishaps of air vehicles belonging to civilian orother government agencies. These records also do not include mishaps involving unmanned air
vehicles such as remotely piloted aircraft, low-speed cruise missiles, and most balloons.GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 3,B-262046
were ever retired to the National Personnel Records Center or its
predecessor depositories.
The July 1947 history for the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF stated that the
RAAF public information office “was kept quite busy . . . answering inquiries
on the ’flying disc,’ which was reported to be in [the] possession of the
509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a radar tracking balloon.”
By his signature, the RAAF’s commanding officer certified that the report
represented a complete and accurate account of RAAF activities in
July 1947. (Excerpts from the report are contained in app. I.)
In addition to unit history reports, we also searched for other government
records on the Roswell crash. In this regard, the Chief Archivist for the
National Personnel Records Center provided us with documentation
indicating that (1) RAAF records such as finance and accounting, supplies,
buildings and grounds, and other general administrative matters from
March 1945 through December 1949 and (2) RAAF outgoing messages from
October 1946 through December 1949 were destroyed. According to this
official, the document disposition form did not properly indicate the
authority under which the disposal action was taken. The Center’s Chief
Archivist stated that from his personal experience, many of the Air Force
organizational records covering this time period were destroyed without
entering a citation for the governing disposition authority. Our review of
records control forms showing the destruction of other
records—including outgoing RAAF messages for 1950—supports the Chief
Archivist’s viewpoint.
During our review of records at FBI headquarters, we found a July 8, 1947,
teletype message from the FBI office in Dallas, Texas, to FBI headquarters
and the FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio. An FBI spokesperson confirmed the
authenticity of the message.
According to the message, an Eighth Air Force headquarters official had
telephonically informed the FBI’s Dallas office of the recovery near Roswell
of a hexagonal-shaped disc suspended from a large balloon by cable. The
message further stated that the disc and balloon were being sent to Wright
Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio) for examination.
According to the Eighth Air Force official, the recovered object resembled
a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector. The message stated
that no further investigation by the FBI was being conducted. (A copy of
the teletype message appears in app. II.)GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 4B-262046
To follow up on the July 8th message, we reviewed microfilm abstracts of
the FBI Dallas and Cincinnati office activities for July 1947. An abstract
prepared by the FBI Dallas office on July 12, 1947, summarized the
particulars of the July 8th message. There was no mention in the
Cincinnati office abstracts of the crash or recovery of an airborne object
near Roswell.
Because the FBI message reported that debris from the Roswell crash was
being transported to Wright Field for examination, we attempted to
determine whether military regulations existed for handling such debris.
We were unable to locate any applicable regulation. As a final step, we
reviewed Air Materiel Command (Wright Field) records from 1947 to 1950
for evidence of command personnel involvement in this matter. We found
no records mentioning the Roswell crash or the examination by Air
Materiel Command personnel of any debris recovered from the crash.
Queries to Federal
Agencies Regarding
Records on the Crash
We sent letters to several federal agencies asking for any government
records they might have concerning the Roswell crash. In this regard, we
contacted DOD, the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of
Energy.
The National Security Council, the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy responded that they had
no government records relating to the Roswell crash. (Copies of their
responses appear in app. III, IV, and V.) The FBI, DOD, and the CIA provided
the following information.
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
The FBI informed us that all FBI data regarding the crash near Roswell had
been processed under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
previously received by the Bureau. We reviewed the FBI’s FOIA material and
identified the July 8, 1947, FBI teletype message discussing the recovery
near Roswell of a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.
(A copy of the FBI’s response appears in app. VI.)
Department of Defense DOD informed us that the U.S. Air Force report of July 1994, entitled Report
of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident, represents the
extent of DOD records or information concerning the Roswell crash. The
Air Force report concluded that there was no dispute that something
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 5
B-262046
happened near Roswell in July 1947 and that all available official materials
indicated the most likely source of the wreckage recovered was one of the
project MOGUL balloon trains. At the time of the Roswell crash, project
MOGUL was a highly classified U.S. effort to determine the state of Soviet
nuclear weapons research using balloons that carried radar reflectors and
acoustic sensors. (A copy of DOD’s response appears in app. VII.)
