Sightings, Saucers, and Stranger Things

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Sightings, Saucers, and Stranger Things

Like many of you, we are fascinated by the mysteries of the universe and the search for life beyond Earth. In fact, the National Archives is home to several collections of documents from the United States Air Force related to the investigation and analysis of “flying discs,” popularly known as “unidentified flying objects” (UFOs).

The Air Force studied sightings of UFOs under Project Sign, Project Grudge, and Project Blue Book between 1947 and 1969. A total of 12,618 sightings were reported to Project Blue Book during this time period. Of those, 701 remained “unidentified.” The project — once headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio — officially ended in 1969.

In addition to these unidentified objects, the National Archives also hold records of identified flying objects. Did you know that the Air Force tried to build their own flying saucer? Taking inspiration from 1950s sci-fi movies, the Air Force contracted with the Canadian company, Avro Aircraft Limited, to construct a disk-shaped craft for Project 1794.

The craft was designed to be a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) plane designed to reach a top speed of Mach 4, with a ceiling of over 100,000 feet, and a range of over 1,000 nautical miles. You can find the project report with drawings and photographs in Project 1794 Final Development Summary Report. In 1957, a second report was issued by Avro Aircraft Limited, Program Planning Report, Project 1794 Extension Program, detailing further development of the aircraft concept, including cost estimates and scheduling.

Although this project never quite got off the ground, you can read more about the construction, development and testing of these disc-shaped vehicles on the Unwritten Record blog.

Avrocar Continuation Test Program and Terrain Test Program

What do you think? We're curious to know what today's aerospace engineers would make of these plans and films!

And a Yeti...

We can’t have a newsletter about UFOs and not include another record from the strange and unidentified. This is a 1959 despatch from the American Embassy in Kathmandu regulating mountain climbing expeditions in Nepal relating to sightings of Yeti. We love the three regulations included in this message to the Department of State:

1. Royalty of Rs. 5000/- Indian Currency will have to be paid to His Majesty’s Government of Nepal for a permit to carry out an expedition in search of ‘Yeti’.

2. In case ‘Yeti’ is traced it can be photographed or caught alive but it must not be killed orshot except in an emergency arising out of self defence. All photographs taken of the animal, the creature itself if captured alive or dead, must be surrendered to the Government of Nepal at the earliest time.

3. News and reports throwing light on the actual existence of the creature must be submitted to the Government of Nepal as soon as they are available and must not in any way be given out to the Press or Reporters for publicity without the permission of the Government of Nepal.

Transcription Mission

Live long and transcribe! Help us transcribe information the Air Force gathered about specific UFO sightings from the series Sanitized Version of Project Blue Book Case Files on Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, 1947 - 1969.** Each case file relates to one sighting or to a group of closely related sightings. The files contain reports from UFO observers, correspondence between these observers and the Air Force, newspaper and magazine clippings, and reports of analysis of photographs and physical evidence. Some reports were submitted by letter or telegram, but most reports of sightings were submitted on an Air Force questionnaire which contains the name and address of the observer, the date and hour of the sighting, and a description of what the observer saw. Each case file contains a control sheet which summarizes the sighting report and shows the Air Force explanation and conclusions for the sighting.

Get Started Transcribing!

**What does sanitize mean in in the title of these records? The Department of the Air Force deleted the following information to protect the privacy of observers of unidentified flying objects and others who furnished information to the Air Force: the names, addresses, and other information which identifies the observers and portions of investigative reports which identify persons who provide information about the observers and which include information of a personal and private nature, chiefly medical and financial data, that was gathered about the observers.

New in the Catalog

Alphabetical Series of Ship Engineering Drawings, 1919 - 1940
This series consists of measured engineering drawings. They are almost always a part of or make up the entire "Booklet of General Plans". The booklet includes inboard and outboard profiles sections and deck plans. The ships included are a wide variety of vessels constructed after the range of the "dash file" (post 1909) and before the universal use of the engineering drawing categories. Hull construction, mechanical and electrical drawings are rarely included.

The "Write" Stuff

Take your family to meet Newbery and Caldecott award-winning authors in person!

The “Write” Stuff event invites upper elementary students through adults to discuss research in writing and illustrating with award-winning authors Gennifer Choldenko, Christopher Paul Curtis, Jim Murphy, and Brian Floca. Have your questions ready for the Question & Answer session! This event is FREE!

Engage with these award-winning authors through Author/Illustrator spotlights and hands-on activities that explore methods and unveil strategies they use to integrate research in their work.

Learn more:
https://www.archives.gov/calendar/event/the-write-stuff-author-conversations-0

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Questions or comments? Email us at catalog@nara.gov.

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