Found? Gordon Cooper's 1957 UFO film "sent...to...Washington...never to be seen again"

Jim Oberg wrote a very informative article about Gordon Cooper's UFOs. In fact he did such a great job I'm citing his article as one source:

In Search of Gordon Cooper's UFOs

Now as good as that article is, there is one thing that it mentions which seems to be really hard to find on the internet, which is the UFO film mentioned by Cooper: "the film was there and was sent forward to the safekeeping somewhere in Washington, never to be seen again." Well if it was never to be seen again as Cooper said, no wonder it's hard to find, right? Except as Oberg explains, it was to be seen again in the project blue book files, and aside from Oberg few people seem to be aware of this or have seen the film. Contrary to Cooper's claim they were "never to be seen again":

those photographs did not vanish after all: they had been sent to Project Blue Book, at Wright- Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, per regulations

I searched for the images online years ago, and ended up getting referred (by a source I don't recall) to the following Nicap image directory, which is now 404 (dead):

www.nicap.org...

If we look at the link, it ends with "edwards570502" which apparently refers to Edwards, year 1957, month 05, day 02. These are the four "plates":

Plate 609s:


Plate 614s:


Plate 620s:


Plate 651s:


I checked the date of May 2 from this bluebook archive and the photos seem to match the description:

Major Robert F. Spence..."...Objects in the photographs, even after magnification, were found to be small white specks, alternately changing from elliptical to round in shape."

These images seem to match that description.

I enlarged the object in plate 620s without trying to enhance it and it has a flattened shape though it's too pixellated to make an identification from the image:



According to Oberg's article, the Air Force said it can prove the object is a balloon:

the Air Force said it had been a weather balloon (as the witnesses had been told the very day of their sighting) and had the evidence to prove it. In a letter to a UFO newsletter in June 1957, Major Robert F. Spence of the Edwards AFB Office of Information Services wrote as follows: "The alleged UFO was conclusively identified as a balloon from a weather unit a few miles west of the observer's location. This was corroborated by an independent report which discloses that this balloon was being tracked at that time with precision recording devices..."

By the way, Gordon Cooper was not only wrong about these photos that were "never to be seen again", but he also apparently "exaggerated" his involvement with this whole UFO story as explained in the article.

The only thing I really have to add to Oberg's article are the photos of the "missing" film, and my question to ATS:

Does the flattened appearance of the object resemble a "flying disc", and do you think it's possible that balloons could have actually accounted for some reports of flying discs? Note I didn't say all, just some.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

If I remember it right, Cordon's UFO actually landed not that far from where he was standing - all of which he filmed too. So, this white blip in the sky most surely is not anything but an effort to divert off the whole issue.

Well if going by the plate numbers above means anything, whatever it is, it's moving away from the camera.
The other thing is, if there is any shape discernable it is more elliptical looking, kind of curious a shape for a weather balloon.
Good work to the OP though.

originally posted by: deckdel
a reply to: Arbitrageur

If I remember it right, Cordon's UFO actually landed not that far from where he was standing - all of which he filmed too. So, this white blip in the sky most surely is not anything but an effort to divert off the whole issue.

What you remember is the myth, not the reality. While Gordon Cooper was apparently on the base that day, the rest of the story was not corroborated. For example the photographers who he supposedly directed to take pictures of the "landed craft" didn't even know Cooper was on the base that day. These are the pictures that were taken.

originally posted by: JimOberg


I appreciate the confidence, here's a correction to enhance it.

Only THREE people have ever dug seriously into Cooper's 1957 Edwards story -- me, James McDonald, and Brad Sparks. To the best of my knowledge, EVERY other account of it is based solely on Cooper's say-so.

The three of us independently reached the same conclusion:

1. The sighting by Bittick and Gettys was documented and filed per Blue Book procedure and has always been available in the archives. Cooper made up the disappearance story.

2. The object they reported and filmed drifted by without maneuvering or landing. Cooper made up the landing story.

3. Gordon Cooper had absolutely no connection with the event or report, he wasn't anybody's boss, nobody showed him any film, zilch. He made that up.

Three different people made three separate inquiries and got identical results. Everybody else uses Cooper's version.

It's as bad as that.

