The Investigation of UFO's

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This publication is prepared primarily for the use of US governm ent officials. The format,
coverage and content are designed to meet their requirements. To that end, some
issues of Studies in Intelligence each year remain classified and are not circulated to the
public, resulting in numbering gaps in scholarly collections and accounting for
discontinuities in page numbering. These printed unclassified extracts from a classified
issue have been provided as a courtesy to subscribers.
Some of the material in this publication is copyrighted, and noted as such. Those items
should not be reproduced or disseminated without permission.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed In Studies
In Intelligence are those of the authors. TIley do not necessarily
renect omclal positions or views of the Central Intelligence
Agency or any other US government entity, past or present.
Nothing In the contents should be construed as asserting or
Implying US government endorsement or an article's factual
statements, Interpretations, or recommendations.

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Hmory and methodology of

"flying saucer" inteUigence.

THE INVESTIGATION
OF UFO'S
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Hector Quintanilla, Jr.
Unidentified flying objects are not a new phenomenon. In 593 B.C.
Ezekiel recorded a whirlwind to the north which appeared as a fiery
sphere. In 1254 at Saint Albans Abbey, when the moon was eight
days old, there appeared in the sky a ship elegantly shaped, well
equipped and of marvelous color. In 1520 in France there were
Sighted a round-shaped object with rotating lights and two fiery suns.
In 1874 in Texas a farmer reported seeing a dark flying object in
the shape of a disc cruising in the sky at a wonderful speed. These
are a mere sampling of the many such events recorded by historians.
The modern era of UFOs, however, can be dated from 24 June 1947,
when a flyer made some' strange observations which national news
coverage and authors with a poetic license so played up as to excite
public entertainment of a notion that our planet had been visited
by unknown vehicles from outer space.
Supet'sooic Saucers

On that 24 June, Kenneth. Arnold was out flying in his private
plane. He was looking for a Marine transport that was supposed
to have crash-landed somewhere on the southwest side of Mt. Ranier.
First he ilew directly toward the mountain from the west at an altitude
of apprOximately 9,500 feet, searching all of the various ridges for
the downed plane. Then he made a sweep back to the west, found
nothing, and headed again toward Mt. Ranier. ·The air was so smooth
that it was a real pleasure flying; he trimmed out the aircraft and
relaxed, admiring the crystal-clear sky and the terrain, . There was
a DC-4 to his left and rear at apprOximately 14,000 feet.
He hadn't flown more than two or three minutes on this course
when a bright flash reflected on his airplane. He couldn't find where
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the reflection came from, but to the left, north of Mt. Ranier, he did
observe a ~hain of nine peculiar-looking objects flying from north to
south at approximately' 9,500 feet. They were approaching Mt.
Ranier very rapidly, and he at first assumed them to be jet aircraft.
Every few seconds two or three of them would dip' or change course
slightly, so as to catch the sun at an angle and reflect brightly. They
were too far away for him to determine their shape or formation.
As they approached Mt. Ranier, however, he observed their outline
quite clearly-except that, oddly, he could not find their tails. He
watched them pass the southern edge of Mt. Ranier 'flying directly
south-southeast down the hog's-back of a range. Their elevation
'seemed to vary by as much as one thousand feet, but they remained
very near the horizon, therefore around his own elevation. They'
flew rather like geese, in a diagonal chain as though they were linked
together. They seemed to maintain their orientation while swerving
in and out of the high mountain peaks.
Arnold eStimated the distance from him to the objects at approximately 25 miles. Using a Zeus fastener and a cowling tool, he estimated their size to be about two-thirds that of the DC-4. Watching
them pass a high snow-covered ridge between Mt. Ranier and Mt.
Adams, he saw that as the first object was leaving its south crest the
last one was entering its northern crest. Later the length of this
ridge, and therefore that of the chain of objects, was determined-to
be about five miles. Arnold timed their flight from Mt. Ranier to Mt:
Adams, 47 miles, at 1 min. 42 sec:, a speed of 1,659 miles per hour.
In a subsequent intervi,ew with newsmen, Arnold described the objects as appearing like saucers skipping on water. This description,
shortened to "flying saucers" by newsmen; gave rise to the popular
term for UFOs. The sighting, like most, was not reproducible for
purposes of investigation; it involved uncontrollable atmospheric conditions. The Air Force was left with one man's subjective interpretation of what he had experienced. Scientists who reviewed Arnold's
sighting concluded that the objects were a mirage. The smooth,
crystal-clear air that he noted indicated the very stable conditions
which are associated with inversions and a high index of refraction of
the atmosphere.
Although Arnold's experience could not be reproduced, another
phenomenon in some respects similar and observed in the same area

