DOD-GAO-B-262046-Roswell-1995 — GAO B-262046: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico (28 Jul 1995)

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GAO·

United States

General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
National Security and
International Affairs Division

B-262046
July 28, 1995
The Honorable Steven H. Schiff
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Schiff:
On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Anny Air Field (RAAF) public information
office in Roswell, New Mexico, reported the crash and recovery of a
"flying disc." Army Air Forces personnel from the RM.F's 509th Bomb
Group were credited with the recovery. The following day, the press
reported that the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Fort
Worth, Texas, announced that RAAF personnel had recovered a crashed
radar-tracking (weather) balloon, not a "flying disc."
After nearly 50 years, speculation continues on what crashed at Roswell.
Some observers believe that the object was of extraterrestrial origin. In the
July 1994 Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident,
the Air Force did not dispute that something happened near Roswell, but
reported that the most likely source of the wreckage was from a
balloon-launched classified government project designed to determine the
state of Soviet nuclear weapons research. The debate on what crashed at
Roswell continues.
Concerned that the Department of Defense (DOD) may not have provided
you with all available infonnation on the crash, you asked us to determine
the requirements for reporting air accidents similar to the crash near
Roswell and identify any government records concerning the Roswell
crash.
We conducted an extensive search for government records related to the
crash near Roswell. We examined a wide range of classified and
unclassified documents dating from July 1947 through the 1950s. These
records came from numerous organizations in New Mexico and elsewhere
throughout DOD as well as the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation (FBI), the
Central Intelligence Agency (cv..), and the National Security Council. The
full scope and methodology of our work are detailed at the end of this
report.

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Results in Brief

In 1947, Army regulations required that air accident reports be maintained
permanently. We identified four air accidents reported by the Army Air
Forces in New Mexico during July 1947. All of the accidents involved
military aircraft and occurred after July 8, 1947-the date the RAAF public
information office first reported the crash and recovery of a "flying disc"
near Roswell. The Na"Y-y reported no air accidents in New Mexico during
July 1947. Air Force officials told us that according to record-keeping
requirements in effect during July 1947, there was no requirement to
prepare a report on the crash of a weather balloon.
In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that
some government records covering RAA.F activities had been destroyed and
others had not For example, RA.AF administrative records (from Mar. 1945
through Dec. 1949) and RA.~ outgoing messages (from Oct. 1946 through
Dec. 1949) were destroyed. The document disposition form does not
indicate what organization or person destroyed the records and when or
under what authority the records were destroyed.
Our search for government records concerning the Roswell crash yielded
two records.originating in 1947-aJuly 1947 history report by the
combined 509th Bomb Group and RA.~ and an FBI teletype message dated
July 8, 1947. The 509th-RA..~ report noted the recovery of a "flying disc"
that was later determined by military officials to be a radar-tracking
balloon. The FBI message stated that the military had reported that an
object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector
had been recovered near Roswell.
The other government records we reviewed, including those previously
withheld from the public because of security classification, and the Air
Force's analysis of unidentified flying object1 sightings from 1946 to 1953
(Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14), did not mention the crash or
the recovery of an airborne object near Roswell in July 1947. Similarly,
executive branch agencies' responses to our letters of inquiry produced no
other government records on the Roswell crash.

Reporting Air
Accidents

According to press accounts from July 1947, Army .i.Ur Forces personnel
from RA.~ were involved in the recovery of an airborne object near
Roswell. Therefore, if an air accident report was prepared, it should have
1According to Air Force regulation, an unidentified flying object ls an airbor:le object :hat by
performance. aerodynamic characte~stics, or unusual features. does not conio!'Tll to known airc~ or
missiles. or does not correspond to •.\ir Force definitions of famiiiar or known objects or unidentrned
aircraft.

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been prepared in accordance with Army regulations. According to an
Army records management official, in 1947 Army regulations required that
air accident reports be maintained permanently. An Air Force official said
there was no similar requirement to report a weather balloon crash.
According to an Air Force official who has worked in the records
management field since the mid-1940s, air accident reports prepared in
July 1947 under Army regulations should have been transferred to Air
Force custody in September 1947, when the Air Force was established as a
separate service.
The Air Force Safety Agency is responsible for maintaining reports of air
accidents. We examined its microfilm records to determine whether any
air accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. We
identified four air accidents during this time period. 2 All of the accidents
involved military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred after July 8,
1947-the date the RAAF public information office first reported the crash
and recovery of a "flying disc" near Roswell. According to the Army Air
Forces' Report of Major Accident, these four accidents occurred at or near
the towns of Robbs, Albuquerque, Carrizozo, and Alamogordo, New
Mexico. Only one of the four accidents resulted in a fatality. The pilot died
when the aircraft crashed during an attempted take-off.

