FOIA: Preparation for an investigative trip to Los Alamos.

NM_1952_MEETING_AND_TRIP.pdf
Preparation for Trip to Los Alamos,
A series of documents relating to a visit by USAF officials to investigate a correlation between UFO sightings and unknown radiation sources.
Document date: 0000-00-00
Department: USAF
Author: Not Stated
Document type: memorandum
pages: 32


Archivist's Notes: This series of documents is generally clear and easy to read. It contains details of the preparation and reasoning for a visit to Los Alamos to investigate a suggested correlation between UFO sighting and radition detected from unknown sources.

PDF page 1 to 4 Memorandum for Record
– meetings and greetings requests – phone conversation records in regards to the following topic: The possible correlation between sightings of UFO’s and unusual radiation detection.

PDF page 5 reveals that there is a possible correlation between sightings of UFO’s and unusual radiation detection.
The data was obtained from Mr. Carter and Mr. Homer T. Gittings JR. They are part of a small group from the laboratory. It was considered to contact ATIC to get a complete study into this subject.
Interesting is the hand written note:



PDF page 9 and 10Capt E. J. Ruppelt and Lt R. M. Olsson visited Col Hood, chief of the Nuclear Powered Aircraft Branch of WADC.
Previous to this visit, Col hood had contacted ATIC in regard to certain sightings of UFO’s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, in which he and a Naval officer had attempted to obtain correlation between sightings and peaks in radiation backgrounds.

Col Hood stated that in July 1950, the head of the Physics Department at Vanderbilt University said that he believed there might be some correlation between sightings of UFO’s and increases in radiation.

While visiting the radar site at Knoxville Airport, he got records from several radiation monitoring stations in the Oak Ridge area and attempted to make a correlation. – but this has been not too successful (maybe because of the equipment that measured only one type of alpha and gamma radiation)
It was also noticed when nuclear powered aircrafts passed overhead that ground counters would definitely register these events.

The possibility of instrumentation was discussed. It was suggested that several types of instruments cross check each other, a magnetometer, a directional coincidence counter of radiation and radar.

During Col Hood’s visit to ATIC, he mentioned the fact that his branch was interested in Einstein’s latest theories on a relationship between gravity and lines of magnetic force. His branch has contacted Einstein and obtained the names of several people whom he thought could pursue this idea further and determine how his theory could be utilized for power.

The conclusion is that these people made a very preliminary type of study on the correlation of un known radar pickups and rises in radiation.
There is definitely nothing to “get our teeth into”. Again , however, there are indications that there may be some correlation present.

It was recommended that more details on the incidents at Oak Ridge should be obtained, contact with the head of the Physics department at Vanderbilt University will be established and WADC should be contacted to learn more about magnetometers.

PDF 11 and 12 copy of page 9 and 10 (have been scanned twice)

PDF page 13 and 14 A letter from Ed J. Ruppelt to Homer T Gittings JR:
Again the correlation between sighting of UAF and the detection of certain types of radiation was mentioned.
This letter was also a request for Homer to collect all of the details he can get concerning the visual sightings and the radiation detection on both the incidents at Palomar and at Los Alamos.

PDF page 15 and 16 Trip to Los Alamos 23 October 1952
Mr. Ruppelt met with seven people from the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory who where interested in the subject of UFO’s.

Previous to this meeting, several of the members of this group had met Capt Ruppelt and Maj J. H. Herman at a meeting of the Civilian Saucer Investigators in Los Angeles.
These people mentioned having some data on a correlation between the detection of some type of radiation and visual sightings of UFO’s.

A person involved in this study happened to be outdoors when he saw a V’ of V’s of shiny objects go over. He immediately went inside to observatory and found that the counters had just “pinned” (gone up maximum reading). This naturally aroused the curiosity of the people on the project and they agreed to if it ever happened again they would look outside. Some time later it did happen and they looked out an observed a dark object passing over head.

There is also a report from the Navy – it was a cosmic ray contact, supposedly investigated – they concluded that this was all due to a circuit failure. But later stated that is was impossible to occur in all the circuits at the same time….

The conclusion was that the accounts of these incidents are still rather vague, to vague to draw any definite conclusion as to whether or not further action should be taken to investigate all radiation monitoring stations in the U.S. to determine if more correlations are present

PDF page 17 and 18 copy of page 15 and 16 (have been scanned twice)

PDF page 19 to 26 pages with radiation data (graph)

To be continued

PDF page 28 Letter from Paul M. Butman Lt Colonel USAF to Brigadier General W.M. Garland USAF:
In accordance with our discussion of August 29th in Washington, the attached letter is submitted for your attention as you requested… (Archivist note: I believe the attached letter is PDF 30, but I’m not sure)

PDF page 29 Letter addressed to Dr. William H. Crew Assistant Director for Scientific Personnel. This was a request for an Air Force briefing on unidentified aerial phenomena or “flying saucers”:
The Air Technical Intelligence Center would be very glad to present a briefing on unidentified aerial objects to the bi-weekly colloquium held at the laboratory.