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found a satisfactory explanation. Navy Commander W. J. Young
reported In November ~948 that on several occasions he had seen over
the Willamette valley' and the plains of eastern Washington and
Oregon what could easily have been mistaken for flymg discs. One
striking example occurred over the Willamette valley on a clear sunny
day when the ever-present blue haze seemed somewhat thicker than
usual. His aircraft was flying at altitudes between 1,000 and 5,000
feet when bright flying obfects appeared, SOme on his beam and others
on the bows or dead ahead. From time to time they would disappear and new ones appear.
Young finally determined that what looked to be aircraft at various
altitudes were reflections of the sun from the aluminum roofs of farm
buildings at great distance from his plane. The perspective of the
land converging with the sky on the horizon, with limited ground
visibility, made it appear as though the roof reflections were actually
airborne at various altitudes in the haze. Thus one UFO sighting was
solved by the observer himself. . Although there is no uniform pattern
among reported UFO phenomen!l, some characteristics of one may be
found in others, as in Young's and Arnold's.
Sign and Grudge

Newspaper publiCity for Arnold's flying saucers started an avalanche
of other sightings. The Air Force began receiving reports from people
in all walks of life. Before December 1947 no specific organization
was responSible for investigating and evaluating these. Without any
basis in measurable data or controlled experiment, the reported phenomena were variously assessed, even within the military structur~,
as due to a new aerodynamic configuration, to natural occurrences, to
miSinterpretation of conventional objects, or to space ships under intelligent control. The military interest touched the fields of air defense, R&D, and intelligence, responsibilities vested in many different
organizations.
'
To end this confuSion, the Chief of Staff directed on 30 December
1947 that a project be established to collect, collate, evaluate, and
distribute within, the government all information concerning sightlngs
which could be construed as of concern to the national security. Responsibility for the project. assigned the code name "Sign," was given
to the Air Technical Intel.Jigence Center. In February 1949 Project
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Sign, having completed its evaluation of the 243 UFO cases submitted
to it, issued a report:
No definite and conclusive evidence is yet available that would prove or
disprove the existence of these unidentified objects as real aircraft of unknown
and unconventional configuration. It is unlikely that positive proof of their
existence will be obtained without examination of the remains of crashed
objects. Proof of non-existence is equally impossible to obtain unless a
reasonable and convincing explanation is determined for each incident. ...
Explanations 'of some of the incidents revealed the existence of simple and
easily understandable causes, so that there is the possibility that enough
incidents can be solved to eliminate or greatly reduce the' mystery associated
with these occurrences. . . . Under wartime conditions. rapid and convincing solu~ons of such occurrences are necessary to maintain morale of
military and civilian personnel.

With the backlog of cases disposed of, the project was continued
on a reduced scale and under a new code name, "Grudge." Project
Grudge completed its· evaluation of 244 reports in August 1949, relying
heavily on the w~rk of' university scientists and other outside consultants, as well as the USAF Air Weather Service and the U.S.
Weather Bureau. The Grudge Report concluded that the UFO sightings signifled nothing that would constitute a threat to the national .
security of the United States, that they were chargeable to misinterpretations of conventional objects, a mild form of mass hysteria or
war nerves, and fabrications for the sake of hoax or publiCity.
Special Report No. 1.4
The soothing conclusions of Project Grudge caused very little
comment, and the project was continued on a reduced scale. Nevertheless, the fringe of people that still believed in extraterrestrial
visitation was growing with the popularity of science fiction articles
and magazines. In December 1951 a contract was let to an industrial
firm for a d~tailedstudy, unclassifled, of the UFO cases on file.
It took three years to complete this study.
Meanwhile, in March 1952, the project was given its present name,
"Blue Book." During' this period numerous books were written about
the UFOs. Some representative titles are The Coming of the Saucers,
Space. Gravity. and the Flying Saucer, Is Another Worid Watching,
The Flying Saucers Are Real, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, and
Flying Saucers Come from a Dista.nt World. UFO hobby clubs were
formed throughout the country. Most professed to be studying the
phenomena scientifically, but few, if any, had physical or behavioral