Search for Records

In searching for government records on the Roswell crash, we were
particularly interested in identifying and reviewing records of military
units assigned to R:\AF in 1947-to include the 509th Bomb Group, the
1st Air Transport Unit, the 427th Army Air Force Base Cnit, and the
1395th Military Police Company (Aviation).
Document disposition forms obtai.."1ed from the National Personnel
Records Center in St Louis, Missouri, indicate that in 1953, the Walker Air
Force Base (formerly RAAF) records officer transferred to the Anny's
Kansas Cicy records depository the histories of units stationed at Walker
Air Force Base. These histories included the 509th Bomb Group and RA.l,,F
for Februazy 1947 through October 1947; the 1st Air Transport Unit for
July 1946 through June 1947; and the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit for
Januazy 1946 to February 1947. We could not locate any documentation
indicating that records of the 1395th :Military Police Company (Aviation)

:!These records do not include information regarding mishaps of air vehicles =>e!onging to ci"ilian or
other government agencies. These records also do not include mishaps in\"Oi\ing unmanned air
vehicles such as remotely piloted airc:"3!t. low-sp~d cruise missiles. and mos• balloons.

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were ever retired to the National Personnel Records Center or its
predecessor depositories .
The July 1947 history for the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF stated that the
RA..\F public information office "was kept quite busy .... answering inquiries
on the 'flying disc,' which was reported to be in [the] possession of the
509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a radar tracking balloon."
By his signature, the RAAF's commanding officer certified that the report
represented a complete and accurate account of RA.AF activities in
July 1947. (Excerpts from the report are contained in app. I.)
In addition to unit history reports, we aJ.So searched for other government
records on the Roswell crash. In this regard, the Chief Archivist for the
National Personnel Records Center provided us with documentation
indicating that (1) RAAF records such as finance and accounting, supplies,
buildings and grounds, and other general administrative matters from
March 1945 through December 1949 and (2) RAAF outgoing messages from
October 1946 through December 1949 were destroyed. According to this
official, the document disposition form did not properly indicate the
authority under which the disposal action was taken. The Center's Chief
Archivist sta.ted that from his personal experience, many of the Air Force
organizational records covering this time period were destroyed without
entering a citation for the governing disposition authority. Our review of
records control fornlS showing the destruction of other
records-including outgoing IL~.AF messages for 1950--supports the Chief
Archivist's viewpoint
During our review of records at FBI headquarters, we found a July 8, 1947,
teletype message from the FBI office in Dallas, Texas, to FBI headquarters
and the FBI office in Cincinnati., Ohio. An FBI spokesperson confirmed the
authenticity of the message.
According to the message, an Eighth Air Force headquarters official had
telephonically informed the FBI's Dallas office of the recovery near Roswell
of a hexagonal-shaped disc suspended from a large balloon by cable. The
message further stated that the disc and balloon were being sent to Wright
Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio) for examination.
According to the Eighth Air Force official, the recovered object resembled
a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector. The message stated
that no fu~ther investigation by the FBI was being conducted. (A copy of
the teletype message appears in app. IL)

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To follow up on the July 8th message, we re\-iewed microfilm abstracts of
the FBI Dallas and Cincinnati office activities for July 1947. An abstract
prepared by the FBI Dallas office on July 12, 1947, summarized the
particulars of the July 8th message. There was no mention in the
Cincinnati office abstracts of the crash or recovery of an airborne object
near Roswell.
Because the FBI message reported that debris from the Roswell crash was
being transported to Wright Field for examination, we attempted to
determine whether military regulations existed for handling such debris.
We were unable to locate any applicable regulation. As a final step, we
reviewed Air Materiel Command (Wright Field) records from 1947 to 1950
for evidence of command personnel involvement in this matter. We found
no records mentioning the Roswell crash or the examination by Air
Materiel Command personnel of any debris recovered from the crash.

