CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
_To Helen,
with love_
Donald E. Keyhoe, who relates here his investigation of the flying
saucers, writes with twenty-five years of experience in observing
aeronautical developments.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He flew in
active service with the Marine Corps, managed the tour of the historic
plane in which Bennett and Byrd made their North Pole flight, was aide
to Charles Lindbergh after the famous Paris flight, and was chief of
information for the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce.
Author’s Note
ON APRIL 27, 1949, the U.S. Air Force stated:
_“The mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects
necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of Project ‘Saucer’
personnel, and on the part of the civilian population._
_“Answers have been—and will be—drawn from such factors as guided
missile research activity, balloons, astronomical phenomena. . . . But
there are still question marks._
_“Possibilities that the saucers are foreign aircraft have also been
considered. . . . But observations based on nuclear power plant
research in this country label as ‘highly improbable’ the existence on
Earth of engines small enough to have Powered the saucers._
_“Intelligent life on Mars . . . is not impossible but is completely
unproven. The possibility of intelligent life on the Planet Venus is
not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers._
_“The saucers are not jokes. Neither are they cause for alarm.”_[1]
[1] Project “Saucer” Preliminary Study of Flying Saucers.
On December 27, 1949, the Air Force denied the existence of flying
saucers.[2]
[2] 2. Air Force Press Release 629-49.’
On December 30, 1949, the Air Force revealed part of a secret Project
“Saucer” report to members of the press at Washington. The official
report stated:
“It will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual
did not see a space ship, an enemy missile, or some other object.”
Discussing the motives of possible visitors from space, the report also
stated:
“Such a civilization might observe that on Earth we now have atomic
bombs and are fast developing rockets. In view of the past history of
mankind, they should be alarmed. We should therefore expect at this
time above all to behold such visitations.”
(In its April 22 report, Project “Saucer” stated that space travel
outside the solar system is almost a certainty.)
On February 22, 1950, the Air Force again denied the existence of
flying saucers. On this same date, two saucers reported above Key West
Naval Air Station were tracked by radar; they were described as
maneuvering at high speed fifty miles above the earth. The Air Force
refused to comment.
On March 9, 1950, a large metallic disk was pursued by F-51 and jet
fighters and observed by scores of Air Force officers at Wright Field,
Ohio. On March 18, an Air Force spokesman again denied that saucers
exist and specifically stated that they were not American guided
missiles or space-exploration devices.
I have carefully examined all Air Force saucer reports made in the last
three years. For the past year, I have taken part in a special
investigation of the flying-saucer riddle.
I believe that the Air Force statements, contradictory as they appear,
are part of an intricate program to prepare America—and the world—for
the secret of the disks.
CHAPTER I
It was a strange assignment.
I picked up the telegram from my desk and read it a third time.
NEW YORK, N. Y., MAY 9, 1949
HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY. FIRST TIP HINTED
GIGANTIC HOAX TO COVER UP OFFICIAL SECRET. BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN
PLANTED TO HIDE REAL ANSWER. LOOKS LIKE TERRIFIC STORY. CAN YOU TAKE
OVER WASHINGTON END?
KEN W. PURDY, EDITOR, TRUE MAGAZINE
I glanced out at the Potomac, recalling the first saucer story. As a
pilot, I’d been skeptical of flying disks. Then reports had begun to
pour in from Air Force and airline pilots. Apparently alarmed, the Air
Force had ordered fighters to pursue the fast-flying saucers. In one
mysterious chase, a pilot had been killed, and his death was
unexplained. That had been seventeen months ago. Since then, the whole
flying-saucer riddle had been hidden behind a curtain of Air Force
secrecy.
And now, an assignment from True magazine on flying saucers.
Twenty-four hours later, I was in Ken Purdy’s office.
“I’ve had men on this for two months,” he told me. “I might as well
warn you, it’s a tough story to crack.”
“You think it’s a Russian missile?” I asked him. “Or an Air Force
secret?”
“We’ve had several answers. None of them stacks up. But I’m positive
one was deliberately planted when they found we were checking.”