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scientists on their so-called evaluation .committees. During the early
fifties it became fashionable to accuse the Air Force of censorship
or of withholding UFO information from the public.
In January 1953, while the three-year contract study was still in
process, a Scientific Advisory Panel was formed to make an authoritative' quick evaluation. It was composed of civilian scientists outsidethe government with well-known and respected names-H. P. Robertson, Luis W. Alvarez, I"loyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, Thornton
Page. Following is an extract from their report:
The panel . . . has reviewed a selection of the best documented incidents.
. .• We firmly believe that there is no residuum of cases which indicates
phenomena which are attributable to foreign artifacts capable of hostile acts,
and that there is no evidence that the phenomena indicate a need for the
revision of current scientific concepts. The panel further concludes that
the continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these
perilous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective
organs of the body politic. We cite as examples the clogging of channels
of communication by irrelevant reports, the danger of being led by continued false alarms to ignore real indications of hOstile action, and the
cultivation of a morbid national psychology in which skillful hostile propaganda could induce hysterical behavior and harmful distrust of duly constituted authority.

The panel recomme.nded:
That the national security agencies take immediate steps to strip the unidentified flying objects of the special status they have been given and the
aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquited.

One action taken on this recommendation was to establish, within
the Office of Information at the Air Force Secretary's level, an office
to answer public questiOns and release information regarding UFOs.
Throughout the years, the responsibility for releasing UFO information to the public has. remained with the Office of Information, Secra'tary of the Air Force.
When the unclassified contract study was ready at the end of
1954, it was immediately released to the news media. It was released
under ATIC cover, because the competent company which produced
it wished to remain anonymous in this field of research. It is commonly referred to as Special Report No. '14, the first 13 having been
administrative progress reports.
Special Report No. 14 reduced and evaluated all the UFO data
held in the Air Force files. It contains graphs shOwing the frequency
distribuQon of sightings by time, date, location, shape, color, duration,

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azimuth, and elevation. It records an attempt to build a model of
the typical UFO and an ultimate finding that U~Os come in all sizes,
shapes, and colors. It concludes as follows:
It can never be absolutely proven that "FlYing Saucers" do not exist. '"
Scienti6cally evaluated and arranged, the clata as Ii whole did not show
any marked patterns or trends. ... A critical examination of the distribu~
tions of ,the important characteristics of sightings, plus an intensive study
of the sightings evaluated as unknown, led to the conclusion that a combination of factors . . . resulted in the failure to identify as Knowns most of
the objects classified as Unknowns. An intensive study aimed at finding a
verified example' of a ~'Flying Saucer" or at deriving a verified model or
models of "Flying Saucers" led to the conclusion that neither goal could
be attained using the present data.
It is emphaSized that there was a complete lack of any valid evidence
consisting of physical matter in any case of a reported unidentified aerial
object. Thus, the probability that any of the unknowns considered in this
study are "Flying Saucers" is concluded to be extremely small, since the most
complete and reliable reports from the present data, when isolated and
studied, conclUSively failed to reveal even a rough model, and since the data
as a whole failed' to reveal any marked patterns or trends.
Therefore, on the basis of this evaluation of the information, it is considered to be highly improbable that any of the reports of unidentified aerial
objects examined in this study represent observations of technological developments outside the range of present-day scienti6c knowledge.
Inv~~ Procedures

