Another FBI memo from 1952 displays further divergence between the Air Force’s public statements regarding UFOs and the views being expressed privately to the FBI.
The memo below dated 27 October 1952 relates to Air Intelligence’s views on “another creditable and unexplainable sighting of flying saucers”. The memo states that experts of the Air Technical Intelligence Center have “completely ruled out” the possibility of “weather balloons, clouds or other explainable objects” and that they were “at a complete loss to explain this most recent creditable sighting”.
The memo concludes that “Colonel Young advised that Air Intelligence still feels that the so-called flying saucers are either optical illusions or atmospherical phenomena. He pointed out, however, that some military officials are seriously considering the possibility of interplanetary ships”.
(Document at page 19 of 142 in Part 12 of the FBI’s 16 UFO files)
(Document at page 20 of 142 in Part 12 of the FBI’s 16 UFO files)
The relevant sighting was by a Navy photographer. The relevant witness is not named in the FBI document but – from the facts stated – was clearly Navy Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse. His footage was included in the can be seen in the video below:
More information about that footage can be seen in the 1956 movie/documentary “UFO”:
This Tremonton, Utah incident occurred on 2 July 1952 and involved film taken during a sighting by US Navy Warrant Officer Delbert C Newhouse. It is commonly referred to as “the Tremonton film” and “the Utah film”.
The Tremonton film was one of two motion pictures of UFO sightings considered by the Robertson Panel, organized by the CIA, in January 1953. That Panel concluded, and several UFO researchers have plausibly suggested, that the objects that were filmed were merely birds.
However, I consider the FBI document relating to Air Intelligence’s views on this sighting to remain interesting due to implications of a disparity between the public statements of the Air Force and the views (whether justified or otherwise) being expressed privately to the FBI by some Air Force officials. That existence of a disparity between public statements and the private views held by some Air Force officials, if (as appears to have been the case) it became known to some UFO researchers (e.g. www.isaackoi.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Major Donald Keyhoe), may have fuelled the development of UFO conspiracy theories and the related distrust of government statements.
