DISCLOSURE / FILE
Bluebook's Hundred Cameras, Ninety Percent Failure
A 17 December 1953 CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence memo giving the Assistant Director a status update on the Air Force UFO project and related foreign activity.
DISCLOSURE / FILE
A 17 December 1953 CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence memo giving the Assistant Director a status update on the Air Force UFO project and related foreign activity.
CIA-UAP-007, Current Status Of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) Project.
A 17 December 1953 CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence memo giving the Assistant Director a status update on the Air Force UFO project and related foreign activity.
Written by Todos M. Odarenko, Chief of the Physics and Electronics Division (SI), the memo reports that the Air Force maintained interest in unidentified flying objects (UFOB) with 'apparently decreasing emphasis,' that ATIC's Project Bluebook (No. 10073) was staffed by one officer (Capt. Charles A. Hardin), one airman (A/1C Max G. Futch), and a secretary, and was being transferred to Air Defense Command. It describes ATIC's procurement of 100 'Videon' 35mm cameras with spectrographic gratings to photograph UFOBs, 74 of which were distributed before 90 percent of the gratings failed. It also covers Canada's reported 'laboratory' for recording UFOB phenomena, minimal Navy and Army interest, and the January 1953 OSI panel recommendation that UFOBs be 'stripped of special status and aura of mystery.'
The Air Force continues top.1
ADC is the (Air Force) Cosmund that would have to take action.p.2
Several months ago we were advised that ATIC planned to set vp a concen'rated instrumentation observational e:fort in the Albuqverq.e arez. This has nov been dropped.p.2
tha! experiments on a flying saucer are actually being conducted at A. V. Roe, Ltd., Toronto.p.3
The definite drop in the nurber of "sightings" reported during 1953 over 1952 cold be attrib.ted to actions following these recommendations.p.3
Extracted text · Page 1
Page 1 · born-digital extraction
1 Approved f or Rel ease 2026 17 December 1953 r,";g1,~0MNDUM TO, .Assistant Director, 3c:i.entif'ic Intelligence FROM : Chief, Phys l cs and Electron.ics Division; SI SUBJECT : Current Status of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOB) Project. l. In accordarii'.~e with the verbal request ol' Mr. Brent,.. Exec/SI, on 30 November, the following resum e of the current status or' unidenti fied flying objects activities has been prepared. 2. P&E Division assumed responsibility for the OSI project on unldentified f lying objects as a result oJ: ~ ,our memorandum of 27 Ma~ 1953. The project has been con:t'l~ed to rr:aintainiog awareness of the nctlvities of other agencies {notabl_y the USAF) in ·the unidentified f lying objects business and t o !aa.intenance of files. 3. Sta.tus ot' Depa.rtrnent of Defense Act ivi ties. . . a. Air Force. The Air Force continues to ,1 JS.1.Gtain, but with aJ)parently decreasing emphasis, .Lts interest in UFOB's. The present interest of th•~ Directorate of Intel ligence, Hq. , USAF, is conf.).ned to a curso~ cop.,nlzance of ATIC's project (.iuebook No. 10073). At ATIC the project is carri ed by one officer (Capt . Charles A. Hardin), one airman (A/lC Max G. Futch), and a secreta.lJ· operating as tlie .Aeri al . Phenomena. Secti on of'. the Electronics Branch, Technic_al A:Qalysis Division. In s:pite of thls 11.::nited staff, as weLle as several changes or proJect • officer, the project records appear to be up-to-date. ATIC personnel no longer conduct f ield investigations of UFOB sightings (these are requested from USAF intelligence officers C9priroarily Air Defense Command and Airways and Air Communications ServiciJ nearer to the a j ghtings), but confine their activ l tiea .to receiving and checking reports as received; requesting a.ddi~ional f ield investigation where necessary, pe.rfcnning necessary checkine against meteorological, ast~omical, aircraf t, and b.alloon data, and record.lug their findings and honclusions in a cross-referenced system by date, location, source, tJ~e ·or observa.tioo and conclusion drawn. The Aerial Phenomena Section also deals directly ~1th the Public Information Office of Hq., USAF, re~ing 1nfo:rma.tion for public release. For about the past year, apprcxbiately ten percent of the reported s.i.gb.tlngs have been tagged us unsolved. •.. Of pa.:r.ticular interest is the fact that ATIC is i n the process oi' transterring pr9Ject Bluebook ~6 Hq., Air Defense Command . Accord Jng to Lt . Col. Harry Johnsto~, Chief, Electroni cs Branch, the reason for the transl'er was that l\DC bad been doing most of the s .Page 2 · vision OCR