He told me the whole story of the work that had been done by the staff
of True and of the reports sent in by competent writers. The deeper he
delved into the mystery, the tougher the assignment got. The more I
learned about flying saucers, the less I knew.
“There’s one angle I want rechecked,” Purdy said.
“You’ve heard of the Mantell case?”
I nodded.
“O.K. Try to get the details of Mantell’s radio report to Godman Tower.
Before he was killed, he described the thing he was chasing—we know
that much. Project ‘Saucer’ gave out a hint, but they’ve never released
the transcript. Here’s another lead. See if you can find anything about
a secret picture, taken at Harmon Field, Newfoundland—it was around
July 1947. I’ll send you other ideas as I get them.”
Before I left, Purdy wished me hick and told me that he would work in
closest harmony with me.
“But watch out for fake tips,” he said. “You’ll probably run into some
people at the Pentagon who’ll talk to you ‘off the record.’ That
handcuffs a writer. Look out they don’t lead you into a blind alley.
Even the Air Force statements and the Project ‘Saucer’ report
contradict each other.”
For six months, I worked with other investigators to solve the mystery
of the disks. We checked a hundred sighting reports, frequently
crossing the trail of Project “Saucer” teams and F.B.I. agents. Old
records gave fantastic leads. So did Air Force plans for exploring
space. Rocket experts, astronomers, Air Force officials and pilot gave
us clues pointing to a startling solution. Many intelligent
persons—including scientists—believe that the saucers contain spies
from another planet.
When this first phase was ended, we were faced with a hard decision. We
had uncovered important facts, We knew the saucers were real. If it was
handled carefully, we believed the story would be in line with a secret
Air Force policy.
It was finally decided to publish certain alternate conclusions. The
Air Force was informed of _True’s_ intentions; no attempt was made to
block publication.
In the January 1950 issue of _True_, I reported that we had reached the
following conclusions:
1 The earth has been observed periodically by visitors from another
planet.
2. This observation has increased markedly in the past two years.
“The only other possible explanation,” I wrote, “is that, the saucers
are extremely high-speed, long-range devices developed here on earth.
Such an advance (which the Air Force has denied) would require an
almost incredible leap in technical progress even for American
scientists and designers.”
Nation-wide press and radio comment followed the appearance of the
article. This publicity was obviously greater than the Air Force had
expected. Within twenty-four hours the Pentagon was deluged with
telegrams, letters, and long-distance calls. Apparently fearing a
panic, the Air Force hastily stated that flying-saucer reports—even
those made by its own pilots and high-ranking officers—were mistakes or
were caused by hysteria.[3]
[3] Air Force press release 629-49, December 27, 1949.
But three days later, when it was plain that many Americans calmly
accepted _True’s_ disclosures, the Air Force released a secret project
“Saucer” file containing this significant statement:
“It will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual
did not see a space ship, an enemy missile or other object.”
In this same document there appears a confidential analysis of Air
intelligence reports.[4] It is this summary that contains the official
suggestion Of. space visitors’ motives. After stating that such a
civilization would obviously be far ahead of our own, the report adds:
[4] Air Force Project “Saucer” December 30, 1949.
“Since the acts of mankind most easily observed from a distance are
A-bomb explosions, we should expect some relation to obtain between the
time of the A-bomb explosions, the time at which the space ships are
seen, and the time required for such ships to arrive from and return to
home base.”
(In a previous report, which alternately warned and reassured the
public, the Air Force stated that space travel outside the solar system
is almost a certainty.[5])
[5] Air Force report M-26-49, Preliminary Studies on Flying saucers,
April 27, 1949.
Since 1949 there has been a steady increase in saucer sightings. Most
of them have been authentic reports, which Air Force denials cannot
disprove. In January, mystery disks were reported over Kentucky,
Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, and several other states. On the Seattle
Anchorage route, an air freighter was paced for five minutes by a
night-flying saucer. When the pilots tried to close in, the strange
craft zoomed at terrific speed. Later, the airline head reported that
Intelligence officers had quizzed the pilots for hours.
“From their questions,” he said, “I could tell they had a good idea of
what the saucers are. One officer admitted they did, but he wouldn’t
say any more.”