Queries to Federal
We sent letters to several federal agencies asking for any government
•
.
records they might have concerning the Roswell crash. In this regard, we
Agencies Regarding
contacted DOD, the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Records on the Crash~ Science and Technology Policy, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of
Energy.
The National Security Council, the 'White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy responded that they had
no government records relating to the Roswell crash. (Copies of their
responses appear in app. ill, IV, and V.) The FBI, DOD, and the CL~ provided
the following information.

Federal Bureau of
Investigation

The FBI informed us that all FBI data regarding the crash near Roswell had
been processed under Freedom of Information Act (FOL~) requests
previously received by the Bureau. We re\iewed the FBI's FOIA material and
identified the July 8, 1947, FBI teletype message discussing the recovery
near Roswell of a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.
(A copy of the FBI's response appears in app. v1.)

Department of Defense

DOD informed us that the U.S. Air Force report of July 1994, entitled Report

of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident, represents the
extent of DOD records or information concerning the Roswell crash. The
Air Force report concluded that there was no dispute that something

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happened near Roswell in July 1947 and that all available official materials
indicated the most likely source of the wreckage recovered was one of the
project MOGUL balloon trains. At the time of the Roswell crash, project
MOGUL was a highly classified U.S. effort to determine the state of Soviet
nuclear weapons research using balloons that earned radar reflectors and
acoustic sensors. (A copy of DOD's response appears in app. VII.)

Central Intelligence
Agency

In March 1995, the CIA's Executive Director responded to our letter of
inquiry by stating that earlier searches by the CIA for records on
unidentified flying objects produced no information pertaining to the
Roswell crash. The Executive Director added, however, that it was unclear
whether the CL.\. had ever conducted a search for records specifically
relating to Roswell. In the absence of such assurance, the Executive
Director instructed CIA personnel to conduct a comprehensive records
search for information relating to Roswell. On May 30, 1995, the CIA's
Executive Director inforrned us that a search against the term "Roswell,
New Mexico," in all CL.\. databases produced no CIA documents related to
the crash. (A copy of CL.\.'s response appears in app. VIII.)

Agency Comments

A draft of this report was provided to DOD for comment. DOD offered no
comments or suggested changes to the report. The Chief Archivist,
National Personnel Records Center offered several comments clarifying
matters dealing with records management. These comments have been
incorporated into the final report where appropriate.
The Ct.\., the Department of Energy, the FBI, the National Security Council,
and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy also
received excerpts from the report discussing the activities of their
respective agencies. They had no substantive comments and made no
suggested changes to the report.

Scope and
Methodology

To determine the requirements for reporting air accidents in 1947, we
interviewed military sen.ice records management officials, reviewed
military record-keeping regulations in effect during this time period, and
examined Army Air Forces and Navy air accident reports.
We also sought to identify any government records related to the Roswell
crash. In this regard, we visited and reviewed records at the locations
listed in table 1.

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Table 1: Locations Visited and Records Reviewed
Locations visited

Records reviewed

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Air Force papers on unidentified flying objects
Army Counterintelligence Corps historical files, 1947-49

National Archives II, College Park, Md.

Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14
National Security Council meeting minutes, 1947-48

National Archives, National Record Center, Suitland, Md.

Army Inspector General reports, 1947-58
Army staff intelligence correspondence, 1947-56
Headquarters Army Air Force message traffic, 1947-54
Army Air Force and Air Materiel Command (Wright Field} research and
development files, 1947-50

National Personnel Records Center,
St. Louis, Mo.

Morning reports for RAAF units, July 1947
Eighth Air Force messages, 1947-50
Eighth Air Force correspondence, 1947-51
Eighth Air Force weekly activity summaries, July 19~7
Service records of key personnel assigned to RAAF, 1947
Project Signa investigative reports, 1948
Army Adjutant General correspondence, 1947-49
Missile test firing reports at White Sands, N. Mex., 1947-54

Department of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Current and past records management regulations
Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident, July 1994

Department of the Army, Washington, D.C.

Current and past records management regulations

Department of the Navy, Washington,

or.-

Air accident reports, July 1947

Air Force Safety Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, N. Mex.

Air accident reports, July 1947

Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base.
Washington, D.C.