PDF page 31 and 32 are identical (copied twice)
This is a letter from the Garland Commanding General Air Technical Intelligence Center Wright- Patterson AFB Ohio addressed to
Dr. William H Crew Assistant Director of Scientific Personnel

Topic: Col L. Bower and Capt Edward J. Ruppelt will be in Los Alamos on 23 October 1952, to give briefing on unidentified serial objects. Request ATIC be advised whom to contact and scheduled time of briefing.
In reply cite Project Blue Book

PDF page 30:
This is page 3 of a document dated April 17, 1950 – this could be the attachment to the correspondence between Mr. Butman and Mr. Garland (PDF page 28)-
Maybe this page made its way into this document by accident:
…… falling fragment. After discharge of fragments, objects lifted, containing formation and disappeared at extreme height.
Fragments were very hot to touch (?) and samples were obtained after a cooling period.
Audio transmission to Tacoma (?) headquarters where impossible due to excessive static.
Radio was in excellent condition and weather conditions good.
Witnesses returned immediately to Tacoma and turned over camera and film to superiors. Estimated at that time that 20 tons(?) of debris dropped.

Second Incident - ?

Orbe(?) object as previously described came from somewhere and circled bay(?) at approximately 30 degree bank and disappeared in large cumulus cloud formation.
(?) time (?) of extent of debris and additional samples are taken.

Samples and information was obtained by Army Intelligence Officer

Major Sanders – (?)Field
Captain Davidson – Army Intelligence – Hamilton Field, California
First LT. Brown – Army Intelligence – Hamilton Field, California
Lt. Col Donald Springer- 5th Air Force Intelligence (There is a 4th Air Force Report)

Crash and death of Captain William L Davison (Pilot)and First LT. Frank (?) Brown in B-25 unclassified mission, McChord Field to Hamilton Field accident accruing at Kelso, Washington, August 1, 1947. The crewmen saved via parachute were M/Sgt. Elmer L Caff, Tech 4th Grade Woodrow D. Mathews.

Theory of Crash – sabotage ?

Davidson and Brown handled complete interrogation of Marry Island incident and were known to have been carrying large quantities of the fragments and the recorded information. It is my information that photographs taken of this incident are still available. Newspaper accounts of aircraft crash at Kelso:

August 2 1947 – The Tacoma Times
August 3 1947 – Sunday Journal, Portland, Oregon
August 3 1947 – Chicago Sunday Times

Here is the pdf copy:

Upon further research:

PDF page 30 is a document that refers to the Maury Island Incident - Puget Sound near Tacoma, Washington on June 21, 1947

The following has been taken from UFO casebook:

......One craft wobbled and dipped to about 500 feet, he told investigators. It then spewed what Dahl described as thin sheets of white metal and several tons of hot lava-like rocks or slag. As the slag rained down on Dahl, his son and his dog, it punched holes in the vessel, burned Dahl’s son on the arm and killed the family dog. ....

Looking at the incident, I strongly believe this document was the attachment directed to Brigadier General W.M. Garland USAF (PDF page 28)

At the moment, I'm having no success in finding the first and second part of this document.

Anyone interested in this incident is welcome to search Cyberspace (with me ) to find the other 2 parts of this document

Bluebookarchive is a good resource.

There is more to come... lots of inconsistencies ... btw. check out the wikipedia ... Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, chief of Project Blue Book in the early 1950s, wrote that he was convinced that the entire sighting story was a hoax -

Lt Colonel Paul M. Butman would not have attached this document if this was a hoax !!!


[edit on 16-2-2008 by frozen_snowman]

The PDF URL is a dead link. Am i doing something wrong?

a reply to: frozen_snowman

I have had some crazy sightings myself in Oregon living here for most of my life. I got some juicy stories to tell. I remember seeing this story on some UFO documentary and was the first I heard of it. Friends and family have had close encounters themselves as well. My sisters boyfriend saw a UFO spew out stuff similar to that story. Only this was in 1980's. He sat up on top of a tall building having his lunch break working as a night watchman and off in the distance on top of Skinner's Butte near by..... A butte that is open during the day for hiking and park for kids to play. People also like to rock climb it's cliffs. Anyways, this black saucer thing was dropping what he described as molten lava stuff out of the bottom. The drips were individually lit up on fire like firework sparklers as they dripped to the ground. It sat there doing this for good 5 minutes time. Long enough time for someone else to call the police and he sat there watching three police cars and a small fire engine pickup truck racing to the top of the butte. He is not sure what became of it. He said, the saucer zipped off straight up and into space in like a m/sec time just before they got there.