Another peculiar incident occurred at Tucson, Arizona, on February 1.
Just at dusk, a weird, fiery object raced westward over the city,
astonishing hundreds in the streets below. The Tucson Daily Citizen ran
the story next day with a double-banner headline:
FLYING SAUCER OVER TUCSON?
B-29 FAILS TO CATCH OBJECT
Flying saucer? Secret experimental plane? Or perhaps a scout craft from
Mars? Certainly the strange aircraft that blazed a smoke trail over
Tucson at dusk last night defies logical explanation. It was as
mystifying to experienced pilots as to groundlings who have trouble in
identifying conventional planes.
Cannonballing through the sky, some 30,000 feet aloft, was a fiery
object shooting westward so fast it was impossible to gain any clear
impression of its shape or size. . . .
At what must have been top speed the object spewed out light colored
smoke, but almost directly over Tucson it appeared to hover for a few
seconds. The smoke puffed out an angry black and then be came lighter
as the strange missile appeared to gain speed”
The radio operator in the Davis-Monthan air force base control tower
contacted First Lt. Roy L. Jones, taking off for a cross-country flight
in a B-29, and asked him to investigate. Jones revved up his swift
aerial tanker and still the unknown aircraft steadily pulled away
toward California.
Dr. Edwin F. Carpenter, head of the University of Arizona department of
astronomy, said he was certain that the object was not a meteor or
other natural phenomenon. . . .
_Switchboards Swamped_
Switchboards at the Pima county sheriff’s office and Tucson police
station were jammed with inquiries. Hundreds saw the object. Tom
Bailey, 1411 E. 10th Street, thought it was a large airplane on fire.
[A later check showed no planes missing.] He said it wavered from left
to right as it passed over the mountains. Bailey also noticed that the
craft appeared to slow perceptibly over Tucson. He said the smoke
apparently came out in a thin, almost invisible stream, gaining
substance within a few seconds.
This incident had an odd sequel the following day. Its significance was
not lost on the Daily Citizen. It ran another front-page story,
headlined:
WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONLY VAPOR TRAIL?
As though to prove itself blameless for tilting hundreds of Tucson
heads skyward, the U.S. Air Force yesterday afternoon spent hours
etching vapor trails through the skies over the city.
The demonstration proved conclusively to the satisfaction of most that
the strange path of dark smoke blazed across the evening sky at dusk
Wednesday was no vapor trail and did not emanate from any conventional
airplane.
The Wednesday night spectacle was entirely dissimilar. Then, heavy
smoke boiled and swirled in a broad, dark ribbon fanning out at least a
mile in width and stretching across the sky in a straight line. Since
there was no proof as to what caused the strange predark manifestation,
and because even expert witnesses were unable to explain the
appearance, the matter remains a subject for interesting speculation.
There is strong evidence that this story was deliberately kept off the
press wires. The Associated Press and other wire services in Washington
had no report. Requests for details by Frank Edwards, Mutual
newscaster, and other radio commentators ran into a blank wall. At the
Pentagon I was told that the Air Force had no knowledge of the sighting
or the vapor-trail maneuvers.
On February 22 two similar glowing objects were seen above Boca Chica
Naval Air Station at Key West. A plane sent tip to investigate was
hopelessly outdistanced; it was obvious the things were at a great
height. Back at the station, radarmen tracked the objects as they
hovered for a moment above Key West. They were found to be at least
fifty miles above the earth. After a few seconds, they accelerated at
high speed and streaked out of sight.
On the following day Commander Augusto Orrego, a Chilean naval officer,
reported that saucers had flown above his antarctic base.
“During the bright antarctic night,” be said, “we saw flying saucers,
one above the other, turning at tremendous speeds. We have photographs
to prove what we saw.”
Early in March, Ken Purdy phoned the latest development in the
investigation. He had just received a tip predicting a flurry of saucer
publicity during March. It had come from an important source in
Washington.
“You know what it probably means,” he said. “The same thing we talked
about last month. But why were we tipped off in advance?”
“It’s one more piece in the pattern,” I said. “If the tip’s on the
level, then they’re stepping up the program.”