509th Bomb Group and RAAF monthly histories, Ju:y and August 1947

National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Md.

FOIA records, Citizens Against UFO Secrecy

Military History Institute, Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.

Army Counterintelligence Corps reports, 1947

Army Central Security Facility,
r=crt Meade, Md.

Army Counterinte!ligence Corps reports, 1947

Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Va.

Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects (Robertson Panel)
report
FOIA records, Ground Saucer Watch, Inc.

rederal Bureau of Investigation, Washington. D.C.

FOIA records on unidentified flying objects

National Atomic Museum, Kirtland Air Force Sase, N. Mex.

509th Bomb Group historical information, 1947
RAAF base newsoacer Atomic Blast. July and August 1947

•Project Sign was the predecessor to ?roject Blue Sook.

Our search of government records was complicated by the fact that some
records we wanted to review were missing and there was not always an
explanation. Further, the records management regulations for the
retention and .disposition of records were unclear or changing during the
period we reviewed.

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We also queried the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Energy, the FBI, DOD,
and the CIA to detennine what government records they have on the
Roswell crash. We did not independently verify the information provided
to us in their written responses.

In addition to physically examining government records, we contacted the
following federal activities to detennine whether they had any information
about the Roswell crash:
• Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama;
• Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio;
• Army Center for Military History, Washington, D.C.; and
• 509th Bomb Wing, Office of the Historian, Whiteman Air Force Base,
Missouri.

We conducted our review from March 1994 to June 1995 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further
distribution of this report until 30 days after its issue date. At that time, we
will make copies available to other interested parties upon request.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please call me on
(202) 512-3504. A major contributor to this report is Gary K Weeter,
Assistant Director.
Sincerely yours,

Richard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis

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Contents

Letter

1

Appendix I
Combined History for
July 1947

12

Appendix II
FBI Teletype Message
Dated July 8, 1947

14

Appendix ill
Comments From the
National Security
Council

15

Appendix IV
Comments From theOffice of Science and
Technology Policy,
Executive Office of
the President

16

AppendixV
Comments FrQrn the
Department of Energy

17

Appendix VI
Comments From the
Federal Bureau of
Investigation

18

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Contents

Appendix VII
Corrunents From the
Department of
Defense

19

Appendix VIII
Corrunents From the
Central Intelligence
Agency

20

Table

Table 1: Locations Visited and Records Re'\riewed

7

Abbreviations
CL~

DOD
FBI
FOL~

RAAF

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Central Intelligence Agency
Department of Defense
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Freedom oflnformation Act
Roswell Army Air Field
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Appendix ill

Qomments From the Nation~l Security
Council

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

2948

WAS><NlTOH. D.C. 20906

April 28, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR M:t. U'OSEPH E. KELLEY
Director-in-C.~arqe,

Inte:national
Aftairs Issues
General. Accou."ltinq Off:.ce
SU3JECT:

Request for NSC Records

I am respor.dinq to ycur J.pri! 12, 1995, request for infor~ation
or NSC records related to t~e crash of ar. airborne object nea=
Roswell, New Mexico in July 19~7. Tt.e NSC has no records er
i~for.:nation related to the i~cident a: Roswell.

For information about any qovernment records that may doc~ent
the c=asr. at Roswell, we su;ges: you contact the -National
A:chives, Textual Reference o:.vision, S601 Adelphi Road, ~ollege
~k, Maryland 2074C.
Their telephone number is (301) 713-7230.

~~
Andrew D. Sens

Exec~tive Se~retary

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Appendix IV

Comments From the Office of Science ahd ·
Technology Policy, Executive Office of the
President
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20500

April 26, 1995

Dear Mr. Hunt:
In response to your recent inquiry of April 12, 1995. The Office of Science and
Tecbnology Policy reviewed its records regarding the Roswell lncjdenl. OSTP has no direct
knowledge of what occurred at Roswell and DO records, except for the information I received
from the Air Force.

I look forward to receiving the GAO report.
SiDccrcly,

,I?-~
~~tor

Mr. William Hunt
Director, Federal Mmagcmcat Issues
United Swcs Govcnnncnr AccoumiDg Office
Washington, DC 20548

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Appendix V

Comments From the Department of Energy

@

Department of Energy
Washing1on, DC 20585
Jur.e 8. 1995

l?i chard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20538
Dear Mr. Davis:
This is in response to your request for records related to the crash of an
airborne object near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. We conducted an indepth search for docll9ents ~lated to the crash and have found no such
documents.
If 1ou have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to
Barry Uh11g of my staff on.202-586-1910.

