Releases / 4 / DOW-UAP-D093

Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States, 1948

File

DOW-UAP-D093

Type

Document, 67 pages

Agency

Department of War

Date

12/10/48

Place

Virginia

Released

Release 4, July 10, 2026

Open the original on war.gov

The government's description

This file contains a U.S. Air Force (USAF) Air Intelligence Division study, “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States,” Study No. 203, dated 12/10/1948. The analysis includes an assessment of various reported unidentified flying object (UFO) incidents and theories to account for their nature and origin. Overall, the study assesses that “it appears that some object has been seen; however, the identification of that object cannot be readily accomplished.” The study offers that two “reasonable” origins might account for the phenomena: technologies of a domestic or foreign origin. It also suggests that, if foreign, it is prudent for the United States to assume that UFO observations are attributable to scientific, military, or intelligence activities of the Soviet Union, and, in that case, to take seriously the threat such objects may pose. The file also contains contemporary UFO reports and examples of experimental “flying wing” type aircraft planforms that might account for certain commonly reported UFO characteristics.

AARO Comment: This file appears to be an earlier draft version of the file contained in DOW-UAP-D094, whose content is substantively similar.

DEClASSIFIED
J
YSIS OF FLYING 0BJJ£CT INCi
IN THE UNITED STATES
203
-- - -~- ·--=
-- - - ·~-
~

MEMO ROUTING SLIP
-E
NEVE.,
~PROVALS, DISAPPROVALS,
-CONCURRENCES, OR SIMILAR ACTIONS
1 NAME OR TITLE
ORGANIZATION AND LOCATION
INITIALS
CIRCULATE
DATE
COORDINATION
2
FILE
INFORMATION
3
NECESSARY
ACTION
NOTE AND
RETURN
4
SEE ME
SIGNATURE
REMARKS
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TELEPHONE
.Q~GANJZATIGN AND L8CATION
D. D
1
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vu
_
5
ReplacesDAAGOFortn895,1Apr48,andAFRQ
Form 12, 10 Nov 47, whibb may be used.
--.
16-48487""' GPO

t..trasucm nr1JIS10:1 srurn:
OI/USAF-'Ol-0:} ••
,
!ll!¾1S:: or,, rtm•o oa.Bar nicnr~:ij;s n1 THE u.s.
20)
10 nccembc,r 1948
J:1T.Sr~IµUl'IC l
Air r.ntel eq Ulv
•
land 3
Air E1tio3~B
4
ODI
2
A1r Intel DiV
-
. 3

mrra
1. To e:P:uune
ttom or tnctico or ~Flying SAucnr:.U (ht'1'Gimftar
roforre;l to oo .tl.ylnJ objeota) and to devolop oonclum,ona aa to thi
JX)Cllib1.llty of eximnca.
JU,crs A~
DISCUSSIO.i
2 .. . A dotnUed di:ccwmion of inforoatio:l f . ) ~ on 'the F,Oblc
a.c =t forth above 10 otttiched. WJ Ap::, n<li.x rAo. Tho rm.n pointo oottib­
liuhed thereiJ:l nra au=nrl~od bol<m.
3. 'l'ha f'r4qu 07 or reported :tnc1d:mtn, tho oinilarity !i.t mny o!
t..~ elmractoti.ctice1 nttrib"i1t«l to -th:, obue:nrcd object nntl tho qunlj.ty
-
a.r obtiorv rs comdderod ,aa 'O
halo, aupport th
t ~ or flyiriG objmct ma b:lan obaorwd.
cont,ntio.11 t~t co
A!)!Jroxit!.n.tol_y 210 itwi<Wntlil
lmv-s been ,:,.oportod. AnonB the obsorvarc r porting on auch incidantu
•
nra tr.:iinad and cxp,rienoed u.s. ll'eather nur~u ~ nnel., USAF rated
~accn, •~<.l!lced CiViliOJl piloto, toobnicuuts cumociatea m.th
vat""lO>JD resoarch p.rojcsctc and techhid.nn• emplo
d by ~ o i o l nir­
l1ne••
4•
Th• po■s1b1l1ty t • t reported ob nation ot flJ1ng object■
overt e u.s.
r~ 1nn,umced by previcma lli(l21t1ne
rt1culnrl7 over "caDllinavia :1n 1946, and tl t
in nurop ,
t.
oblervara raoortit'lJl ~ in'.!ldents
1 _tXlbl.1.eity t.!J.V
nin
-
1-", t.ho
report• CWl
adl.n
tMd
.-, o • a: cl ano
"1'Vttr
11"
•
itlprobabl.e
from u.5.
' strmtion• or
•
11
C
int rafted in b-
bavc,
Cl C
pOS•lb'i 11ti.ea
II t
or lOidentut d
lecttd
ext ~ ba.llooo■
u.,
• ai Ud stran
,arver
1 11
tt1
1Llilil.sr o ;j ct ~
ne

ocoolicm. \'bD laat obi,a~tion at \oidcnt1tiod ol>,,1eot,s wao 1n Al)rl.l..
. 194?• 0\ all tour ocoaaiono too
tbcJi'
Uoon and tl
uninantifi-1
objcota wen !rt v1'n thr-<mgb thi tbeodolito. Thoco obotnat.1.ona at.
Rio~d nurcau occ~ •w.ntl 1:10ntha before i,.iblloity on tbiJ tl11nc
~aera a peared in •
u.s. nG'Jfopap;r.
s. Deecrl.ptiQ.'1\1 ot the tly:ln objoote till into thN• CnntiB\ir&...
tion cutagorioa, (l) diak-ahapcd {2) rou · cl~b:lpc,d (3) balls ct
-~lo/,Ul!l conditions ot Y.i.o1b1.Uty and ditfeNUco, 1U angleo at
fJN,.
wlloh thtt objecto may havo been v1aw d :lntroducaB a pooo1b111ty, t a
o1nl9,a tYJ>l,I objc,o~ f/JAY hDv
~a.
bOcn ob1orvad rtt.t.lier tl1IJ\ thr
d.1.tt:•ront.
Thia ~ b i l i t y 11 f"llrtbcr nbatlntiate.d by tho taot that in
'Wbo1'W auah ob,3eota bt&fl been obeetrvod U- t4nt1o ot tho three
tM
em oaor~t1on1 io •P~tol-1 tm
'tm S.dtnt1ttcatlon of that obj a\ ®rlnot bet raadU¥ acccul)llebed on tb
bii11 of inl'ormation l'epottod 01:1 oacb incidtnt.
obj.ct, or objoot1,
7
wetmr ballo=a, rook.9t.~
tt, 11 po1otbla tha\
betm do!lorltica~ 1&111chad dm.cCNI web
Mr
ntal n.,,ttl(! ffinC aircratt, or' cele
ttal phenanana, It la n•o1N11&.\'7 to obtain tnto
aoti"fity to ~firm or deny t.~11 p1>anib1Uty.
With whtoh thie
7
ae<impltehld, tora1
pendJ.na upon.
dffloeD 1:l\111\
n
con-
•1d• d Bl a po1n1D111ty.
7. 'lh8 pt.item ot •1ftit1n
u detinable,
1
tin
haw be
t 1n
t the ltatea bof'der1n
at JJ.ne•• 1r1d
c.t.ral 1ta • ot Ohio «nd ent\ieij. A
loc&Uon of el
Atlantic
in ;9 1e at obtd •• A paidUt o "•
den
(1)
ru
• s., not; qo
.
1.ri&bla.
clfio