Central Intelligence
Agency
In March 1995, the CIA’s Executive Director responded to our letter of
inquiry by stating that earlier searches by the CIA for records on
unidentified flying objects produced no information pertaining to the
Roswell crash. The Executive Director added, however, that it was unclear
whether the CIA had ever conducted a search for records specifically
relating to Roswell. In the absence of such assurance, the Executive
Director instructed CIA personnel to conduct a comprehensive records
search for information relating to Roswell. On May 30, 1995, the CIA’s
Executive Director informed us that a search against the term “Roswell,
New Mexico,” in all CIA databases produced no CIA documents related to
the crash. (A copy of CIA’s response appears in app. VIII.)
Agency Comments A draft of this report was provided to DOD for comment. DOD offered no
comments or suggested changes to the report. The Chief Archivist,
National Personnel Records Center offered several comments clarifying
matters dealing with records management. These comments have been
incorporated into the final report where appropriate.
The CIA, the Department of Energy, the FBI, the National Security Council,
and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy also
received excerpts from the report discussing the activities of their
respective agencies. They had no substantive comments and made no
suggested changes to the report.
und so geht das weiter 28 seiten lang
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mfg
United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
National Security and
International Affairs Division
B-262046
July 28, 1995
The Honorable Steven H. Schiff
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Schiff:
On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) public information
office in Roswell, New Mexico, reported the crash and recovery of a
“flying disc.” Army Air Forces personnel from the RAAF’s 509th Bomb
Group were credited with the recovery. The following day, the press
reported that the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Fort
Worth, Texas, announced that RAAF personnel had recovered a crashed
radar-tracking (weather) balloon, not a “flying disc.”
After nearly 50 years, speculation continues on what crashed at Roswell.
Some observers believe that the object was of extraterrestrial origin. In the
July 1994 Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident,
the Air Force did not dispute that something happened near Roswell, but
reported that the most likely source of the wreckage was from a
balloon-launched classified government project designed to determine the
state of Soviet nuclear weapons research. The debate on what crashed at
Roswell continues.Concerned that the Department of Defense (DOD) may not have providedyou with all available information on the crash, you asked us to determinethe requirements for reporting air accidents similar to the crash near
Roswell and identify any government records concerning the Roswell
crash.We conducted an extensive search for government records related to the
crash near Roswell. We examined a wide range of classified and
unclassified documents dating from July 1947 through the 1950s. These
records came from numerous organizations in New Mexico and elsewhere
throughout DOD as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council. The
full scope and methodology of our work are detailed at the end of this
report.
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 1
B-262046
Results in Brief In 1947, Army regulations required that air accident reports be maintained
permanently. We identified four air accidents reported by the Army Air
Forces in New Mexico during July 1947. All of the accidents involved
military aircraft and occurred after July 8, 1947—the date the RAAF public
information office first reported the crash and recovery of a “flying disc”
near Roswell. The Navy reported no air accidents in New Mexico during
July 1947. Air Force officials told us that according to record-keeping
requirements in effect during July 1947, there was no requirement to
prepare a report on the crash of a weather balloon.
In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that
some government records covering RAAF activities had been destroyed and
others had not. For example, RAAF administrative records (from Mar. 1945
through Dec. 1949) and RAAF outgoing messages (from Oct. 1946 through
Dec. 1949) were destroyed. The document disposition form does not
indicate what organization or person destroyed the records and when or
under what authority the records were destroyed.