,The objectives of the UFO program, outlined in 1953 by Air Force
Regulation 200-2, remain unchanged:
( 1) To determine if UFO phenomena present a threat to the security of the United States.
(2) To determine if UFO phenomena exhibit any technological
advances, which could be channeled into U.S. R&D.
( 3 ), To expla:bl or identify the stimuli which caused the observer
to report a UFO.
Our Project Blue Book office at Wright-Patterson has a complement
of only one office~, two sergeants, and one civilian ,stenographer.
The initial investigation of aU UFO sightings is therefore undertaken
by the commander of th~ nearest Air Force base. In its subsequent
analysis of UfO cases, also, 'the project office is assisted by many
organizations and' professional individuals. Project Consultant for
the past eighteen years has been Dr. J. Allen Hynek, 'astrophysicist

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and Chairman of the Dearborn. Observatory, Northwestern University.
It is Dr. Hynek, obviously, who has maintained continuity on the
project, in addition to evaluating all suspected astronomical cases.
We have used the services of Dr. Charles P. Olivier, head of the
American Meteor Society, in evaluating some suspected meteor cases.
For help on suspected aircraft sightings we have gone to Federal
Aviation Agency offices, local airports, the Strategic Air Command,
and the Air Defense Command. In suspected balloon sightings we
have called upon local airports, local we~ther stations, the U.S.
Weather Bureau, Holloman AFB Balloon Control Center, the National
Center for Atmospheric Research, General Mills, Raven Industries,
Sea Space Systems, and colleges and universities conducting balloon
research. ' For suspected satellite sightings we use the printed Echo
schedules, NASA satellite reports, the Smithsonian North and South
Equatorial Crossings, and the professional services of the Space Detection and Tracking System. For suspected missile observations we
go directly to Cape Kennedy, Vandenberg AFB, Point Magu, Wallops
Island, Eglin AFB, Holloman AFB, and Green River.
For radar analysis we contact one of our internal organizations.
For photo analysis, we use an internal organization but also Kodak
in Rochester, N.Y. On physical specimens we have used the services
of the Air Force Materials Laboratory, ,Battelle MemOrial, the Food
and Drug A~inistration, Libby Owens, Coming Glass, Institute <?f
Paper ChemiStry, and the Northwestern Geology Department. Numerous other organizations and individuals have helped the project
in the past. No individual, government agency, or ind,ustrial group
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has ever refused assistance.
As indicated above, UFO sightings are classified according to the
suspected real event that gave riSe to each report. The characteris.
tics of these diHerent categories are sketched below. '
PropeUer Aircraft
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Regular scheduled airliners fly in air corridors, are usually controlled
by FAA. Lighting will probably be typical red and green wing
lights with' rotating beacon. They us(;, landing lights on takeoff as
well as in landing pattern. Sighting report may include hovering or
stationary period if the aircraft is in a turn or approaching the
observer. Total duration should be consistent with Hight maneuvers,
not likely to exceed five minutes unless some series of maneuvers is
being performed. Landing light, blotting out the red and green '
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flashing lights, is often reported as a single light at night. Experimental and unusual lighting effects can vary with the lighting configuration of each aircraft. Color most often reported as white, can
be red. Objects reported in straight flight at certain altitude can be
checked against local flight corridors; then FAA can be checked if
there remains doubt that an object is an aircraft or if positive identification of a specific Hight is required. There mayor may not be
sound associated with the visual effect reported. If near an airport,
this type of object is not classed as a. UFO; moving lights in and
to around airports which could be caused by aircraft are assumed to
be aircraft.
Private or non-scheduled flights have the same characteristics in
general. Speeds may be slower and duration longer. Altitude usuaUy
lower. N.o sound if the. wind is blowing away from the observer.
Duration should not exceed seven or eight minutes unless maneuvers
can account for'additional time. Normally Hight is cleared from some
local airport and not carried on radar plots through FAA; hardest
type to make positiv~ identiScationof. Evaluation made on reported
Hight· characteristics consistent with aircraft.