reportod flying objecto, particularly those described ae disk~ and
rough oi~r _aha~a.
(Seo Append1eea "C11 and nn11 . ) Among those which
Jiave been operational in recent yeara are the XF5U-l ("Flying Flapjack")
.
developed by Obance-Vaugb:tt, tM Northrup B-35, and the turbo-jet powered
Tb& ~osent exiatence of any privately developed fiying­
Northrup YB-49•
wing type aircraft baa not been determined but one ouch aircraft, the
.
I
Aru.p taille$8 monoplane, was operational at south Bend, lndiana, prior
to 1935. {2) Objects are fore:i."1, snd it ao, it would aeem most logi­
cal to consider that they are from a Soviet eouree. The Sovieto posoese
•
l,
'
'
"
intormtion on a number of Oenian ni,.ng-1iringt1P9 aircraft such aa the
G>tha P60A, Junkers EF 1~ long-range, high-speed j~t bomber and the
Horten 229 twin-jet fighter, -whioh p-:irticularly reaablea ooe ot the
descr1pt1ona of unidentified flying objects (See Appendix 11 0 11 ) . As
early aa 1924 Tncheran01rt1k7 devoloped a "Parabola" airorart, an all
wing de&ilJl, which wno the outcoms of oonm.darabls Soviet experimentation
with gliderD or the oame general. form.
SOYiet aircraft baf!led on ouch
deaigna m.1.ght bave speeds approaching trnnsonio •peeda attributsd to aome
flying object ■ or greater overall performance assuming the succ&as.ful
developxnent at eome unueual propulaion d~ce aaeh aa atomic energy
engine.
9. That tb9 Soviet■ have a current interest 1n flyinc•'Wing type
•iroraft 1• auggeated by their utilization of nr. OuS1ther BOolc who, at
the end ot world rrar n, • • 1n charge ot the nyJ.ng-wtng progru in
Germany' (see Appendix ttA", ~•graph 3, page 4). Aobievementa aat1•­
taotory to tbs u.s.s.R. are indirectly indicated by the pereooal recog­
nition h• 1• report.ed to be NoetTing in the u.s.s.n.
Recently it ha11
been repoi-ted tt»t the u.s.s.R. 1• planning to build a n ..t of 1,800
-
Horten flying-Wing aircraft.
Informati(m of low evaluation baa baon
reoeind etatintr t!nt a regl.lns.nt ot jet m.ght .t ishtere, Hod•l Ilorten
XIII, 11 at Kumm:f kha, an air base two miles t1outl'Pfea\ of Iiokutak.

Kurm;ti kha. is identified as one of a number of airfields for the pro-
-
tection ot an atomic energy plant at Irkutsk. The Horten XllI as
developed by Oermny ,ms o. glider.
10.
Assu.idng that the objects might t,ventually be identifiod as
forei~ or foreign-sponsored dev-lces, the possible reason for their
appe,arance over the u.s. requires consideration.
Several posoible ex­
planations appsnr noteworthy,, v.i.zi
a. To ne~te u.s. confidence in the a.tom bomb as tho moot
advanced ond decisive weapon in warfare .
b.
To perform photographic reconnaissance missions.
c.
To test u.s. air defenoeo.
d.
To conduct :f'ami.liari~ation £lights over u.s. territoey.
OONCLUSI<llS
u.
-
Since tm .Ur r.-orce is reaponsiblo for control or the air in
the dofcnae of the u.s~, it is 1.mperativn that all other agenoies oo-­
opsratc, 1n confirming or denying the poeoibility that theae obje-,ts
have a domestic or1:61n•
otherwiao, if it is fir.inly indicated t.bat
there 1a no d01ne1t10 explanation, tM object• are a throa~ and warrant
m.ore activo etforta of identification and intorc~tion.
12.
It mua-t be accepted tmt some type of fi1ina obj•ots ha'Ye been
obae"11d, although the i r identification and origin are not diaoernabl.e.
Di the intereot ot' national defense it would bj un'rfiN to overlook the
po~sibility that e
e ot tmee objects i:ny bs of toreia;i origin•
4 Inole1
l~ " d1X "A" - Analyaie of Flying Objeot Inoidents in tbl u.s. and
Hypoth9t1oal Taotios Employed
.Appendix "B• - Plot or Flying Objeo'b S1Sht,1np in the U.S.
Appendix II C1' .. Selected Reports of Plying ObJeot Incident•
Appl.tldb. ?tD• - FlJing lfinl Type Airoratt

APPEiDIX llAlf
ANALYSIS OF FLYilTG OBJECT IUCIDENTS Ilf Tlm U.S.
AND HTPOTHETIOAL TAOTICS l'?iPLOXED
l.
Introduction.
To formulate tho possible tactic• of
jects reported ovor the U.S. assumes from the outGet that firm conclu­
sions have beon reached on both the exiotonce pnd origin of the r oported
flying objects.
The current status of information on such incidents
and overall analys1o doec not cllow subotentiation for auoh concluaione.
However. the lack of such firm concluaions points to the necessity for
an immodiato and sound statisticnl annl7oiA of every nepect of the aituo.­
tion and doeo not proclude a concurrent examination of the reported in­
cidents to develop explanatione of their possible tactioe.
The latter
will be useful at oome future date ohould tho exictencea.ndoririn of the
flying objocts be definitely e•tabliahed.
Theroforc , tho followint;
anolyais of availablo information ii advanced in order to praeent evi­
dence on the actunl exhtenoa of somo tn,e fl7ill(; object and to relate
samo to tactical purposen for which the objects are pose1bly deeiEned.
The foJ.lovin,:; dhcueslo.n mu.at be cone1derod a provi111onal o.nalycie,
pend1n6 a further dotailod analyaio of all aspects of the problem.
2.
Somn J1.1rpoota RMIU'tllM F171na ObJeot Incld~nt4.
A. cureory
cxaM1nat1on of evidence on reported incident ■ haa been mnde o.nd it 1•
po111ble to cite certain genorAlltiee which it npp~nre MQ.1 be borne out
when detailed a.nal71os ha~• been completed.
Amo~ the 1noidentB reported there are m&IJ.1' otatemonta by
reliable and experienced pereone which t~nd to confirll that fl7lng ob­
j~ote havo been aeon.
The detcription of ouch objeot~ 1nem• to fall
rou«hl7 into thre• catogor1$ ■:
-
(1) 811••r dieke or balls. &pproxil0at1n&
a Horton will«$ tn>e aircraft; (a) Dal.le Qf fire ot Tnrlous colore and
lntenei\101; (3) Ott r or p noil-shaped object, atmtl~r i~ apponronce
\o V-2 type rockets in horliontal flight.
1
ihe numbere of configurations