Our search for government records concerning the Roswell crash yielded
two records originating in 1947—a July 1947 history report by the
combined 509th Bomb Group and RAAF and an FBI teletype message dated
July 8, 1947. The 509th-RAAF report noted the recovery of a “flying disc”
that was later determined by military officials to be a radar-tracking
balloon. The FBI message stated that the military had reported that an
object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector
had been recovered near Roswell.The other government records we reviewed, including those previouslywithheld from the public because of security classification, and the AirForce’s analysis of unidentified flying object1 sightings from 1946 to 1953
(Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14), did not mention the crash or
the recovery of an airborne object near Roswell in July 1947. Similarly,
executive branch agencies’ responses to our letters of inquiry produced no
other government records on the Roswell crash.
Reporting AirAccidents
According to press accounts from July 1947, Army Air Forces personnel
from RAAF were involved in the recovery of an airborne object near
Roswell. Therefore, if an air accident report was prepared, it should have
1According to Air Force regulation, an unidentified flying object is an airborne object that byperformance, aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not conform to known aircraft or
missiles, or does not correspond to Air Force definitions of familiar or known objects or unidentifiedaircraft.
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 2,B-262046
been prepared in accordance with Army regulations. According to an
Army records management official, in 1947 Army regulations required that
air accident reports be maintained permanently. An Air Force official said
there was no similar requirement to report a weather balloon crash.
According to an Air Force official who has worked in the records
management field since the mid-1940s, air accident reports prepared in
July 1947 under Army regulations should have been transferred to Air
Force custody in September 1947, when the Air Force was established as a
separate service.
The Air Force Safety Agency is responsible for maintaining reports of air
accidents. We examined its microfilm records to determine whether any
air accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. We
identified four air accidents during this time period.2 All of the accidents
involved military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred after July 8,
1947—the date the RAAF public information office first reported the crash
and recovery of a “flying disc” near Roswell. According to the Army Air
Forces’ Report of Major Accident, these four accidents occurred at or near
the towns of Hobbs, Albuquerque, Carrizozo, and Alamogordo, New
Mexico. Only one of the four accidents resulted in a fatality. The pilot died
when the aircraft crashed during an attempted take-off.
Search for Records In searching for government records on the Roswell crash, we wereparticularly interested in identifying and reviewing records of military
units assigned to RAAF in 1947—to include the 509th Bomb Group, the
1st Air Transport Unit, the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit, and the
1395th Military Police Company (Aviation).
Document disposition forms obtained from the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, indicate that in 1953, the Walker Air
Force Base (formerly RAAF) records officer transferred to the Army’s
Kansas City records depository the histories of units stationed at Walker
Air Force Base. These histories included the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF
for February 1947 through October 1947; the 1st Air Transport Unit for
July 1946 through June 1947; and the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit for
January 1946 to February 1947. We could not locate any documentation
indicating that records of the 1395th Military Police Company (Aviation)
2These records do not include information regarding mishaps of air vehicles belonging to civilian orother government agencies. These records also do not include mishaps involving unmanned air
vehicles such as remotely piloted aircraft, low-speed cruise missiles, and most balloons.GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 3,B-262046
were ever retired to the National Personnel Records Center or its
predecessor depositories.
The July 1947 history for the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF stated that the
RAAF public information office “was kept quite busy . . . answering inquiries
on the ’flying disc,’ which was reported to be in [the] possession of the
509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a radar tracking balloon.”
By his signature, the RAAF’s commanding officer certified that the report
represented a complete and accurate account of RAAF activities in
July 1947. (Excerpts from the report are contained in app. I.)
In addition to unit history reports, we also searched for other government
records on the Roswell crash. In this regard, the Chief Archivist for the
National Personnel Records Center provided us with documentation
indicating that (1) RAAF records such as finance and accounting, supplies,
buildings and grounds, and other general administrative matters from
March 1945 through December 1949 and (2) RAAF outgoing messages from
October 1946 through December 1949 were destroyed. According to this
official, the document disposition form did not properly indicate the
authority under which the disposal action was taken. The Center’s Chief
Archivist stated that from his personal experience, many of the Air Force
organizational records covering this time period were destroyed without
entering a citation for the governing disposition authority. Our review of
records control forms showing the destruction of other
records—including outgoing RAAF messages for 1950—supports the Chief
Archivist’s viewpoint.
