Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the US 1948

DEClASSIFIED

J

YSIS OF FLYING 0BJJ£CT INCi
IN THE UNITED STATES
203

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Ff.GERM~,.,. 9__ -_
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

.
•

' ot

fl.TI:na l)

ct1da

•

t

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.

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Sc

en
0
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a

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r.,
0

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1111

ij

r.o

•

r iol's

•~::ur sh19e
♦ '1.111 o" Fir.,
41 nO"'· n: '•'it'"

-

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Co"l~i~:1ti<m •·nct,-;te ·ni.n~q..

All llGVN

1J

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

•>

.
.

G

. ..

.

. _;::.,--

,.,

. ..

I

..
..

/

/ .

'

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 .

.~ ~
lrY-ft~.
~Yl.
I
I

A
~I

<{

'(I

-~~=···#~:

,,.

'

tl

....

....

;..

'-,

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•

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~q':IENTIAl

1

l

•• 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

I

'

I

'

•1,

I

Fig. 2

•

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

...

..

Fig. 2

4

C"\

•

tlO

t

....

......

- .. _-----..:: -

•

w,....+.,..fl ~9, fqina

33567 A.

1

-wing

finichillg

t

a1rp

... this
Jet un1

Th,

oorl7

Otatr.)

229.,

1938

•
t)

to

CRED

:

• •

. .c.

tt

•

•

..

.,

5

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 ■

•

•

.....-,

-

.

.

.

..-

~

.~

l

A<327l4 A.C.

•

Pro

IT: "U

o

.,

•

•

..

•

., D..C.. "

•

-'• 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)

''

•

I

l'l': "US.

" .c.

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

..

'

•

•
I

'
j

•

'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.

•

-

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•

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• ~ >...

•

-. -

-.

. . --

r---.~,------<lil.o-

/

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

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I

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•,

·,

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I

£'11Bftt1At

___ _ _ ,._ _ .. ____ ______ _ _ _
,

NW 91410
Oocld:347~097;8 Page 46i

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