>
might be further roduced wi
the follow~ conoideratione i n mind:
Silver disks or balls have,
or the greater part, been observed in
daylight nnd a number under lear weather conditions with visibility
unlit1i~edt
In aost instanc a. balla of fire have been oboerved at
Oie;ar. or pencil-sh
od objects have been aig~tod in fe\fer
nwnbers but ~,ith about equa
distribution in daylight and at nieht.
A few accounts toll of
·eks havil'.l,f; u rough eigar- ahapo whon
viewed vh1lo maneuvering.
me of the dioka are described no having
lw:ninoa1t7 in daylight.
hereforo is poseible that e sin&lo type
night.
of object J11a1 be involved i
cightinga. and diffo~onceo in dee­
cription n1A7 reault from vi
ng tho objects at variouo ~lee and
under diftoring conditiona
vieib1lit1.
Tho n.boTo
and tho poseibil ity
t tho object or obJecta aeen aro conven-
tional domestic deviceG , ru
e.a we&thor balloons, test rockets, or Jet­
equ.ipped aircraft with pane
or flyi~ will£ oonfigur~tiona.
The nos1ibility e
ate that the reportiJ:I& of f~ill8 objects
rliar reports on similar inoidente in
may have
-
indicate that some type object h:l.e been oeen
Soondino.via. and OllXltral Ilur
The publication in newaq>npera of de­
tails on auch incidents. bo
foreign and dom~atic. 1187 hove induced
eo~o of the description pro
ded in reported domeatic inoidenta.
one of the enrlieot reporte
1ightiD4t~ in thou.a. wae the one obaencd
by U.S. Weather Dureau per1
el in April 1947, at lliobmon,, \irginia.
and on \hG baei• ot
report lt appears that the diek• are not
bulloonn.
It vould aeem \
thin aighttng w•• not lnflueno~d by the re-
port• of forGt n 1nc1dontm,
be nev~Bfer aooou.nte of domoetic lnoidente,
nor by mieldentiflcation of
conTcntional object.
Altho~h reported
out the u.s., fregy.ency of
However,
mestie 1noidonte are l.1id.oly aoetterod through­
,;htl:ng a.nd n'U.lllber of obeervors per sighUue;

. '
'asouoes a definable pattern." There is a large concentration of aight­
inga along the ~stern Seaboard. another large concentration throU(;h­
out the 1t'ostern Coast states, and a . few sightiru?s
- '-n the Mi ddle ,1est.
Distribution of incidonts by configuration of object snd description
of maneuverability is approximately equal in each of theoo araaa and
this i o believed to further 's ubstanti ate the possibility tbet one type
of object mieht have been observed in different asneots of fl i €ht.
If sightings are induced by rumor, it seeca unusU£>1 t.lult more
incidenta have not been reported from tho vreas with hi€h concentrat 1on of population.
Reports from such areas would also hnve creater
facility in channel1IJG either to newspapers or official reporting ngon­
clee.
For the most part , _o1ght1J1€;s have b~en made 1n fairly onen country
where there are few ro,trictione to vhibilit7, .·~-hich may indicate that .
obstructod vision hn.o reduced oightingo in bu11,-up aroas.
It thorofore Geems th.at aome type of flying objoct has been ob­
served; tho identification of ita origin requires tho co~!pletion of other
3.
Eoaa1blo Or1«1~ of UnuoU4l J'lrlns Objnpt1& Provided, upon the
completion of annlyaeB, it 1c inrlicated that nome or nll of the reported
flyill8 objects over the U.S. nro of foreign or1&in, the objectc could
from a logical viewpoint, be couaidered Soviet.
It is evident from the
perforaance character1et1oe attributed to the un1dnntified objectn at
thiu time that 1f they are foreign, the1 involve efficiencies of por­
formanoe which hnve not been ro&liz•d in nn~ op~rat1ollt\l airborne de­
vice in thie country.
It would, therefo•e, be o. rnietake to analyae the
technical n,weets of the situation within th• limtt, of our cwn knowl­
edge of p~actinnl dcvelopmentn.
It is more deeirable to consider then
the 0\1ter llmiti, of poealble Soviet develop11entfl and objecti1.ve11 in nt•
tEJmptlng to !c,rmul&.te aom
idea of the tectic" whioh might be involved.

objectiveG of ihe u.s.s.R. ha.ve
of all, the
-
been st tod many times and indicatod i n many f orms,
The most clear­
cut statement of this obJoctive is prob bl7 the one contained in the
prea ble to the
ourth five- year Plan (1946-1950) which states that
the objective of Soviet science ie to overt ke and surp an the seienti.fio and technical development ,of the ca 1tali t nat1ona~
.would be · n imnosoible tosk for the Goviet Union to
.objoctive by proce ding st~- by- atep
It appar ntly
ocoopliah such an
lone; the same lines of develop­
ment already achieved in the capitalist
tione.
This would menn that
it would b-e ne oossary to rapidly proceed through en.ch phase of aero-
n utic I development that bae
lr aa,- been accomplished in thia country, and
this ~robably would never have any pro pecto of ace ler ti
ment b yond any point re ched by the U. S.
p lioh their objoct1v
Th
Soviet dev lop­
obviou an wer to
of not onl7 overt kin , but surpassing the capitalist
oountrioa would b a sci nt1f1c shortcut .
Thi poe 1b1lity 1 not so r -
mote when examined on the b aio of our knowl dge of th curr nt
in th U. S. S. R.
and
ncquir d fro
Ge
ny in 1945 and th
Germ n aoientiote, the po e1b111t7 of catchi
~
re 11 tio if th
Soviet
hav
work aided by
and pooaibly Ul'p ssin
int ohnic 1 dev lopment, b comes mor
comes ev n oor
shown
re 11at1c.
priority in our own progr
nther
Uo (flyin
to b
th
oc,
ci ntie
op
.s.R. hae sine 1946 enli ted the I r-
German who head d all develop
) t
wi
aircraft in Ge
in cl re
"1r
1
Y'•
Dr.
nt of low
ook: 111 bulteved
!' I.AM whio
t
h
t
airer f
re
7urth r, 1
oc
1•
llaltimum of
•
It is know that the u~
of Vr .
It be­
t ndency to ooncen-
tr te on cort in d8velopm nte whioh have still not reoe1v d
vie
ituation
Provi~ d Soviot eophasis was ·iven to the mot promieing
dvaneed idea
other n tion
coom­
e fr fly0
he
vi t •
4
• co
ld rd

•.
-
the Germans o.nd possibly
flyi ng wing ty-pa aircraft w se confi[;Uration would be sinilor to des~
cr1r tions of cortain
r eported flyinc ovor the U. S.
mated q,eeds of such
range of the lower limits of
speed attributed to flyin,e o jecta over the U. S.
.
The eati­
It ia not 1I!Jposs1ble
that emphaois on surpas~ll'lo
oroii;n developments haa led to unuoual pro-
gres& in fucloandpropulaio
by the u.s. s.R.
~
In connection with pos-
a1ble advancemento in the fi ld of fuelo and propuloion. 1t: shou.ld be
observed that tho Russian o
oituation (regardless of eotimated oil
reaorvor,) io quite differont from t~t in the U. s.
-
i"or e~le, u. s.
oil industry is preparod to
urn out tremendous qunntit1ea of hi~hly
fractionotod petroleum pro
tq, while the u.~.s.R. cannot reasonebly
approach ouch c~pab111tiee.
Thie consideration dictates d1f!orent solu­
tions on fuel~ for propuls1o
1n the two countrieo and 1n turn, dictnte1
the direction taken in dev~~ omont of jat motors or the U88 of other propuloiv& dovicoa.
We must tl rcfora. arrive .at the concluoion that any-
Soviet aevice which mar have made ite s~penranoe over the u.s. as described, would possaeo unusUR performance charaot~ristioa ~hioli, in all
probability, would include
renge.
The poo1ibilit7 th~t they could
' unconventional aircraft moy ~ve been flown ov~r tho U.S. tor ono, all, or
a oombinntion of the followi g reasons:
ha•• b~eu used in• propB&&nda eonao. it
would be r easonable to assum
thnt the Goviete would mooee ttret to
fri«hten pro-Aoler:l.oan no.tton
in .filu.rope with the ap_p•aranoe of a rnd.1.ooll;y
5