During our review of records at FBI headquarters, we found a July 8, 1947,
teletype message from the FBI office in Dallas, Texas, to FBI headquarters
and the FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio. An FBI spokesperson confirmed the
authenticity of the message.
According to the message, an Eighth Air Force headquarters official had
telephonically informed the FBI’s Dallas office of the recovery near Roswell
of a hexagonal-shaped disc suspended from a large balloon by cable. The
message further stated that the disc and balloon were being sent to Wright
Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio) for examination.
According to the Eighth Air Force official, the recovered object resembled
a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector. The message stated
that no further investigation by the FBI was being conducted. (A copy of
the teletype message appears in app. II.)GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 4B-262046
To follow up on the July 8th message, we reviewed microfilm abstracts of
the FBI Dallas and Cincinnati office activities for July 1947. An abstract
prepared by the FBI Dallas office on July 12, 1947, summarized the
particulars of the July 8th message. There was no mention in the
Cincinnati office abstracts of the crash or recovery of an airborne object
near Roswell.
Because the FBI message reported that debris from the Roswell crash was
being transported to Wright Field for examination, we attempted to
determine whether military regulations existed for handling such debris.
We were unable to locate any applicable regulation. As a final step, we
reviewed Air Materiel Command (Wright Field) records from 1947 to 1950
for evidence of command personnel involvement in this matter. We found
no records mentioning the Roswell crash or the examination by Air
Materiel Command personnel of any debris recovered from the crash.
Queries to Federal
Agencies Regarding
Records on the Crash
We sent letters to several federal agencies asking for any government
records they might have concerning the Roswell crash. In this regard, we
contacted DOD, the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of
Energy.
The National Security Council, the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy responded that they had
no government records relating to the Roswell crash. (Copies of their
responses appear in app. III, IV, and V.) The FBI, DOD, and the CIA provided
the following information.
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
The FBI informed us that all FBI data regarding the crash near Roswell had
been processed under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
previously received by the Bureau. We reviewed the FBI’s FOIA material and
identified the July 8, 1947, FBI teletype message discussing the recovery
near Roswell of a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.
(A copy of the FBI’s response appears in app. VI.)
Department of Defense DOD informed us that the U.S. Air Force report of July 1994, entitled Report
of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident, represents the
extent of DOD records or information concerning the Roswell crash. The
Air Force report concluded that there was no dispute that something
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 Government Records Page 5
B-262046
happened near Roswell in July 1947 and that all available official materials
indicated the most likely source of the wreckage recovered was one of the
project MOGUL balloon trains. At the time of the Roswell crash, project
MOGUL was a highly classified U.S. effort to determine the state of Soviet
nuclear weapons research using balloons that carried radar reflectors and
acoustic sensors. (A copy of DOD’s response appears in app. VII.)
Central Intelligence
Agency
In March 1995, the CIA’s Executive Director responded to our letter of
inquiry by stating that earlier searches by the CIA for records on
unidentified flying objects produced no information pertaining to the
Roswell crash. The Executive Director added, however, that it was unclear
whether the CIA had ever conducted a search for records specifically
relating to Roswell. In the absence of such assurance, the Executive
Director instructed CIA personnel to conduct a comprehensive records
search for information relating to Roswell. On May 30, 1995, the CIA’s
Executive Director informed us that a search against the term “Roswell,
New Mexico,” in all CIA databases produced no CIA documents related to
the crash. (A copy of CIA’s response appears in app. VIII.)
Agency Comments A draft of this report was provided to DOD for comment. DOD offered no
comments or suggested changes to the report. The Chief Archivist,
National Personnel Records Center offered several comments clarifying
matters dealing with records management. These comments have been
incorporated into the final report where appropriate.
The CIA, the Department of Energy, the FBI, the National Security Council,
and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy also
received excerpts from the report discussing the activities of their
respective agencies. They had no substantive comments and made no
suggested changes to the report.
und so geht das weiter 28 seiten lang
Credendo Vides
