British Activity in the Field of Unidentified Flying Objects

CIA DOCUMENT

AI Summary

This document discusses British activities regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) as reported by a messenger from Britain. It highlights the establishment of a standing committee on flying saucers and details observations made by British officials, including a notable incident in Yorkshire. The document also addresses potential national defense concerns related to UFO sightings.

Key Findings

- A standing committee on flying saucers was created by the British about sixteen months prior to the report. - Observations have concluded that sightings are not enemy aircraft. - A significant incident occurred in Yorkshire, leading to public media coverage. - Concerns were raised about the potential for mass hysteria and communication overload in defense systems due to UFO sightings.

OCR Text

. Approved for Release 2026 Under Section 1842 of the Nat ional Defense Aut horizat ion Act for Fiscal Year 2 0 2 4 , ·-seeREr- .., s ecurity fnformatlon 18 JDecemeer 1952 MEM0RANDtJM FOB RECORD Sl:'JBJEC'?: British Activity in the field 0f "Unidentified Flying Objects" I l. On 15 December, the recem.tly arrived messenger from Britain reported the following. Re 1aa4 talked with R. V. Jones and ~I---~ 2. The British have be.4 a standjng committee created a.bout sixteen months ago on f'lyillg saucers. . Pre8'1Dlably this is now ud.er Dr. Jeaes through inheritance. The RAF are aetien peopl.e. The graup bas c~ncludea. that the observations are not eneiq aircraft and ~t none have been. over Brita.in. 3. The activity has been quiet and normal up to about tem. to twelve days ago, at wJaich time the Yorkshire incident took place. In some W' field, there was same sort of demenstratien to whieb. high official.a of the BAF in Lendon had been invited. During the show, a "perfect f~g saucer 11 -~•seen by these officials as well..as BAF pilots. So.Dlal:lY peaple saw it tbat ~ articles appeared in the pulic presa. Thi~ is disturbing te Jones because he rea1izes that the ·ereatisn of the e0rrection Qf pablic opinion is a part of' his responsibilities. 4. Jones reminded us ef the SWedisb. incident (pres'QD18.bly he refers ·:•, to the 013.e in 1946-)., and reminds us o'f a paper on the origin of' metearites -....__ ~: , .~ .:-~ pu.blisllted ill the French Acu.em;y of' Sciences betlfeen 176o and 1780 by Cb.la.dni. ' .~.,....,.,, , 5. The traveler teld Jones of' 0ur interest at this time, mentioned ·,... · •._. the film vhich had been taken by the Naval non-commissioned officer (1'remonton incident). It is possibl.e that Jones. Will. write asking for a copy of'.the film or :further on the same subJect. . ~(!_ H. MABSHALI. ClWJWELL l Assis~t Direc;tor Distributien: / Scientific Intelligence Opns/SI - l. P&E7SI -l. W&E/SI - 1 AD/SI - 2 / /SECRET- \ While there is no indication that these objects represent a direct threat to the national defense, there are certain potential dangers which are related to these sightings. These are: 1. The difficulty and delay in positive 1dentification which could weaken the early warning system in alerting defense in the event of commencement of hostilities.* 2. The possibillty of mass hysteria whieh might be ~­ posely induced by an enemy at a critical time by faked reports. 3. The possibillty that the emergency eonmnmications systems to command headquarters might be seriously overloaded at a critical time by such reports. It is believed that the problems of communications confusion and overload and the serious e:ff'ects of mass hysteria mist be dealt with outside the intelligence community, and 1t is planned to bring these matters to the attention of those agencies with whom the prime respon­ sibility appears to rest. With respect to ma.ss hysteria, it is believed this problem would lie with the Federal. Civil Defense .Administration and/ or the Interdepartmental. Cammittee on Internal Security. Accordingly, it is planned to bring this to the attention of the FCDA and ICIS through established channels. With respect to emergency eommm:deatiellS overload­ ing, it is believed that each of the individual Mil.itary Services should examine this problem. Accordingly, we intend to introduce the subject at a meeting of the Joint Communications and Electronics Cammittee. " " " -·z #-1:f±t~~--~-·~;~c,

Metadata

Agency
—
Classification
SECRET
Department
CIA
Confidence85
Credibility80

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