.,
nev we~pon to counteract
abilit~ of the U. S. t o obtain full propaganda
It will be remeI!l'berad t hat strange
effectivenees with the atom
objects first appeared over he Scandinavian coUhtriee in 1946.
The ob-
jects observed there had unu ual range and unusual performance oharacteris-
tics.
As this demonstration over tho Scandinavian countries occurred
tho U. S. was making a v1goro s campaign for t he economic and political
aligru:ient of these nations
th other pro~merican ieatern ~uropean na­
tions.
subsidod, strange flyine; objPcts bocan to
\?hen
be observod at an increaoine rote over the u. s.
point is that flyill(; object
The conclusion on this
may h~ve been used to frighten both Euro-
pean nations and the u.s. b~ tho appearance of a new device, and thnt
foilure to i dent ify such a
object would give them inval uable in­
dication that U. S. dovelopm
i s far behind that of tho Soviets.
Except for thi1J
i e believed that the uce of tho objects
to promoto fear
hleaa 1n that the U. S. public has tended
to characterize the&e incid tn entirely_an ho.llucinationE1 by ''crack pote 11 ,
misldentific~t1on of convent onal objecta, or that they repres~nt a secret
American project
not be publici~ed.
Any fear that micht re­
ault from Soviet
e only b~ a discovery that the objects h4ve
been Soviet aircraft and t
they involve radical developmanta which
ore 1n advance of our
objeot~ for the cellecticn
~hotograph1o intGlligence or the mappil'IB
of certain aren1 in the U.S
The evaaive action emplo7ed by all objocta
•16hted
an attempt to avoid bei!l€ aightod. na an
~ttcmpt to prevent d11clo1u
of the ex&ct t;vpe of fl1ing crmtt and it•
miaeion.
!rhe ~l~ht1nc of o eets over the U.S. ru o ~een most intense 1A
•
Eaetorn and Westorn Coa~t
ln addition, Jightitl&• of flying ooJeote
6

J
have been made near Oak Ridge, Tenn.; :Uo.s Cruces. n, H. , and in the
·-
general area of the Hanford Works in ' Orogon_.
Gonernlly, aightinis have
not been made over what we consider strategic industrial arooe .
The
reason for thia mi~ht be either thnt the flying_objecto have boen ob­
served only enroute to or from misoiono over tbeGe . oore concentrated
strategic arena, or that the Soviets obtained sufficient information
.
during thoir World War II liaioon with u.s. industry to natiafy tho1r
intelligence reQuirements and have a more active requir~~ent for in~oroation on industrioe and area~ which were not available to the~ during
World Uar It contacts.
This 12 of inter~st in connection with the
sightinca near Oak Ridge, LaG Cruces, and in tha general area of the Hanford
Works nince theee eetabliohmnnts wrenot , end ara not , acocsaibl~ to Soviet
collectoro of photo~raphic intelli -~onco.
lt is poffolblo thnt the use of 5oviot f1Yill6 objects over
the U. S. io int~ndcd oni,- to dotormine the ability of the U.3. defenses
to npot ioreign aircraft .
Thie would be of extreme laportanoe to the
U.G.S.R. in tho event that a one-way all-out attack of Soviet atre.te­
g1o bombers 1o plcnned.
Ability to operQto oYer the U.S. unin'W.bitod
at a time when the u.s. is suppoced.17 ro-a1'1i21ng and puttin« greBt atrea1
on defenaee would provide yaluable informatiott on which to base e1tlmate1
for probnbilit7 of suocftoe in bombing stratoeic obJectiTe1 1n the U. S.
d.
Ew;l1l111rbetiop Zl,ittht1....2If'I£ U.8. T0n:1to;a.
This poaolbl~ reacon le ptrbnp$ the mott improbable.
lt
ie aooumod thnt, ohould thie 1;1urpooo bo involved, other purposori are
prob bl1 nl~o ccoolllpllahed ln ite execution.
-
Frov1dcd the u.n.s.n. het
unUoutilly hlsh pl!rformnnee a1rcreft they ~1{:ht find it ~dv.ontaeeoue to
famllit1rhe the11eo).Toe '11th the tol)o,;ro.pbf of the C'.8. in anticipation
ot futuro combat mi~aione to ~tratee1o tarcote •
..,

•
I
•
5.
Concluaioa.
!he conclusion thot some tYPe of flying object
has been observed ovor the U.S. seems to be substantiated.
It is not
known at this time whether these obae:r"V'at1ono are mioidontifieations
of do~estically launched devices, natural phenomenn, or foreien un­
conventional aircraft.
It is, therefore, i mpossible to noke any re­
liable oxplanation for their ar,pearanco over the U~S• or the tact1cB
which they may- employ 1f the objects oboerved includo any foreign
developmente in aeronautical fields.
It is likewise i.Jp.possible at
this time to contain diecuesiona of posoi~le perfornance charaotoristice
or tactics within limits of practical reason, if for no other reason
than the faot that proof of the existence of a foreign development of
this tn>e would neoesearily introduce considerations of new principals
D.nd means not ¥et conoidercd practical poeaibilitiee in our own reeeorch and devol0pment .
8
,..
i.

•
;
i
t1
fJ)
M
rJ ~
Sc
en
0
""J
I
H
a
~ •
r.,
0
~
1111
ij
r.o
•
r iol's
•~::ur sh19e
♦ '1.111 o" Fir.,
41 nO"'· n: '•'it'"
-
........... _....
''Oll ·h
Co"l~i~:1ti<m •·nct,-;te ·ni.n~q..
All llGVN

APPENDIX II 011
SEIEC.CED REPORTS (I!' FLYnrn OBJECT INCIDENTS
A nunber ot reports on unidentified fly;l.ng objects come trom
observer• fflio, beonuas o! their teobnioal background and experience do
not appear to be infiuenoed by unfounded senaationallam nor ino,linod to
report explahable phena1uma as new types 0£ airborne devices.
Some of
.
the detailB of their reports are presented in this appendix~ slang with
those from posDibly le3s reliable sources who have reported evidence
which is of such a nature that it cannot be entirely ignored.
>
2.
Descriptions
ot Bifi'}liticant :inoidente, arranged ohronologically,
,
follow.a
a. During April 1947, two employeea ot tbs wentber Bureau
Statioa at Richmond, Virginia reported aee1ng a stranee metallic diak
cm three ooc&aion• through the "tbeodolite while_. making PIBAL observa­
t.ion••
One observation was at 15,000 feet when a disk waa followed for
15 seconds.
The diak appeared metallic, ■baped 10tt10thing liko an ellip1e
with a flat bottaa and a ro\ll'ld top. It appeared balcnY the balloon and
waa much larger in Bise. The di ■k appeared to be moving rather rapidly,
altboue)l it waa impouaible to eatimate its apsed. The otb!tr obaervationa
""'"' Jllllda at 27,000 t eet :in like manner.
b. The tollorin1 lit0Xlth, Byron B. Savage, a f i eld engl.noer f or
:""Hiii!\rt1. n
,
iWl>oned a diak tlying near hiu homo in
eot no thought to be at an alt itude
eet, and waa novinR toward t he north
feet on a courM of ))0 d•~os,
, Nevada, an .ill' force lieutenant r~
oiroular object , in cloea tormat1on auia_.
t
Yelin at an
etimated •P d of 28S mil•• pol' hour. Thi• ei6ht1ng
occurred on~ June 1947.