Jet Aircraft
Airliner and high-altitude missions are similar to conventional flights
in visual characteristics with the following exceptions: (1) The color
is most often r~ported as red. (2) No sound is associated with the
object. (3) Flight is usually straight or with one tum. Duration is
about three to five minutes, depending upon the length of arc visible.
FAA has designated airways for these flights.
Special lo~-level military missions are flown at 2,000 feet in known
air corridors. Sighting is usually brief, one minute or less. May be
reported hovering if flight is directly toward the observer. May include a sudden burst of speed. No sound if wind is away from
observer. Usually reported as a single light, but may be more than
one. 'Sightings are at night; during the day these aircraft can be
seen too well to be misinterpreted.
Special test or training missions, varying from ~ single plane. to
multiple flights or major air operations, may give rise to reports.
These flights can be determined by contact with· local, regional, or
major air commands.
A jet· with afterburner. in operation, viewed from the side, may give
the appearance of a short flame. . It is usually reported as blue and

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tapering. When the afterburner is cut off, the object may be thought
to have either just vanished or zoomed off into space. Duration is
usually brief. The sighting is frequently during climb. As viewed
from the rear, the jet may be reported red or orange with some
yellow and of no distinct shape. Here again the disappearance may
be sudden. If at high altitude, only a nondescript light may be
reported.
.
Refueling Missions

. Here lights on the· tanker and the multiple aircraft engaged add
new visual characteristics. Sightings are at night only; daylight
operations would be recognized for what they are. They may be at
low or high altitude. Multiple lights will be moving around, in
form~tion, going on and off. The basic light formation will fly·
straight for a set distance, then may make a lBO-degree tum. Duration in an area may run as high as 15 minutes, but any single pass
should not last more than four or five. Lights may be seen going
one way and then appear on their return path later. The 922 Air
Refueling Squadron at Wright-Patterson furnishes information on
the visual characteristics of night refueling operations, and SAC
recently photographed a refueling mission for the benefit of UFO
analysts.
Refueling operations are controlled and conducted in specific areas.
A «Flight Planning Guide" issued by the Aeronautic Chart and Information Center gives the location of th~se areas and the agency
controlling each. A phone call to the controller will determine
whether an area was in use at a particular time and what squadron
fl~ the mission. Then communication with the squadron will give
the number and type of aircraft flown and their entry and exit times.
Photo Aircraft

Aircra!t using flare drops for photo work are most often reported
simply as flares. Similarly, aircraft using strobes to illuminate their
target, which may work at either low or high altitudes, are reported
as a series of evenly spaced flashes. Duration of these sightings is
usually less than two minutes, more frequently 30 seconds.
Infra-red photo planes have turbine generators to drive their equipment. These make a whining noise which can be heard above the
noise of the engines. Not many agencies do this work, which is often
classified. The planeS used are rather slow, less than 125 mph.

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Much of the work is done early in the morning, with landing lights
on because of the low altitudes flown.
Advertising Aircraft

Planes towing targets or banners during daylight hours are not
usually misint.erpreted unless they remain at such a distance that
the observer cannot distinguish the tow vehicle and sign. Frequently
in such cases the reports are accompanied by drawings picturing the
towed banner as part of the UFO. Duration is longer than for
other aircraft sightings, and the flight generally includes maneuvers.
The frequently used loud speaker would presumably not be heard
unless the flight were close enough for correct identification. Local
in:vestigators can check for these aircraft, since FAA regulations require a permit for such fliglits.
Aircraft with electrically lighted sigI!-s have the same essential char. acteristics except that they are normally Sighted at night. On occasion the sign lights have been mistaken for windows of a much larger
craft. Flights are relatively slow, characteristically maneuvering back
and forth in one area. One usually operates over the same area for
more than one day and can be viewed on successive nights, weather
permitting.
Helicopters

Motion slow, mayor may not hover. It needs to be far enough
away from the observer to escape daylight identification. It may be
reported as a black speck moving back and forth, up and down.
During the night weird effects can be caused by the red rotating.
beacon flashing through the canopy. Motion will be erratic if the
flight includes hovering. Positive identification is usually simple to
obtain by checking the flight schedules of military and civilian helicopters in the area.
BaUoofl8