From: Link

pg. 4

a reply to: slapjacks
Thanks for that, which is more truthful but shows a little less diplomacy than the original article which said "Cooper's behavior has been exemplary", which I guess is a better thing to write if you want to get more astronauts to talk to you. If you call them liars or say they "made stuff up" you may get less than a friendly reception when you request your next interview, so I understand that, but yes I think Oberg is right that Cooper "made stuff up".

I've also interviewed and gotten a statement from Hubert Davis, who was the AF officer with the 'Blue Book' duty that day. His account was fully consistent with the BB files and the findings of McDonald and Sparks.

And Cooper's actual supervisor at Edwards at that time.

Cooper filled in his narrative details after 1982 with material in my draft report that I sent him that year. Some of the quotes are almost direct.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

No problem. I personally have never looked to much into Cooper's accounts. Will do though.

Here's my Davis interview via email.

Q&A with Hubert Davis, alternate ‘Blue Book’ duty officer at Edwards AFB, on duty when the ‘Askania Cameramen’ UFO incident (“Gordon Cooper’s UFO Landing” story) occurred, May 2, 1957. Q&A conducted August 10, 2008, by James Oberg, after many years of personal and professional contact with Davis that included discussions of this particular event.




Q: How did you wind up getting the 'Blue Book' duty?

A: My brief "Blue Book" duty was as a lunch time replacement for the regular guy, whose name I do not recall.

Q: What sort of training had you received for this, and how long had you been doing the duty?

A: Training? What training? I was told to answer the phone and write down the date, time, names and a brief description. I had this duty for perhaps three months.

Q: How were you notified of the event and how urgent was your attention required?

A: On that day, I had been on that duty about a half hour or so. I was notified by their telephone call. The same line took "sonic boom" complaints, including those from a friend of the SecDef, "Engine Charlie". Now, that was a lot scarier!

Q: Can you briefly retell your impression of the two cameramen and their reactions and impressions?

A: For reasons I do not recall, the two photo-theodolite operators showed up later in my office for a discussion. They brought with them a print of a picture of an unformed small light some distance away. They said that they saw it first from their pickup truck while driving up to their station and had to get out the camera, carry it upstairs and mount it before taking the dim, unformed shape's picture from some distance away, They said it had been much closer to them but they could not describe it - - rattled, I'd guess..

Q: Did you believe their story?

A: I recall being impressed with these two people's sincerity and obvious concern, bordering on fear, during our brief conversation. In view of their jobs, tracking aircraft at long distances with their instruments, I considered them to be both credible and honest.

Q: Did you help write the Blue Book report?

A: As I remember, I turned over to the "regular guy" my notes and gave him a verbal description of what had transpired. I believe that he wrote it up and sent it in to WPAFB

Q: Was Gordon Cooper involved? Please discuss what level, if any, of connection to the event and its aftermath that he could have had.

A: To the best of my (poor) recollection, I knew Cooper at Wright Patterson AFB as we were in different courses held at the same time - 1954/5. To my knowledge, he was not involved in this incident.

Q: What was your ‘real job’ at the test center?

A: I had a quite different job to do - - we now call it "Mission Control" of experimental flight test of some twenty-odd contractor flight test programs, with a Tech. Sgt. on a PBX board to set up everything, a couple or three Lts. to help and four M/Sgts. out in the field for direct contact with the contractor people and with me.

Q: Any other thoughts to help illuminate the future's insights into how this story began and evolved into the legend we now see all over the Internet?

A: Wish I could be more helpful, but it was "no big deal" to me at the time
Hope this sparse information is helpful to you.

Q: What do you think about UFOs?
A: I have no opinion regarding UFOs. That is one thing among many that I must confess total ignorance.

Doesn't really add anything, I guess, but I did this:

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Ain't know how much of a myth, but here's the thing out of the devils mouth: Gordoned

Sparks and others have raised significant issues with the AF explanation of the object, which Gettys also rejected. I don't have a dog in that fight.

Here's the view of Brad Sparks after his own exhaustive investigation --
Cooper's story was unworthy of belief.
www.nicap.org...

originally posted by: deckdel
a reply to: Arbitrageur

If I remember it right, Cordon's UFO actually landed not that far from where he was standing - all of which he filmed too. So, this white blip in the sky most surely is not anything but an effort to divert off the whole issue.