d.
day a party of thi-ee, t,To of' tliem soicmtinta,
Tll
re motJiAg a
llllr"l!ll~
!ir_Jng gr!>undo a.,
ropor ~ s
12;anto~ a
Q! o
"
....
~ - • " • •Sand, Ile l!exico,'
V-2.~ _,.-:~
lC
9# •
or sphere moVin8 horJ.-
or 10,000 f
t
coo such as mngo.
Th~
an
~
. . . . ¥ ..
r mis ot uni:for::i aQ!ipc Md hld no protru • G o
object r.ns in sight tor about 60 tieconds ooforo i t dis.a.ppJared to the
nortbe.:icrt.
Tho tbro observe1·a acreod on tho dotl1lo of the uightini.;
except that cne thought bO hld aoan vapor trails.
e.
On 7 July 1947, five Portland, Orecc,n police o.fficerc re­
port d vnryinc n\lmb::1•0 o.r dioka flying over dif£cr&nt port:;; o! tho city.
All obs8rvations \T.lre m.,.dc '1i thin a mnute or trro of 1305 houra .
t.
on the Oam!) da1, William Rhonda or Pho nix., Arizona al-
ltJgedly enw a diok ctrolinn his locality .during ounoet
form. Tl»ec photoc;rapho
- mv been •cx1io:trietf'
iJ:llf'!lS nnd do not op~nr to be io
.feotiono in the lenc.
rtect,1on in the
(SaG F1go. 1, 2, 3, and 4.)
ootar AL 'rll">TJMAPHS DY m. ntl )(\n~
:ul.oion or irl~­

n.c. 4
n.'
0\ 10 Ju1:r 1947,
r. OOC'.lrutt. a Fllll""ft'JIID oan iltr'llaJa •ohlnle
r.pc,rted • ot:roular 6bj4tc\ tl11n1 a, hi
.urn.ca
d 1e&nn1 at-nil
wlooi\7, pu-alltlln1 t.be tlllr'th'•
1oh appeaftd •• a "tiarnln up" ot \be •load
bal!'llll'Nd. nlff "8.rianrl Fltld~
A ~ • flw N,\11.\inl
lo--
oodfutr•• obelM'lt.1.on u tar •• '111 •kr eliaft
ll
\o&ftpbl4 bJat \bal'
aerao..-n-4. ( •
•
NO
ob ~••n!nel s.n bl •kJ' ~ r allau\ an
O\tiv pwam• alao NW
Of.i'lbl ana~r\
MtfCDldlan4.
1sa., 81\d
•>

'
J..
4A
t l9A7a
tt tlltlr .uc,-tt,. Thi• 4Ui
Cr, I
111d thn7 turned to fJlTe clmae. The '00-3
d1a 11.ew GU\ ot cd.{tll in .!tour as.rm:
l•
Cb 12 ' ~ 191.1,
• tl)1ng at; 170 IIPll,
t
••
t1y1nrz dl•a \rolling 3•t;..lln
-~ .-u of 'fire • -re np0rtea_1J n lto4 frClll
Ttconduor,a, aoaonU.na to tht no«td orttcor. f
brld
or h ~ r
1'10 _ clffO
WlllJ
20 mt leo otf t.lw
tdeb:t; 4S IJDCCXlWI, ~ B a\ • ·~
in a la, , low uo.
~ 01 "I d&l'Nf1'1 l9J.81 •
..ur:atcd at '700-900
;aUo:uil GdlU'd pUot
t; cm-vins
I ldllad Jdiile
at,ttlqp11.inG to ohan an Qi1denW'~4"1 objoct ~ to ~,ooo :en. 'ffld.l.• it
ia Pl'Oiln4 tbat thi1 pilot slittcm anO;d.a1 NIU,ltlJlu in h1e Cl'llih, ht.a
laat lle8Glllfl to th• tower' wao, ntt •P9.t!U'8 to bo ~ta.W.o ob.1,octefl•• f4
~doua nae.... d1notl,f ahead and lll.1~i,- •'bow••.... I e::i t1;ty1pg
to oloae ~or • bettor l~.,.
,
,
.
~.c a laboratory
Sect.ion,. atson J.ibaratol"5.eo. r.. J., ~
.
~
A r'OWld, !nd1otinct object 1n -ttn .,,_m.nS.ty o.t Hollmn Air ~
l)la,ro
co. I\ WU VtJ%7 hi~ .and t'aat1 .and • ~ to uooute
.
.
violtnt llllll'USUYOX'~ at b1r;b ~ - fbe object ... under- Obllll'V't\tlon tor
• and ~m,eal"Od.

-
•• A ~
•
"' t,
•
Lt.
t
~
1 a a speed ot p
Alt.l,tudo ot
4SOf> t• ,. lltbw
n
I
•
1'H' 1an
n,111 1n exoea or an eatJJaltea 500 • • na110t11d1n& .tNII
~. .t1nn-, r7 r,
ao
p.'1413 mtd.1 out ot at~.
17 - ~ 1943, • ropon ~ ltinland AU- ore•
o.
1~ ot
varied ~ bJlt to "L" to
feet abcm,
20, '
~B
eu-oi. att.ar
.
por trill. It t.~ repo~d alUtws. 1• oon-eot, th• ~
ted a, l,00 a1le1s po,. hour, aocaniins to th• ZoOpOrt.
P.• othar aichWi
2a
l)
oI lisbt. apd
tr.u., Mnor thRo d1~
Npor\ctd, ViJs t
(l.) n112 a~l»r l.947, tm pilot and ~ o t or a
Pei Atmrican aircraft., en. rout9 fro. US.dway o
ncnolulu, u:11' a bl~to li~i; ll);>rcCf,Oblrifb
cllrlntJ.nB to tw.l.n ted.d.11b fil.t1WS upon mthdmtial.
,
tlte ~ed ot i~ l.ki,.ij at about
1,000 ~ots.
\Ct1 25 Juno l
'for tm ~. r.
•
ey.·
lX\.:'JY·
unt in
•ear
ar«ktioh
.
•
a