Flight characteristics here are affected by meteorological factors.
Wind data is obtained from the Weather Bureau. An Air Weather
Service liaison officer assists in evaluating the meteorological data.
Low-level weather balloons are described· in sightings as round or
oval, occaSionally oblong. The flight may be reported as hovering!
rising, zig-zag, or erratic, but the object must be moving with the

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wind. It will be picked up by radar only if a radar reHector is
attached. A frequent time for sightings is at dusk, before the balloon
disappears into earth's shadow. It is rarely sighted at night: its small
white lights are no.t visible to ground observers from above .10,000
feet without. optical aids. The sighting from planes is usually very
brief, and on occasion even experienced pil~ts have attributed unusual
motion to balloons.
.
An upper-air balloon niay be described as round or oval, usually
silver during the day and orange at dusk. It will appear stationary
or in slow motion. Actually, it moves with prevailing winds at the .
altitude--six months to the east and .six to the west. It will probably
be picked up on radar and remain in the area long enough to be
identified by aircraft scrambled or diverted for this purpose. Sudden
disappearance is to be expected at dusk, and may be reported as a
zooming off into space. The sun's reflection through folded panels
can give unusual flashing effects. Every effort is made to pin to a
specific launch any reports attributable to upper-air balloons; this
practice has assisted the scientific community in recovering. some of
them.
.
Upper air research balloons are launched by military and civilian
agencies for cosmic ray and other studies. These are about 100 feet
in diameter, usually of polyethylene. They can be programmed to
fly at various altitudes between 80,000 and 125,000 feet or higher.
T~eir appearance may vary with the equipment suspended below and
other attachments, but what is visible from the ground without optical
aids is generally the same for all. The spe~d will vary with the wind,
from hovering in the' same area for some days up to 200 mph in jet
streams. At night the balloon will descend as the gas cools and the
next day go back up to the programmed altitude. It usually carries
a radio beacon which is followed by tracking stations, as wen as
running lights and radar reflectors .. Occasionally, multiple balloons
are used to carry heavy equipment. Pilots scrambled to check on
this kind of balloon cannot reach its altitude but can' get close enough'
to identify it. At dawn the balloon may appear suddenly, as it
moves into sunlight, and similarly disappear at dusk.
Earth Satellites
In order for a report to be evaluated as deriving from an artificial
satellite, the follOwing criteria must be met: ( 1) Time of sighting
must be at night and at such an hour that the vehicle can reflect the
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sun's rays. (2) Object should resemble a star in visual characteristics.
(3) Direction of flight can have a westerly component only in the
case of retrograde satellites. ( 4) Duration (considering the degrees
of arc through which the object is observed) must be consistent with
satellite orbital velocities.'
Satellites are normally reported as star-l~e' moving lights, most
frequently white but occasionally yellow, green, blue, orange, and
even red. Motion may be steady, hesitating, or zig-zag; portiOns of
the flight may be seen as hovering or stationary. The path may be
reported straight or arching, and a turn may be ascribed to it at
the beginning or end of the flight. The object may appear or disappear suddenly. The speed should be about 15° of arc per minute,
the average duration three to six minutes.
When a known satellite' has a Hight path over the observer's area
at the time of the report (only Echo and Pegasus schedules are
screened), and the above considerations are fulfilled, the sighting is
evaluated as of that specific vehicle. There are more than 30 satellites in orbit visible to the naked eye. When a reported object
does not correspond with Echo or Pegasus passages but displays the
required characteristics, it is then evaluated as a probable or possible
satellite.
Astronomical Events

