FOIA: Los Alamos Sighting and Comic on the Closing of Project Saucer

NM_DEC_27_1949.pdf
Misc. Sighting Los Alamos NM 27DEC49 + 2 Page Comic about Closing of Project Saucer
Tech. Personnel sighting report on 27DEC49 at Los Alamos, New Mexico and Comic regarding the closing of Project Saucer
Document date: 1950-01-06
Department: Unknown
Author: Unknown
Document type: Record
pages: 4


Archivist's Notes: First page slightly illegible, Incident of a sighting at 1245hrs local time of an object which remained motionless then moved to the south at high rate of speed leaving a vapor trail. the last 2 pages are of a comic from unknown origin questioning the decision to close Project Saucer, it also mentions Tsuneo Saheki's observations of an explosion on Mars and has a quote from the astronomer, The creator of the comic speculates that Saheki's observation was the reason for closing Project Saucer.

page 1 contains a poorly legible (and descriptive) ground report dated 27 dec 1949 from los almos new mexico by a 'tech personnel. an object (no description) appeared to be motionless in the sky for a short space of time before heading south at high speed leaving a vapor trail behind it. two short sections have been blacked out on this page.

page 2 lists more information. giving the time of 12.45, it names the witnesses as being 3 technical personnel from the university of california. no photographs or sketches were taken.pretty much the same story as for page 1 with the additional information that they saw the object on the southern horizon above station 390 from station 313 and station 345 and that they asked the inspectors at station 303 if they had seen the 'flying saucers' (plural). it was approximately 30,000 feet above ground. one area at the bottom has been blacked out

pages 3 & 4 have a comic strips about 'project saucer'. page 3 mockingly derides several famous witnesses to unexplained aerial phenomenon (the page is actually having a dig at those who would cover it up) whilst page 4 recounts an explosion seen in 1949 on mars by a noted japanese astronomer (who had studied mars by telescope for 16 years). he is quoted as saying " it was undoubtedly an artificial atomic explosion... even more powerful that the h-bomb... that could only have beet set off by highly advanced beings"

These appear to be two entirely unrelated documents which are linked only by the date of December 27 1949 (the date of the infamous Air Force press release which effectively said that flying saucers were not real and which so infuriated Donald Keyhoe).

The Los Alamos report is almost unreadable and presents little evidence which hasn't been seen before, (in a generic sense at least), however, the comic strips presented on the third and fourth pages are remarkable.

They ridicule the about face of the Project Sign/Grudge output which culminated in the Air Force's declaration that Flying Saucers posed no threat to the USA and postulate that the burying of the initially receptive Project Sign output was as a result of the observations of Tsuneo Sahaki who claimed to have witnessed a huge explosion on Mars which could only be the result of a nuclear explosion. (the strip uses the title "Project Saucer" which was originally the reference used publicly for the Sign/Grudge projects).

The source of the comic strip is not given and I can not identify the artist but the tone is strongly anti establishment on the issue. The most likely candidate is perhaps "True" which was planning to run a favourable UFO story before the AF's briefing and ultimately published much of Donald Keyhoe's data.

Perhaps someone in the USA may recognise the artist or be able to confirm the publication which may have carried it.

Links:

Donald Keyhoe - Wikipedia
True - Wikipedia

[edit on 20-11-2007 by timeless test]