z
Clt7. Mont ••
'1h11 glovtnc ll&bt 1118.do
trav•l•4 abou\ tvloo,
o •ouna,
oped of n oonventloJ:ld
alroreft o.nd tlev troa nortll to eouth no•eral tltl •
tn a v1de arc, finallT d.i ■ app•ai-1-ng o-.or th• horlson.
Cl• nu-1.ng th• earl7110rnln& of 25 lul11948, \vo
atern
.Ui-111101 pt.lot• roporte4 ba'flng ••cm a huBe fl71Dtt craft ■ 11atlu to •
Y-a ~••s their alrornft in fll~ht.
(S•e Jtge.? an4 8.) fho a,te.cho4
4ra"tn&a made b7 thee• two ob1enor■ Tel''f olo•el.7 reauble ~ tl71n,r ob­
Ject !'OJ)Orto4 to ha•o bocn uacn ou 20Jul71948• b7 A. D. Ottor, chiot
inToati$ator of Oourt ot ~ • lnquir7, and h1• dauahter v.t Arnhall,
Heth~rlanla.
decks.
!bl• obJec~ npp••red \o bft a v1nclo•• a1rcrat\ haT1JtC tvo
Th• craft, oSChted four Umea throuah •ca\tered cloud,: ' and tm-
11■ 1ted -Ylalb1Ut1.
vaa tro"folin6 at .htch
oed at a high altitude,
J.
aound. elmilar to that m:i.cta b7 a. V- 2 waa reported.
r.
M object, ■ ltlil11r in t'!htq:,• to tile one in tho proced1Jl8
incident v11• rCJ.Poned 01 an expnrleneed .American novlJ)B.yer reporter
about 25 Jd.lometers northeaet ot Koccov on 3 Augutt 1948.
/.. &ca1an
-
acquaintanoo identified 1t ae a rigid airahip btlt th~ reporter dtaagr•o•
becauae lt tlev at a high, but not exce11lve speed.
:.
Oil l October 1948 nt o:;,:prox1mte11 2030 hours tho :pilot
ot a r -51 aircraf't, 2nd '.Lt. George F. C-orman (Wort h lalcota Air DaUonal
Ouard), tlY1D4 near nr40 1 Uorth Dakota. a1pted on 1ntemltteDt vh1to
lipt about 3,000 taet below hie 4600 1'eot eruloint; o.ltUude.
'l'he
, pilot ruroued the 11€ht which aFpoared to then tako evaaive tActlcs.
!he objoet or light out-tu.rned; out-apoeded, and out-climbed the J'-51
in e-.cr7 inatonce cluring the attempt to intercept. 'l'he pilot loot;·
contect i!f/ ninutes aft er the initial e~hting.
9
The Mme l1«bt waa
observed by three other witnosces tro~ the ground, Kr. L. D. Jensen,
41r iraf!ic Oontrollor~ Mr. ~nnuel ~- Jo~110n. Aenista.o.t ~r~fflc Con­
troller. and _'Dr. t . n . Cannon •. Oceuliet.
.
A coJl!)ari1on of all testlt!ol\1'
:

NYealed that one obJeot wa• •lgbt•d and t~t lt
al'l round ball of clep vbttc, lltbt vlth :no ttp
on1l1ted onl7 ot •
•nt ehap• attach• •
11 vaD abQut 8 to B inch•• in dill!le\er. At ttae 1t trawled foator
than the -61 and pertomod tilll8U'Ver■ ln nn eTnd " mannor.
1ighted the ball of llght ns traveltn« •' ,Ill
hour.
ftt
der thie eontlitton, the light val uo\
o:tt and on.
At h~h p•~to!'IIQDee the whUo li(!ht
tillon flr11'
mated 250 atloaper
tlnuous ut blinked
• contluuoua.
itub­
••4'16nt tnYegt1gatlon •lbtln~ted the ,o ai~llity
h~t \ht• illclden,
IDA7 hsv been l!llother aircraft or n mot•oroloalcr
b:Slloon.
, • . On 18 Xoftllbor 1948 ct 03>Proximatftl ~145 houri. throe ff•
ne"e pilot ■, 21:1.d Lt . Xouwocl u. Jnok11on, 2D.d Lt. Glen L. Stalker. and
2nd Lt . Henrr o. Comba, flrin« noar .Anu.rm11 Flel
,,~r,rltllld, encountered.
aa untdentlf1able n11~ obJect.
od, it 11ppoared to be
\'!hen
ltr,hte4 and flyi~ 3.t About 1700 fe•t .
1D au cttc:ipt to tdentt~T tt.
!l'hroe or
9he pilot ot tho
our pAuea verc, med•
rcratt Dtatnd th.Qt
vh11• dlvln~ h1• aircr4ft at u_pproxillt\tol7 240 ai co per hour, tho
object vould cU·r:tb Tftrtice.117 end then "°ul4 dro
from behind and continue to circle.
below tho .aircraft
On tho lo.nt ~~a. tho l!lnclhls lit;ht
vae ,witched on and momontnr117 ~ dull srA7 clov
rom tho object wan ob-
•!erved. Lt . Comb1 •tate4 ho Daint~inod eont~et £ r a'bout ten minut•~
-vith tne o~ject flying between the lls}lte of ~es
aircraft .
naton, D. C. and hi«
All that could. be obr.orved wa1 nn obl o r; l:l~l with one light,
no vine• and no e.xhauat nlJl'!te.
It finall7 madt, .a vor-j tight turn and
headed toaard tho eae~ coa1t ~t Oll 'oatimatwd 500
o 600 mile~ per hour.
A~ tho 11ane t1110 Sta.t't Sorceant John J . lunbner o •encd from tho
g~o'lllld an unusual oojeot in tho
ir ovC!r :Andr"8t1t1
it van not v~r, high arul th~t it d1d not look 11
3. Rcl_?orts of r~d31" 1ntorcopt# _point
vhic~ 1:1.~7 08 rclnted
.to tl7ing ~bjeeta .
,
'
ield.
H" ctatea that
&n,aircra:.ft .

{IAC
sea Mae!
=
*
Bite
5 ene
a sg St A ee age ee
ye ee
cone,
Saacd « WeCimtattanas
By
snes

•• en l lul-7 1,g47, a O A !'ad.Ar al
ui, en
ll.
ti.entttle4 tarcet a\ 1G llilH, vUh a
Thie tarp\ swllt Into two tar~t••
kkaido. I
&11 piclted
••d 1n excoaa ot tol
ach eatlmat d to
t an a l?-01.
b.
0J.1 1.G Bepteaber lfM?. on MDf radar at i'ukuolra. lapllll,
plclmd up a tar •t nt 89 11lle• and trallod it to 19 ml••• wo~ :lt
tadou .
eod va• 840-900 ~b.
.
iho wpoed ,monaur~en\, ot1de 1>1
auod
crcv thrQ\IGh n 70-milo tr~ek, is believed o.cClll'ate.
4.
InToaU at1ou, conducted b7 Hea4qunrtoro. Air Mc~~riol Com­
man4. havo tlotinitel7 e1tablinhe4 the \dont1fioat1on ot 18 ot cpprorl­
matei, .a10 cs-o-callecl fl.Jlng aoucc:ir• which ?ui.-vo been reported.
~rozl­
matel.7 nine por cent of the total ~Wlbcr ot 1no1dentu •re, ther•fo:re,
elbainatad fro~ turth•r opeci!ic cona1derntton. Aaona thooo incldenta
poa1t1v•l1 axplnlned, \hNo were houea, tvo 1oro trom wirol1~blo ~1t­
ne1ne1.
In \he roJDaining 1~ cl1mlnato4 1neldenti, objcetc yore actually
11een lnit il1TeeUgut1on ha• oho-.,n that tl1G7 were cele1tial bol11eo or
phonomona. moteorologlcal and eamiTal balloon•• and airborne c:oamic rq
expei-luental equipment.
Tho following etxallple!> arc preaent$d for eom­
pariaon of the inforr.w.tion re_porbed b7 vitncneeo and truo idantifieation
of tha obJect 1nvolvod:
.o.
On 22 .Tuly 1918• Cai>ta1n Roney Olovor {01•dnanco .lloaarvo)
a.nd his ~ifo oboer:v•d at fan Ifuira, Colifomia 1 an object vhi~ the7
vere unnble to pooit1vel7 1dent1t7:
round and looked like
'•
ObJect nt first appeared to be
~~nthor balloon ~t . ~~out 2 ,000 foet but there
"' vao no ehnracter1stic bobbing.
'?ho wind vaa blowi~ on the crounrl bu.t
the object \f:ln quite ctea'1,y.
0\11"in.; the time it vaa under ' ob~~rvat1ont
.
about an hour, it tr~velod throoah ·a vertical arc of ~bout t~ent7-f1To ·
.
.
.
Tho observor
conelud~d that it vus not a celectiol
.
bo~.. - It had
objeot• e
. e b1uio.h lUDine~ccru,o
•
. and aa tho sun . ~et, the
... .
.
.
color groduall7 ohtui~ed to
duok and ceased to be illuminated ,
.. '