The most common UFO reports are of astronomical sightingsbright stars, planets, comets, fireballs, meteors, auroral streamers,
and other celestial bodies. When observed through haze, light fog,
moving clouds, or other obscurations or unusual conditions, the
planets, especially Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, have been reported as
UFOs. Stellar mirages are also a sOurce of astronomical reports.
Other Categories
There are three other classifications used for UFO reports. An
In.sufIicient Data category takes care of those in which one or more
elements of information essential for the evaluation are missingfor example the duration of the sighting, the date, time, location, or
position in the sky, weather conditions, and the manner of appearance or disappearance. If there is any indication that such a sighting may be important from the viewpoint of security, scientific or
technical value, or public interest, every attempt is made to obtain
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the additional infonnation necessary before placing the report in
this category.
.
Another category is a catch-all labeled Other. It includes missiles,
reflections, mirages, searchlights, birds, kites, spurious radar indications, hoaxes, fireworks, and flares.
And finally, a sighting is considered unidentified when a report
apparently contains all th~ data necessary to suggest a valid hypothesis
but its description canpot be correlated with any known object or
phenomenon.
Through 1965, 10,147 UFO reports had been disposed of and
classified in one or another of the seven categories. In 1964, a
fairly average year, the figures were as follows:
Alitronomical ........................... .'.. 123
Aircraft .................................. 71

Balloon ..................................

20

Insufficient Data ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 99
Other .................................... 88
Satellite .................................. 142
Unidentified .............................. 19
Total .................................. 562

Policeman's Report

One intriguing, classic case of the 19 listed above as unidentified
will also illustrate how widely government agenCies, industrial firms,
and individuals cooperate in the UFO project.
On 24 April 1964 at approximately 1745 hours, a Socorro, New
Mexico, police officer, Lonnie Zamora, was headed south chasing a
speeding automobile when he suddenly heard a roar and saw a
Harne in the sky to the southwest. He decided to let the speeder
go in favor of investigating the Hame, because there was a dynamite
shack in that area and it might have blown up. He turned right
onto a gravel road that ran by the shack.
As he was driving slowly along the road, Zamora saw above a steep
hill just ahead a funnel-shaped Hame, bluish and sort of orange.
The base of the flame was hidden behind the hill; there was no smoke
connected with it. He had trouble getting the car to the top of the
hill because of loose gravel; he had to try three times before he made
it. As he reached the top of the hill he saw a shiny object to the
south, this side of the dynamite shack, about 150-200 yards away.
. It was off the road to the left in an arroyo, and. at 6rst glance it

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looked like a car' turned over; but when he drove closer, it appeared
to be aluminum color, not chrome, and oval-shaped like a football.
Zamora drove about 50 feet along the hill cres~, radioing back to
the sheriff's office, "10-44 [accident], I'n be 10-6 [busy out of the
car) checking a wreck down in the arroyo." From this point, seated
in the car, he could not see the object over the edge of the hill.
As he stopped the car, he was still talking on the radio, and while
he was getting out he dropped the mike. He picked it up and
put it back and started down toward the object.
Just then he heard a very loud roar, not exactly like a blast but
not steady like a jet engine. It was of low frequency at first and
then became higher. At the same time he saw a light blue flame,
sort of orange at the bottom. Zamora believes this flame came from
the .underside of the. object; he could see no smoke but some dust
in the vicinity. He panicked; he thought the object was going to
blow up. In his own words (with slight rearrangements for the sake
of clarity):
.
As soon as saw flame and heard roar, ... ran away from object but did turn
in shape. It was smooth-no windows
head towards. object. Object was 0
or doors. As roar started, it was still on or near ground. Noted red lettering
of some type like ~'. Insignia was about 21M inches high and about 2 inches
wide, guess. Was in middle of object, like O. Object still like aluminum
white.
[Ruhningl, bumped leg on car-back fender area. Car facing southwest. ...
Fell by car and [suti] glasses fell off, kept running to north, with car between
I guess I' had run about 25 feet when I glanced back and
me and object. '"
saw the'object ... rise to about level of car, about 20 to 25 feet, guess. Took,
I guess, about six Seconds when object started to rise and I glanced back. ...
It appeared about directly over the place where it rose from.
I was still running, .' .. [then} about 50 feet from car I ducked down, just
over edge of hill. . , . I stopped because I did not heal' the ·roar. I was
seared of the roar, and I had planned to continue running down the hill. I turned
around toward the object and at the same time put my head toward ground,
covering my face with my arms. ... When the roar stopped, heard a sharp
tone whine and the whine lasted maybe a second. Then there was compiete
silence about the object.
That's when I lifted up my head and saw the object going away from me ...
in a southwest direction . .. It did not come any closer to me. It appeared to
go in straight line and at same height-possibly 10 to 15 feet from ground,
and it ~eared. the dynamite shack by about three feet. Shack about eight feet
high. Object was traveling very fast. It seemed to rise up, and take off immediately across country.
.
.
I ran back to my car and as I ran back, I kept an eye on the object. I picked
up my •.• sun glasses, got into the car, and radioed to Nep Lopes, radio operator,
to look out the window, to see if you could see an object. He asked, what is it?