If I recall correctly he said something along the lines of it landing in a dry lake bed.

originally posted by: deckdel
a reply to: Arbitrageur

If I remember it right, Cordon's UFO actually landed not that far from where he was standing - all of which he filmed too. So, this white blip in the sky most surely is not anything but an effort to divert off the whole issue.

A lot of people vividly remember it exactly that way, they just SWEAR sincerely that they had watched a video of Cooper describing the object landing in front of him.

No such video has ever been found.

[sigh]

So where's the film so we can all study it, or is this just another click bait for the ATS's very own disinformation anonymous? I'll give you a clue, here on planet Earth, four frames from some unknown source does not a film make. Where's the cannister and are the markings commensurate with those used by the military and do they fit for the year they are meant to be taken?

Was Jim Oberg actually present when the film was taken? No, then its merely second hand information from someone who is most assuredly part of the system talking to another person who is , most assuredly part of the system isn't it? So given that, what actual proof do you have outside of people's word that this conversation bares any relation to the reality of what happened, save for Jim's word?

Furthermore, can we trust Jim's opinion on anything with regards to Cooper given his regular ad hominen attacks on the guy's credibility on this very forum? Do you honestly think and for that matter, does anyone honestly think Jim would post an exchange that basically said. "Actually Cooper was right" on this forum. Personally, I reckon we've a better chance of working whether , hell is exothermic or endothermic in nature before that day arrives, others obviously may differ in their opinion.

So let me just make sure I have this right. You have opened a thread in effect claiming, in effect, the film has been found and seen and yet, you can provide no link for anyone to see it for themselves and your sum total of evidence is, four frames taken from a web page that no longer exists? I have to admit. I am having a right giggle over here imagining your attitude towards such a thread if was say, someone claiming it was a film form Rendllesham and using the same references as "proof".

Larry Bryant located the Blue Book file fifteen years ago and when he realized it differed from Cooper's version he was certain the coverup masters had falsified its contents.

www.jamesoberg.com...

a reply to: FireMoon
The film was sent to project blue book. You can see the project blue book case file here which mentions 41 photos, but the quality isn't good, however it's good enough to tell that the photos are similar to the photos from the Nicap source.

bluebookarchive.org...

I'm not sure exactly how Nicap tracked down those four better quality images, or if there are more of the 41 images in higher quality like those. Nicap doesn't have a reputation for hoaxing and given the similarity of the images to what's in the bluebook file, I don't see why you have such doubts, unless you're accusing the bluebook files of containing falsified records. By the way the nicap link works in archive.org and the links to the images themselves are not dead, just the index link is dead.

Nice thread OP. The whole Gordon Cooper story has intrigued me for some time now. First thing I do is look at the credibility of the person making the claims. Mr Cooper seems to be very credible with his background and all.
BUT...

By the way, Gordon Cooper was not only wrong about these photos that were "never to be seen again", but he also apparently "exaggerated" his involvement with this whole UFO story as explained in the article.

This makes me question everything now. Why would he exaggerate anything!?! He's a famous astronaut! No one ever got famous claiming to see a UFO. Well anyone credible for that matter. He has nothing to gain with this story, and everything to lose if this blows up in his face. Credibility is everything!

Why would he now try and disassociate himself from this? The Air force is saying it was a balloon. Part of me thinks someone had a little chat with Mr. Cooper. Why else would he change his story? In the video he seems very sincere and passionate about what he is saying.

The major myth is that there WAS a cine 'film', since the only person claiming that was Gordon Cooper, who every other person involved agrees was NOT involved at all. So where's the ambiguity?

Gordon "I saved the shuttle program from a lethal design flaw by relaying a telepathic warning from space aliens" Cooper?

Gordon "I took out-the window snapshots from Gemini-5 on which I could read auto license plates" Cooper?

Gordon "I lost my entitled moon landing command due to nasty office politics" Cooper?

Gordon "I flew a Utah inventors flying disc all around his workshop" Cooper? [the inventor's daughter recalled that the model hadn't moved in years, Cooper just sat down next to it and made swishing mouth sounds for a few minutes]

Gordon "I packed my suitcase for Dan Fry's promised hop on an alien friend's UFO" Cooper?

This is getting silly.