al a\ i ,tant eou•l7.
outline va ■ clear and the
l r wa■ clear
wl\h 'Yl ■ lbtllty 'Wllla1ted. fhe obJ•c\ tru 1•4 from t e • st to he
!his o J•ot ~o• deteraalu4 07 inYo■ tt,:ation to hav beano
b.
lloon
Ob 19 Aucuet 1948. al approx1aat•l1 1050 houra an un1den.t1-
fted t ~ obJect was vletble fro• the croun6 nt Co~n. Air tore•
,e.
lo object va1 e1tiaat~d to be al about 30,000 to 40.ooo
Itentuelq.
~o•t nltl\u •• ~erlcnl in ahnpa, brl~ht ■ilYer color and eaY• a brlCh\
re~lcct1on fro• the eun. An F-51 wae d119pa,ched frog St•ndlford Atr
7orce Daoe. Ientuo)q, to obtervo tho obJect.
llw-1.na ob1enation from
tho cro'AD4, thero v~s no chr::wa• ln the elevation of tho obJect and it
aeccd to be 11ovlgg aoutbweot fror:i Oodman Alr t"orce llaae.
~o Ji'-51
vhleh a• fiying ov~r Oodlrlen AiB nt an elt1tu.4e ot 30,000 to 35.oon
-
te•t reported that lt we wiable to locate tho obJcot nltho~h 1, ~a•
otlll viaiblo from tho ,:round with the naked •1• •
l111luth and eleva­
tion rco.d1v.1t wero taken. bf theodolite ever¥ ,nnut• end tho path of the
obJoct vai chartod.
fhe object was dt:lterminod to· be the planot Yonus bf Kr. Mooro.
the head astronom~r at tho Un1TGr•it7 0£ Louisvillo, t.ouinille. Ken-
tucq.
.
It i D belic,ved that earlier incident:, at God.man :iiold (reference
~
paras.mph 2k, pnp 6, :PPendix C) ,:i:q also have oeen ob ■ er-rotloD.c of -th8
;plmlet Ventto.
5.
Aaong tboee inciden.tn '1till not po_a itivel.7 explained, reported
obeel"'fat1ons differ to eome extent. but three--general categories ot
.
.
ctehtin,ge emerae -- the fl71J18 diek. • the 'ball of fire ®d the _larce. Jet
roekot.
Intere~ttntt obs~not1ona that were notod are :
a.
Moat of the obJooti ,11re a t~in diok. round on top end fl«t ~
on the bottom. · The f~ont halt ot the diek ie often circular, Clteeptnc
a squore tail across the full wldtb~

• .l bl
rte f
liab •
w 11 ••
arent ab111,, to
tl lea• or ho••r fore on•ld•rable 1
Oated.
o.
oned al1e1
ye Yarle4 fro• Iba\ of• 25-cent pleoe
to 260 foet ln dlaa ter. n:nd f:roa tho s11e or a pur ut, pl e to tho
bulk ot •lx
a.
29 alrpl
••
Speeds hnY boon et1tl
tod thro~out the en\1r
r
tro •or7 nlov or hovorlng to• ereon1c.
e.
the
1
ti
undo c.ind 'Yieual trail• are not nora 117 aaao010t•d with
••
14

AFl?l9DlX •121t
lJ,TlUG WING TJPD AtaOllAff.
1. Ae~onautlolll engineere in ceyeral. oountrtoe h~vo beon •ncaced
tor ,omft tiae in tho design, construction. and flight of ~lyip,e wing
t7Pe aircraft.
'l'he ,tudy of flTin& objecto require,. at leaat. a brief
examination of propo1ed and exieting unconventional aircraft whole con•
fi~rnttons. when seen b7 the uninitiated. could lead to report• of
1trange flying devices.
A deacription of aome of the more significant
typeo b~ country followe.
2•
llnrmnn:y:
At the end of World War II. German aircraft deeicn.ere had
n'Ulllerous projects under we.7 concerning taille11 aircraft which con­
ceivl.lbly could be mistaken for "Flying Bauoors" or disc-like objoote.
It is not clear Just what the Soviets are <loin£ in the way of dovelop1n6 these projects but it iso,neiderod that Gorman studies on tailless,
deltn- winr.. and related configurations are available to the u.s.s.R.
a.
Arado Night p.nd Ban WeRther J'ightor, Project I
This h
...
a 1aillosa. low-win& monoplane witll e\'fOJ)t-ba.ck
wi~ of large root cho rd o.nd having a lo~. ne.rro" fuselDge.
Span
Length
Power Plant
Max. Speod (sea level)
Max. Speed (a9,500 feet)
..
60.3 feet
42.5 feet
2 HeS Oll turbo jet units
441 t1ph.
503 mph.
Arndo E 681-4
,,.
A hith- wing t~illess single-ceater with a single jet unit
mounted in the fuselago.
Ii'in ruid rudder units are mounted on the wing
midway betw6en fuselage and wing tip at the trailing edge.
Span
Leneth
'·
Power Plant
Max. Speed (eoa level)
Max. Speed (service ceiling)
29.3 feet
18.4 feet
1 HeS 011 turbo jet unit
-

fhia ~u• tho t1r~t of. tho P GO eerie ■ of Je• figbtera.
It ion tl11DB wi~ t1P• and. eince the pilot and observer lie prone,
there ie no proJeot1ng oanopT, \hua permitting ape.r\icu.luly clean
~eai~n,
The jet units a.e mo'1111ted ot the rear of the oenter eeotion,
one above and one below.
Spd!l
WiQ& Area
Power Pl.iint
Max. Speed ( J3,000 feot)
a.
40 feet en- 1n.
504 aquare teat
2 l3MW 003 turbo Jet unit&
598 milea per hour
H,tngl .. P 1Q8Q
This is a eingle-aeat · tighter with a ahat-ply • • ~ a --·•,..it.
type, but having a sin&le fin and ro.d­
-
o tail plane.
Span
• 29 .a feet
~ing ar~a
218 square f9et
Bo performance e~timGtes are available.
Junkerg lilJI 130
Of the flfin& ving type, this project was
, h1gh-epeed Jet bomber.
Span
Wing Aren
Power Plant
78.8 feet
1290 aquare f eot
Max. ~eed
620 miles -o~r ho
3700 oiloe .
llange
4 Hes 011 turbo
This in a tail'less mid-wing mono1>lane driven 'by- two
pusher propellors with the engines contrall1 located in the win~s on.
.each side of the stubby rounded fuselage.
.
g.
,
Span
Length
•
!tax. Spaed
56 feet
25.4 feet
455-465 miles per hour
Power Plant
2 Dl3 603 reciprocating enginee
Horten Wing
'
~he closest resemblance to the~estimatod configuration
of "Flying D!ek-s 11 1e represented by the Horte?! Wing aircraft.
Work on