| @ SECRET © luvestigative werk 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) Cosmund 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 .s undoubtedly true that ADC is the Aiz Foree Command primarily concerned with UFOB's at the present ime n tha’ their interceptors are occasionally dispatched “aga oet” reporied UFOB's and that their reporting stations and cor nications sys-ems are involved in a considerable portion of the UFOB act vity, 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 .owers in locations where consistent UFOB reports were rece ved n the hopes of photographing UFOB's. One lens of the camera (a sterecoscop ce type) was to be covered with a simple grating ‘Oo record the spec! rographic nature of the UFOB photographed. One hooudred 'Videon" 35 mm. cameras with "stereon"” anastigmat £ 3.5 lenses sere pirchased along with 100 gratings (15,000 line) from CENCO, Chicago. even y-four (74) cameras were distributed. N.nety percent o° the gra.ings have "gone bad"--.he actual grating separating “rom the plast:c mouncing plates. New gratings are expected shortly and ATTC expecis to recall all of the 74 distributed cameras and re- eq: p them with the new gratings. Several months ago we were advised that ATIC planned to set vp a concen'rated instrumentation observational e:fort in the Albuqverq.e arez. This has nov been dropped. - Protect STORK (SECRE!) has beenpreparing,at ATIC request a2 comprehensive s'a is ical repor® on UFOB sigh wings during the perfod 19h7 -hro gh 1952. This study is now expected to be completed by 2. December 1953. ATTC ‘saues status reports on Project Bluebook on a tri-nonthly bisis the vost recent being Report No. 12 30 September 1953. b. Navy. The Navy in spiie of press reports to the con‘rary, is presently devoting only part of one ONI analyst's time to maintain'ng cogn'zance of UFOB's. e. Army. The Army has ev .denced little or no interest in UFOB's other than cooperating with the Air Force in reporting sightings and pert'nent data using the Air Force format. 4, Tnvestigations or Interests of Foreign Governments. a. Canada. Considerable attention in the U. 3. press was recently given to reporis shat the Canadian Defence Research Roard and Departmen! of Transport had jointly and officially established a ~2. ar re
Page 3 · vision OCR
?
"laboratory" for recording observable phenomena connected with UFOB's.
Tt “s “nteresting to note that in his recently published book "Flying
Sa.:cers From Outer Space” Mr. D. &. Keyhoe states that a #ilbur B.
Snith of the Canadian Department of Transport had been conducting
“sancer” investigations for three years before 1952, or beginning in
1¢he. If Keyhoe 1s correct and it is the same Wilbur B. Smith
ment oned in bis book as in the recent press releases. one might
wonder why the matter hit the press four years late. It is, of course
quive possible tha: the press item was prompted by the information in
Keyhoe's book. Several reports have been received |
_ tha! experiments on a flying saucer are actually being
conducted at A. V. Roe, Ltd., Toronto.
b. Grea’. Briiain. The subject of UFOB's was discussed
briefly _ during his recent visit. He
stated tha since | ~_|investigation of UFOB's ot two and
one half years ago, initiated |
the only British activity is the filing of reports as
received by the RAF.
—_ _¢. Sweden.|
Po No further information
is available.
d. Other. Aside from a few scattered reports, mostly old,
which indicate interest in UFOB's by private individuals or groups,
there is no information of concern or inquiries of consequence in
other ‘oreign countries.
