Disclosed

18_100754_ General 1946-7_Vol_2

Date
1947
Place
United States (multiple; Oregon, Alaska, Washington DC correspondence)
Record
Pentagon file
Assessment
Not assessed
Evidence strength
467 case pages by decade; this one falls in 1940s with 30 othersAll cases

What was reported

Air Materiel Command (AMC) intelligence correspondence from mid-to-late 1947, built around the well-known 23 September 1947 memorandum 'AMC Opinion Concerning Flying Discs,' signed by Lieutenant General Nathan F. Twining, which concludes the phenomenon 'is something real and not visionary or fictitious.' Surrounding correspondence covers an FBI-background-check request on witnesses, a Mrs. Madeline Gwynne Merchant theory that discs were Soviet weapons fired from a lab in central Mexico (dismissed as not credible), an Oregon photograph explained as probable film defect, and the Horten-brothers flying-wing theory as a possible explanation. A 22 August 1947 'Flying Saucer Phenomena' report lists a composite description drawn from selected sightings.

What officials concluded

Unresolved

AMC's considered opinion (Twining memo) that the phenomenon is real, not fictitious, possibly domestic, possibly foreign (nuclear propulsion), recommending a directed, classified study project with Army/Navy/AEC/NACA/RAND participation

Agency
Department of War
Released in

Evidence profile

Sensors2 of 9
  • Visual
  • Infrared
  • Radar
  • Video
  • Photo
  • Film
  • Audio
  • Night vision
  • Other sensor
Witnessescount not stated
  • Civilian
  • Military aircrew
  • Military ground
  • Airline crew
  • Sensor operator
  • Law enforcement
  • Scientist
  • Astronaut
  • Intelligence official
  • Other
ShapeOrb or sphere
  • Light only
  • Orb or sphere
  • Disc
  • Triangle
  • Cylinder
  • Cube
  • Other shape
Effectsnone reported
  • Physiological
  • Physical trace
  • Electromagnetic
  • Sound
  • Silent

Why this rating The file consists of intelligence correspondence and secondhand relays of witness reports rather than primary sensor data; the one photographic case is explained as a film defect and the one named 'theory' witness (Merchant) is dismissed as unreliable. The Twining memo is a strong OFFICIAL STATEMENT of institutional seriousness but is itself an opinion document, not new sensor evidence.

As described in the file

Witnesses
Multiple military intelligence officers relaying reports from pilots, radar/control personnel, and civilians; no single named eyewitness narrative in this file beyond secondhand relays
Sensors
Visual, still camera (Oregon photos)
Shape
Circular or elliptical, flat on bottom, domed on top (per the 22 Aug 1947 composite description)
Size
Approximating the size of a C-54 or Constellation as seen from 10,000 feet
Lights and colour
Metallic or light-reflecting surface; occasional blue-brown haze trail
Motion
Level flight speeds normally above 300 knots; lateral oscillation ('snaking') noted
Effects
None stated; normally no associated sound, except three instances of a substantial rumbling roar

Pentagon files

1

What the file claims

5
  • Unverified

    AMC's official opinion, issued 23 September 1947, held that the flying disc phenomenon was real and not fictitious, and recommended a formal classified study project.

  • Unverified

    AMC considered it possible to build a piloted disc-shaped aircraft with roughly 7,000-mile range at subsonic speed using then-current U.S. knowledge, if extensively developed.

  • Unverified

    A civilian, Mrs. Madeline Gwynne Merchant, claimed flying discs were being fired at the United States from a Soviet-operated laboratory in central Mexico; Air Force officers judged her not credible and declined direct interrogation.

  • Unverified

    Photographs of a formation of objects taken near Jefferson, Oregon between 5-12 November 1946 were assessed as probably caused by defective camera or film, not actual objects.

  • Unverified

    The August 1947 'Flying Saucer Phenomena' composite characterization described objects as metallic, circular or elliptical, flying in formations of three to nine, at speeds above 300 knots.

On the map

39.80° N, 98.60° W, plotted at the centre of the country

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