----c~ntict

"'"~,z-~

~

F. y;.,.,
Chief Financial Officer

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Appendix VI

Comments From the Federal Bureau of ~
Investigation

........ D.c.Wli
April 24, 1915

11r. Richard Davis

Director
Attn: Gary JC. Weeter
National security .&nal)'llb
General Ac:counti119 Office
Wa.biJMJton, D. c.

o.ar Kr. Davia:
Thi• i• in reapome to a latter dated April 7, 1995,
from Horman ;s. Rabkin, Director, Adainiatration of Ju•tice
Iuu. . , General Ac:countinq Office, to Jobn J:. COllingwood, ·
Inspector in Cbu'V•, Of:fic:• of Public and C0ft9ruaional Affairs,
FBI, regardinq vovarmaent record• c:onc8Z1lillCJ tba crash of an
airborne object near Roavell, Rav JlaXJ.c:o, in July 19'7 (Coda
701034).
A search of l'BI indic:e• for infor9ation relatinq to th•
crash of an airborne object near RollVell, Nev Mexico, in 1947,
daterained that all FBI data concernillCJ the incident ha• been
proc:asaed under th• proviaiona of th• J'reedcm of Information Act
(FOIA) and is available for review in our FOIA Jteadin9 :aooa. A
c:opy of the doc:uaent forwarded to . . by Gary Weeter is ..anv the
cloc:mlenta in tba RaadinCJ aooa. If your ataff wish•• to review
the . .terial, plea•• call Kargaret Trablay, a --.Hr of ay
ata:ff, at l•a•t 48 hours in advance of th• desired appointaent.
Sh• can be reached on 324-!5292.

sincerely yours,

~¢~q

svanson D. Carter
Supervisory Special Agent
Office of Public and
congressional Affair•

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Awendix VII

Comments From the Department of Defense

INSl9ECTOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OI" DIEP'IENH

•

AltMY NAVY DltlVS
AlllUNGTON, Vl-INIA
•91

uaoa

llr. aicbard Davia
Du.c:tor, . .uonai security Analymia
V.8. General AOcoanting Office
441 G Str.et •···
JtoOll 5025
-.wbi!M)ton, D.C. 20549

Dur llr. Davia:
fte ~ Of the .air !'ore. July 19'4 report
ia the DoD reapcmae to quuticma pomel in JQUr April 12
letter :n1ated to cao COda 701034.

Xf you baft any .-tiona, pl.... cant.act llY
action officer, Pattie Cirino, at 703-C04-H31. If 9be
ia aot available, pl.... contact ... lfm"l.... L. scalu
at 703-404-H26.

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Appendix VIII

Corrtments From the Central Intelligence

Agency

......... ll.C.ZID

30 Hay 1995

Mr. Richard Davis
Director. National Security Analysis
US General Accounting Office
Washington. D.C. 20548
Dear Mr. Davis,
In a letter dated 30 March 1995, this Age..~cy aevised you
--eftat it would conduct a comprehensive record se~rch to aid in
t..~e completion of your investigation of the crash of an airbcrne
object near Roswell, New Mexico, i.~ July 1947. !n accoreance wit~
your re<illest, we have searched all of our data bases against the
terms •project Moqul• a..~d "Roswell. New Mexico.•
The search did not yield any doel!.~ents relate~ to either of
these ter::IS. There:ore, this Aqenr:-J has no ir.forlrllttior., beyond
t~ose records already reviewed by ~.r. Gary Weeter of your staff,
relevant to your investigation.
Si::.ce:-ely,

Nora Slatkin
Director

Exec-~tive

'701o:i ..n

'"""' 20

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Same location: Roswell, New Mexico

• DOD-USAF-Roswell-Report-1994 — Report of Air Force Research Regarding the "Roswell Incident" (July 1994)

Same period: 1947

• DOW-UAP-D099 — Intelligence Review of “Ghost Rocket” Incidents, 1947
• DOW-UAP-D100 — Air Materiel Command Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, 1947-1948
• General 1946-7 Vol 2 (National Archives RG 18)