5- Results of OSI Panel Recommendations. The consultants who
considered this problem in January 1553 recommended that UFOB's be
stripped of special status and aura of mystery and that policies on
intelligence, training. and public education pertinent to true
‘ndieat.ons of hostile intent or action be prepared. The definite
drop in the nurber of "sightings" reported during 1953 over 1952
cold be attrib.ted to actions following these recommendations. Two
recent books ("Flying Saucers From Outer Space" by Keyhoe and "Flying
Saucers Have Landed” by Leslie and Adariski) take full advantage of
“official” UFOB reports released by the Air Force to develop a central
theme that UFOB's are extraterrestrial in origin. Fortunately, the
later book 8 so nonsensical and obviously fraudulent that .t may
actully help calm down public resction. These books do, however,
, illustrate the risk taken by the present policy. There are no other
as yet apparen. res:lts of these recomendations.
Na Be ‘ TODOS M. ODARENKO
-3-Concatenated page-by-page transcript. Born-digital pages came through pdf.js; scanned pages were transcribed by Claude vision OCR. Pages marked unreadable failed multiple OCR retries (heavy redaction, microfilm artifacts, or blank separators) and are kept in place for audit.
1 Approved f or Rel ease 2026 17 December 1953 r,";g1,~0MNDUM TO, .Assistant Director, 3c:i.entif'ic Intelligence FROM : Chief, Phys l cs and Electron.ics Division; SI SUBJECT : Current Status of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOB) Project. l. In accordarii'.~e with the verbal request ol' Mr. Brent,.. Exec/SI, on 30 November, the following resum e of the current status or' unidenti fied flying objects activities has been prepared. 2. P&E Division assumed responsibility for the OSI project on unldentified f lying objects as a result oJ: ~ ,our memorandum of 27 Ma~ 1953. The project has been con:t'l~ed to rr:aintainiog awareness of the nctlvities of other agencies {notabl_y the USAF) in ·the unidentified f lying objects business and t o !aa.intenance of files. 3. Sta.tus ot' Depa.rtrnent of Defense Act ivi ties. . . a. Air Force. The Air Force continues to ,1 JS.1.Gtain, but with aJ)parently decreasing emphasis, .Lts interest in UFOB's. The present interest of th•~ Directorate of Intel ligence, Hq. , USAF, is conf.).ned to a curso~ cop.,nlzance of ATIC's project (.iuebook No. 10073). At ATIC the project is carri ed by one officer (Capt . Charles A. Hardin), one airman (A/lC Max G. Futch), and a secreta.lJ· operating as tlie .Aeri al . Phenomena. Secti on of'. the Electronics Branch, Technic_al A:Qalysis Division. In s:pite of thls 11.::nited staff, as weLle as several changes or proJect • officer, the project records appear to be up-to-date. ATIC personnel no longer conduct f ield investigations of UFOB sightings (these are requested from USAF intelligence officers C9priroarily Air Defense Command and Airways and Air Communications ServiciJ nearer to the a j ghtings), but confine their activ l tiea .to receiving and checking reports as received; requesting a.ddi~ional f ield investigation where necessary, pe.rfcnning necessary checkine against meteorological, ast~omical, aircraf t, and b.alloon data, and record.lug their findings and honclusions in a cross-referenced system by date, location, source, tJ~e ·or observa.tioo and conclusion drawn. The Aerial Phenomena Section also deals directly ~1th the Public Information Office of Hq., USAF, re~ing 1nfo:rma.tion for public release. For about the past year, apprcxbiately ten percent of the reported s.i.gb.tlngs have been tagged us unsolved. •.. Of pa.:r.ticular interest is the fact that ATIC is i n the process oi' transterring pr9Ject Bluebook ~6 Hq., Air Defense Command . Accord Jng to Lt . Col. Harry Johnsto~, Chief, Electroni cs Branch, the reason for the transl'er was that l\DC bad been doing most of the s .