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I answered, it looks like a balloon. I don't know if he saw it. If Nep looked
out his window, which faces north, he couldn't have seen it. I did not tell him
at the moment which window to look out of.
As I was calling Nep, I could still see object. The object seemed to lift up
slowly, and to get small in the distance very fast. It seemed to just clear the
Box Canyon or Mile Canyon Mountain. It disappeared as it went over the
mountain. It had no flame whatsoever as it was traveling over the ground, and
no. smoke or noise.
Feeling in good health. L\lSt drink-two or three beers-was over Ii month
ago.. Noted no odors. Noted no sounds other than described. Gave direction
to Nep Lopes at radio and to Sergeant MS Chaves [of New Mexico state police
at Socorro] to get there. ·Went down to where the object had been, and I noted
the brush was burning in several places. .•. I got my pen and drew a picture
of the insignia on the object. .,.
.
Then Sgt.. Chaves .came up, asked me what the trouble was because I was
sweating and he told me that I was white, very pale. I asked the Sgt. to see
what I saw and that was the burning brush .. Then Sgt. Chaves and I went to
.
the spot and Sgt. Chaves pointed out the tracks.
When I first saw the object (when I thought it might be a car) I saw what
appeared to be two legs of some type from the object to the ground. At th,:
time, I didn't pay much attention to . . . the two legs. The two legs were at
the bottom of the object, slanted outwards to the ground. The object might
have been about three and a half feet from the ground at that time. . . .

Diagnosis: Unsolved

There is no doubt that Lonnie Zamora saw an object which left
quite an impression on him. There is also no question about Zamora's
reliability. He is a serious police officer, a pillar of his church, and
a man well versed in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area. He
is puzzled by what he saw, and frankly, so are we.. This is the
best-documented case on record, and still we have been unable, in
spite of thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other stimulus
that scared Zam«;lra to the point of panic.
During the course of the investigation and immed~ately thereafter,
everything that was humanly possible to verify was checked. Radiation in the landing area was checked with Geiger counters from
Kirtland AFB. The Holloman AFB Balloon Control. Center was
checked for balloon activity. All local stations and Air Force bases
were checked for release of weatller baIIoons. Helicopter activity
was checked throughout the state of New Mexico. Government and
private aircraft were checked. The reconnaissance division in the
Pentagon was checked. The White House Command Post was
checked. The Commander at Holloman AFB was interviewed at
length about special activities from his base. Down-range controllers
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at the White Sands Missile Range were interviewed. Letters were
written to industrial companies engaged in lunar vehicle research
activity. The companies were extremely cooperative, but to no avail.
Th~ Air Force Materials Laboratory analyzed soil samples from the
landing area.
.
The findings were altogether negative. No other witnesses could
be located. There were no unidenti6ed helicopters or aircraft in the
area. Radar installations at Holloman AFB and at Albuquerque
observed no unusual blips; but the down-range Holloman MTI radar, .
closest to Socorro, had been closed down for the day at 1600 hours.
There was no unusual meteorological activity, no thunderstorms;
the weather was windy but clear. There were no markings of any
sort in the area except the shallow "tracks" Chaves and Zamora found.
The soil analYSis disclosed no foreign material. Radiation was normal
for the "tracks" a~d surrounding area. Laboratory analysis of the
burned brush showed no chemicals that could have been propellant
residue.
The object was traveling at approximately 120 miles per hour
when it disappeared over the mountain, according to Zamora's best
guess of the time it took. Not an interplanetary speed, at any rate;
and the ffudings are also negative for any indication that the Socorro
UFO was of extraterrestrial origin or that it presented a threat to
the security of the United States.

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