\b.e ler\ea aao. • \wla J•' tlght•r• had pncr•u•t to •b.• tlaal • ~ •
a\ the ead of orld Var U.
lt11 prototne, a a.nea cltuw, nooe11-
tully •oar•d ... an altitude •f 1•,aoo teet •• ••i-17 •• 1938, pNTIJl&' the
,owuln••• of thl1 de1lcu. (~le•• l, 2, and 3)
:rtg. l

•

d:!:?:I~ r·mm:
t~"i:::~::.:;~g ~]~·:;;.

S~~St ~ i'J~j.7L~_s

•

•

f i,~...i d.1i!".(;

~ ";

·::lt.:i ;j::fi
t:t·J
r;ilo't of thi3
ths t"t.-o J;)'t, un.:lt.s ,.,
c~:i:t :t.: ta::, :no-sa ,1
t!:. io tle sign ~7:.6 !JZ'·Ovcd OS ce.:rly B.S
. ~··.:.::s e~.. 1~·:i,_JI: !} ~~o·t~t~:~-~ 01-: ..t -tt}
.... 1
a.-.
1-1\-9200
C:T( C:

--·o,.,_.o

...

w,....+.,..fl ~9, fqina
33567 A.
1
-wing
finichillg
t
a1rp
... this
Jet un1
Th,
oorl7
Otatr.)
229.,
1938
•
t)
to
CRED
:
• •
. .c.
tt
•
•

Lig: OO Erne ae
A # emagenetl 9 qammpaycns § 2aw gam sabe, eantinig x6ty; *s §
”
|
¥ ined ah oad eee wmar
Ste. me aot. Mie, ee eet. BS
Fige 3

jifififl!iluiRE
a.
Wat metron,c Whityortb
The AW 52 G, s glider, ud the AW 53, a twin-Jet ain>lane.
are ~rtti1h dee1gna of tailles ■ a1raraft.
!he Tertical stabilizer■ aN
looated at the tlp• of the ■wept -back vine• (rte,. 4 ana 5)
Data on the
AW 52 appear below.
Span
lieat h
Max. ~eed (1ea leY•l)
Max. Speed (20 , 000 feet)
Max. Speed (36 , 000 feet)
RaJl&e
Pov•r Plant
ARMSTRONG
WHITWORTH
A.W.52
Ex p e rime n tal
Flying-wing
Aircraft
(cl.
N o. I ◄031
6
f[?JIJ.
90 f'. .t
37 feet
436 mot ■
436 knot ■
417 knota
1300 nautical mil••
2 5ene I I turbo Jet unit ■

31622 A.C.-IOS ANGELES I0CKS UP AT THE FUTURE.

The U.S, Air Forces Horthrop built XB-35 "Fiying
Wing” casts e ahadow of things to come over los
Angeles. This radicalé eparture from conrentionel
airplane design is capable of carrying the atom botb
or @ 10,000 1b. bomb inad 20,000 miles. The ‘Flying
Wing" has completed first test flights. This
airplene has e span of 272 feet ané « length of only
53 feet.

CREDIT: "U.S, AIR FORCE PHOTO., WASH. D.C.”

cod

•
-'• llaUt!l ltett•
8 •
()
l'Qvbron, »-i55
Ible ia a fl71ne ving trpo aircraf, powered by four re-
o1prooat1ng engine1 and hat a wing epan ot 172 ft t nnd a lencth ot
only 53 :feet. (Dee Ftg. 6)

34420 A.C. Aerial view of the YB-49, jet-propelled
version of the Horthrop Flying Wing. Fastest
Lg bosiber yot built for thse U.S. Air Force, the
YB-49 1s powered by eight jet engines. It is
undergoing extensive tests et Muroc Air Force Base,
California, where thie photograrh was medic.

CREDIT: "U.S. AIR FORCE PHOLO., WASH. D.C.”

Y?

ce-VnUP,h' Airer f\, this radical de­
■ ign promic~s the reality o
h~b ond low ~eedpAr!ormance.
Powered
07 two ll'- 2000-.?. enginc11, th airplane will havo a apeud ranee of from
40 to 425 miles per hour,
f
..
'

wu . -

SPEED
ima
xF5U-1,
over both
Povered by

will have a specd

high end
the added

HIGH <1
designated
of he
has
to turn
&

revolutionary new Bavy figh
low epecds in the same plane,

feature of one engine being
propellers in the event of

which promises the reality

two R.2000-2 engines, the

'b,.
llgrtlu:Rn ID 49
0
Powered by eight turbo•Jftt ~nginon, thio nirplo.ne 1a the
Jat..ipropelled veroion of th• Northrop Fl)'i.D(; Willg {! ~6).
(Bee Big. 7)

••
♦NIP ta111111 leaoplant
\hle drplaa• •• Ma \wo-,eat ■aolune with a 70 h.p. Le~lead •aa,;1u•.••
ln nao•lle•••• 1
Ia plaa fora, the vine it alaoat eemi-olrcular.
All Air force fila,
1.A.eronautlcal Oddlt1e1 1 ,
1.bow1
thi1
airplane in flight a\ South Jead, Indiana and in eoae attitude ■ appears
--·ldenttoal to the photograph included hi ~p•adlx "0" a1 llgure 4. Althou«h it h belieYed th.at the JJmP Muutacturinc Oo. le no longer in
exl1tenoe 1 lt le poealble thilt later mod•l• of thie or 11allar U. B. ciril
alroraft lllAJ' ~Te boen obeened.
Span
L•mcth
Power Plsat
•
Max. l_peed
22 toe\
19 feet
l J.eBl ond ea«lne
88 Iii.le, pei- hour
Three views of an Experimental Arup tailless Monoplane.
•

~ FIR FORCE P_ OTO ~
DQUAR: 225 USAF.
WASH, i.e

.1/:~
• ~ >...
•
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-.
. . --
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tower~a lY· ef(&h.i t.\iri>o..~J(:}t; ;e:n~iAe.$:~ .th.l-~ a.t~lan_e'- .i.$. • th~­
J·tit-pt()jelle4·:Y~·t s'i:t:>n ·:of ·tP.e •J;i(iir~·ht~p:· tiftng·. wtn.g ..(~. 3$.)
(~ee -_1 'ig. 7)
c1
\
I
•
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£'11Bftt1At
___ _ _ ,._ _ .. ____ ______ _ _ _
,
NW 91410
Oocld:347~097;8 Page 46i
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