| @ SECRET © luvestigative werk 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) Cosmund 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 .s undoubtedly true that ADC is the Aiz Foree Command primarily concerned with UFOB's at the present ime n tha’ their interceptors are occasionally dispatched “aga oet” reporied UFOB's and that their reporting stations and cor nications sys-ems are involved in a considerable portion of the UFOB act vity, 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 .owers in locations where consistent UFOB reports were rece ved n the hopes of photographing UFOB's. One lens of the camera (a sterecoscop ce type) was to be covered with a simple grating ‘Oo record the spec! rographic nature of the UFOB photographed. One hooudred 'Videon" 35 mm. cameras with "stereon"” anastigmat £ 3.5 lenses sere pirchased along with 100 gratings (15,000 line) from CENCO, Chicago. even y-four (74) cameras were distributed. N.nety percent o° the gra.ings have "gone bad"--.he actual grating separating “rom the plast:c mouncing plates. New gratings are expected shortly and ATTC expecis to recall all of the 74 distributed cameras and re- eq: p them with the new gratings. Several months ago we were advised that ATIC planned to set vp a concen'rated instrumentation observational e:fort in the Albuqverq.e arez. This has nov been dropped. - Protect STORK (SECRE!) has beenpreparing,at ATIC request a2 comprehensive s'a is ical repor® on UFOB sigh wings during the perfod 19h7 -hro gh 1952. This study is now expected to be completed by 2. December 1953. ATTC ‘saues status reports on Project Bluebook on a tri-nonthly bisis the vost recent being Report No. 12 30 September 1953. b. Navy. The Navy in spiie of press reports to the con‘rary, is presently devoting only part of one ONI analyst's time to maintain'ng cogn'zance of UFOB's. e. Army. The Army has ev .denced little or no interest in UFOB's other than cooperating with the Air Force in reporting sightings and pert'nent data using the Air Force format. 4, Tnvestigations or Interests of Foreign Governments. a. Canada. Considerable attention in the U. 3. press was recently given to reporis shat the Canadian Defence Research Roard and Departmen! of Transport had jointly and officially established a ~2. ar re
?
"laboratory" for recording observable phenomena connected with UFOB's.
Tt “s “nteresting to note that in his recently published book "Flying
Sa.:cers From Outer Space” Mr. D. &. Keyhoe states that a #ilbur B.
Snith of the Canadian Department of Transport had been conducting
“sancer” investigations for three years before 1952, or beginning in
1¢he. If Keyhoe 1s correct and it is the same Wilbur B. Smith
ment oned in bis book as in the recent press releases. one might
wonder why the matter hit the press four years late. It is, of course
quive possible tha: the press item was prompted by the information in
Keyhoe's book. Several reports have been received |
_ tha! experiments on a flying saucer are actually being
conducted at A. V. Roe, Ltd., Toronto.
b. Grea’. Briiain. The subject of UFOB's was discussed
briefly _ during his recent visit. He
stated tha since | ~_|investigation of UFOB's ot two and
one half years ago, initiated |
the only British activity is the filing of reports as
received by the RAF.
—_ _¢. Sweden.|
Po No further information
is available.
d. Other. Aside from a few scattered reports, mostly old,
which indicate interest in UFOB's by private individuals or groups,
there is no information of concern or inquiries of consequence in
other ‘oreign countries.
5- Results of OSI Panel Recommendations. The consultants who
considered this problem in January 1553 recommended that UFOB's be
stripped of special status and aura of mystery and that policies on
intelligence, training. and public education pertinent to true
‘ndieat.ons of hostile intent or action be prepared. The definite
drop in the nurber of "sightings" reported during 1953 over 1952
cold be attrib.ted to actions following these recommendations. Two
recent books ("Flying Saucers From Outer Space" by Keyhoe and "Flying
Saucers Have Landed” by Leslie and Adariski) take full advantage of
“official” UFOB reports released by the Air Force to develop a central
theme that UFOB's are extraterrestrial in origin. Fortunately, the
later book 8 so nonsensical and obviously fraudulent that .t may
actully help calm down public resction. These books do, however,
, illustrate the risk taken by the present policy. There are no other
as yet apparen. res:lts of these recomendations.
Na Be ‘ TODOS M. ODARENKO
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