Within three days, reports began to pour in—from Peru, Cuba, Mexico,
Turkey, and other parts of the world. Then on March 9 a gleaming
metallic disk was sighted over Dayton, Ohio. Observers at Vandalia
Airport phoned Wright-Patterson Field. Scores of Air Force pilots and
groundmen watched the disk, as fighters raced up in pursuit. The
mysterious object streaked vertically skyward, hovered for a while
miles above the earth, and then disappeared. A secret report was rushed
to the Civil Aeronautics Authority in Washington, then turned over to
Air Force Intelligence.
Soon after this Dr. Craig Hunter, director of a medical supply firm,
reported a huge elliptical saucer flying at a low altitude in
Pennsylvania. He described it as metallic, with a slotted outer rim and
a rotating ring just inside. On top of this sighting, thousands of
people at Farmington, New Mexico, watched a large formation of disks
pass high above the city.
Throughout all these reports, the Air Force refused to admit the
existence of flying saucers. On March 18 it flatly denied they were Air
Force secret missiles or space-exploration devices.
Three days later, a Chicago and Southern airliner crew saw a
fast-flying disk near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The circular craft, blinking
a strange blue-white light, pulled up in an arc at terrific speed. The
two pilots said they glimpsed lighted ports on the lower side as the
saucer zoomed above them. The lights had a soft fluorescence, unlike
anything they had seen.
There was one peculiar angle in the Arkansas incident. There was no
apparent attempt to muzzle the two pilots, as in earlier airline cases.
Instead, a United Press interview was quickly arranged, for nation-wide
publication. In this wire story Captain Jack Adams and First Officer G.
W. Anderson made two statements:
“We firmly believe that the flying saucer we saw over Arkansas was a
secret experimental type aircraft—not a visitor from outer space. . . .
“We know the Air Force has denied there is anything to this
flying-saucer business, but we’re both experienced pilots and we’re not
easily fooled.”
The day after this story appeared, I was discussing it with an airline
official in Washington.
“That’s an odd thing,” he said. “The Air Force could have persuaded
those pilots—or the line president—to hush the thing up. It looks as if
they wanted that story broadcast.”
“You mean the whole thing was planted?”
“I won’t say that, though it could have been. Probably they did see
something. But they might have been told what to say about it.”
“Any idea why?”
He looked at me sharply. “You and Purdy probably know the answer. At a
guess, I’d say it might have been planned to offset that Navy
commander’s report—the one on the White Sands sightings.”
The White Sands case had puzzled many skeptics, because the Pentagon
had cleared the published report. The author, Commander R. B.
McLaughlin, was a regular Navy officer. As a Navy rocket expert, he had
been stationed at the White Sands Rocket Proving Ground in New Mexico.
In his published article he described three disk sightings at White
Sands.
One of the disks, a huge elliptical craft, was tracked by scientists
with precision instruments at five miles per second. That’s 18,000
miles per hour. It was found to be flying fifty-six miles above the
earth. Two other disks, smaller types, were watched from five
observation posts on hills at the proving ground. Circling at
incredible speed, the two disks paced an Army high-altitude rocket that
had just been launched, then speeded up and swiftly outclimbed the
projectile.
Commander McLaughlin’s report, giving dates and factual details, was
cleared by the Department of Defense. So was a later nation-wide
broadcast.
Then the Air Force made its routine denial.
Why was McLaughlin, a regular Navy officer subject to security
screening, permitted to give out this story? Was it an incredible
slip-up? Or was it part of some carefully thought-out plan? I believe
it was part of an elaborate program to prepare the American people for
a dramatic disclosure.
For almost a year I have watched the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of
those who guide this program. In the following chapters I have tried to
show the strange developments in our search for the answer; the
carefully misleading tips, the blind alleys we entered, the unexpected
assistance, the confidential leads, and the stunning contradictions.
It has been a complicated jigsaw puzzle. Only by seeing all parts of
this intricate picture can you begin to glimpse the reasons for this
stubbornly hidden secret.
The official explanation may be imminent. When it is finally revealed,
I believe the elaborate preparation—even the wide deceit involved—will
be fully justified in the minds of the American people.