1952-jan

10:30 p.m. 38-yearold rancher saw a "shooting star" suddenly stop in mid-air between him and a mountain, spinning clockwise, with one red window periodically facing the observer, went down toward the Little Powder River, come up again. He turned his car to send light signals, object seemed to respond by stopping its red window to face witness. Spinning resumed, object rose and came down. Similar object arrived, then both went into the deep valley out of sight. (Vallée Magonia 88)

January 3,1952, SECRET Memo

Brig. Gen. William M. Garland, Assistant for the Production of Intelligence, wrote a memorandum for General Samford with the title (SECRET) "Contemplated Action to Determine the Nature and Origin of the Phenomena Connected with the Reports of Unusual Flying Objects." (Courtesy, Joel Carpenter)

Jan. 22, 1952; Nenana, Alaska (BBU)
12:20 am.(AHST) Ground radar outpost and three airborne radar sets on F-94 interceptors tracked a distinct unexplainable target. USAF Lt. A. L. B. a CPS-6B radar operator at ADC radar site F-2, Murphy Dome AFS (about 19 miles WNW of Fairbanks), Alaska, tracked an inbound or outbound target at 210° azimuth at about 1,500 to 2,400 mph, and after 10-12 radar sweeps 12 secs each, urgently called twice (at 12:25 and 12:26 a.m.) for interception, and 2 USAF F-94 jets were scrambled [possibly multiple reversals of UFO direction in this time interval]. At 12:52-53 a.m., unidentified target was tracked inbound at 210° azimuth heading N at 45 miles range for about 1 min, first F-94 at 30,000 ft was vectored on 180° heading to attempt intercept at 20 miles projected range of target to radar site, but target reversed course over an 8-mile radius of turn (roughly 5 gs) and headed outbound at 1,500+ mph heading S and away from radar site and F-94. Pilot Lt. C. E. G. and radar observer Capt. V. D. R. on first F-94 tracked two targets, one strong one faint on. F-94 circled for an hour before getting another target at 12 o'clock low, dropped to 25,000 ft with 100-knot closure rate, no visual contact, had to pull up at 200 yards distance to avoid collision, F-94 released to return to base at 2:13 a.m. Pilot Capt. R. time also obtained radar lock on to a target at 12 o'clock high at 17,000 yards range for 2-3 mins. (BB Status Rpt 7; McDonald files; Jan Aldrich; FUFOR Index; cf. Ruppelt)

Jan. 29th, 1952 Briefing mentioned in Grudge Status Report No.3

Brig. Gen. William M. Garland, Assistant for (Intelligence) Production, and his staff at the Directorate of Intelligence, HQ USAF, were briefed on the status of the Project Grudge UFO Study. At this meeting Gen. Garland introduced a revolutionary new intelligence policy and methodology which emphasized the use of instrumentation for intelligence collection, including to detect and track UFO's (which would eventually be the basis for terminating Project BLUE BOOK as an intelligence function, converting it to a PR psych war propaganda function beginning in July 1952 over a 6-month transition period). As an interim last-chance measure to prove whether anecdotal sightings had any value, Gen. Garland approves of Ruppelt's publicity plan to draw in UFO reports from the public so that triangulations might be obtained, and this leads to Garland secretly backing the LIFE magazine article (plan backfires and is blamed for July 1952 flap).

On the same date, Jan. 29, Gen. Garland gave the welcoming address to the SECRET compartmented MIT Project BEACON HILL in Cambridge, Mass., where he gave the marching orders to the assembled scientists to study ways AF intelligence methodology can be revolutionized through use of technology. (Later Gen. Garland sent Ruppelt and Col. Sanford H. Kirkland of ATIC, and Lt. Col. William A. Adams of AFOIN, to brief BEACON HILL on UFO's on March 26 and in April 1952, respectively). (Credit Joel Carpenter for BEACON HILL.) (Brad Sparks)

Ruppelt Discovers AF Intelligence Has More UFO files

On this trip to the Pentagon to brief Gen. Garland, Ruppelt visits the offices of AF Intelligence (AFOIN) having collections of UFO files and discovers they have more complete files than does ATIC in Dayton, and he arranges to have copies made of the various missing files made for him at Project Grudge at ATIC (though multiple visits were required to obtain the copies and Ruppelt probably did not succeed in getting everything). These AFOIN offices with UFO files include the Technical Capabilities Branch (TCB) of the Evaluation Division (AFOIN-TCB or AFOIV-TC) and the Collection Control Branch of the Collection Division (AFOIN-CC or AFOIC-CC). (Brad Sparks)