disinfozone/The_Info_Web
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

vault backup: 2026-10-09 22:00:52

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
disinfo.zone 2026-10-09 22:00:52 -04:00
parent a407e691bc
commit 5a67e27f97
No known key found for this signature in database
300 changed files with 3832 additions and 1650 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

97
40 - EVENTS/INTELLIGENCE_SCANDALS/Robertson Panel.md
View file

@ -40,65 +40,65 @@ relations:
role: "chairman"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 5
fn: 8
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Luis Alvarez]]"
reverse: true
role: "panel member"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 5
fn: 8
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Lloyd Berkner]]"
reverse: true
role: "panel member"
start: 1953-01-16
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 10
fn: 13
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Samuel Goudsmit]]"
reverse: true
role: "panel member"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 5
fn: 8
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Thornton Page]]"
reverse: true
role: "panel member"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 5
fn: 8
- type: participant_in
with: "[[J. Allen Hynek]]"
reverse: true
role: "associate member"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 11
fn: 14
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Frederick C. Durant]]"
reverse: true
role: "associate member and author of the report of meetings"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 8
fn: 11
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Edward J. Ruppelt]]"
reverse: true
role: "briefer, Air Technical Intelligence Center"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 11
fn: 14
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Philip G. Strong]]"
reverse: true
role: "Office of Scientific Intelligence staff attending the sessions"
start: 1953-01-14
end: 1953-01-17
fn: 10
fn: 13
created: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-02
updated: 2026-10-09
---
The Robertson Panel was a group of five scientists convened by the [[Office of Scientific Intelligence]] of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] to review [[Air Technical Intelligence Center]] files on unidentified flying objects. It met in January 1953, reported that the sightings showed no direct physical threat to national security, and recommended that the national security agencies "strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired."[^1]
@ -113,21 +113,23 @@ The Durant memorandum lists an "O/SI Study Group of August 1952" of [[Philip G.
Chadwell and Robertson put the panel together, and Chadwell wrote the Director on 9 January 1953 on consultants for the panel.[^2][^4] Strong recorded a meeting about an external research project with [[Julius A. Stratton]], provost of the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], and [[Max Millikan]], director of MIT's Center for International Studies.[^2][^4]
H. Marshall Chadwell's memorandum to the Director of Central Intelligence of October 2, 1952 had already stated that "Dr. Julius A. Stratton, Vice President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has indicated to CIA that such a group could be constituted at that Institute. Similarly, Project Lincoln, the Air Force's air defense project at MIT, could be charged with some of these responsibilities."[^5] In Strong's memorandum of December 3, 1952 Stratton "felt very strongly that Cal Tech would be the better of the two in view of the presence there of Robertson, Lauritson, Spitzer (on temporary duty from Princeton), Millikan's brother and others."[^6] On January 27, 1953, after the panel met, Chadwell wrote to Stratton, who had asked to be kept informed, enclosing the panel report, a list of personnel and the evidence presented, and adding that "knowledge of any interest of CIA in the subject of 'flying saucers' has been carefully restricted, in view of probable misunderstanding if it were publicly known."[^7]
### Membership
The panel members signed the report with these affiliations: [[Lloyd Berkner]], [[Associated Universities, Inc.]]; Robertson, chairman, [[California Institute of Technology]]; [[Samuel Goudsmit]], [[Brookhaven National Laboratories]]; [[Luis Alvarez]], [[University of California]]; and [[Thornton Page]], [[Johns Hopkins University]]. The roster lists Page's office as the Office of Research Operations. [[J. Allen Hynek]] ([[Ohio State University]], astronomy) and Frederick C. Durant ([[Arthur D. Little]], Inc., rockets and guided missiles) appear as associate members.[^5][^6]
The panel members signed the report with these affiliations: [[Lloyd Berkner]], [[Associated Universities, Inc.]]; Robertson, chairman, [[California Institute of Technology]]; [[Samuel Goudsmit]], [[Brookhaven National Laboratories]]; [[Luis Alvarez]], [[University of California]]; and [[Thornton Page]], [[Johns Hopkins University]]. The roster lists Page's office as the Office of Research Operations. [[J. Allen Hynek]] ([[Ohio State University]], astronomy) and Frederick C. Durant ([[Arthur D. Little]], Inc., rockets and guided missiles) appear as associate members.[^8][^9]
Robertson served from 1950 to 1952 as research director of the [[Weapons Systems Evaluation Group]] in the office of the Secretary of Defense and from 1954 to 1956 as scientific advisor to the [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe|Supreme Allied Commander in Europe]]. Goudsmit had been scientific chief of the [[Operation Alsos|Alsos Mission]]. Alvarez had worked on microwave radar at the [[MIT Radiation Laboratory]] and then under [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]] at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]]. Berkner had been executive secretary of the Research and Development Board of the [[Department of Defense]], special assistant to the Secretary of State in 1949, a rear admiral in the Naval Reserve, and from 1951 to 1960 active in managing Associated Universities, Inc., the operator of Brookhaven. Page had done research at the [[Naval Ordnance Laboratory]] during the war.[^7] Durant, a past president of the [[American Rocket Society]], was on contract with the Office of Scientific Intelligence.[^8]
Robertson served from 1950 to 1952 as research director of the [[Weapons Systems Evaluation Group]] in the office of the Secretary of Defense and from 1954 to 1956 as scientific advisor to the [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe|Supreme Allied Commander in Europe]]. Goudsmit had been scientific chief of the [[Operation Alsos|Alsos Mission]]. Alvarez had worked on microwave radar at the [[MIT Radiation Laboratory]] and then under [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]] at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]]. Berkner had been executive secretary of the Research and Development Board of the [[Department of Defense]], special assistant to the Secretary of State in 1949, a rear admiral in the Naval Reserve, and from 1951 to 1960 active in managing Associated Universities, Inc., the operator of Brookhaven. Page had done research at the [[Naval Ordnance Laboratory]] during the war.[^10] Durant, a past president of the [[American Rocket Society]], was on contract with the Office of Scientific Intelligence.[^11]
The interviewees were Brigadier General [[William N. Garland]], commanding general of the Air Technical Intelligence Center; Chadwell; [[Ralph L. Clark]], Deputy Assistant Director; Strong, chief of the Operations Staff; [[Stephen T. Possony]], acting chief of the Special Studies Group, Directorate of Intelligence, [[U.S. Air Force]]; Captain [[Edward J. Ruppelt]], chief of the Aerial Phenomena Branch; [[Dewey Fournet]] of the [[Ethyl Corporation]]; and Lieutenant [[R. S. Neasham]] and [[Harry Woo]] of the [[Navy Photo Interpretation Laboratory]] at [[Anacostia]].[^6]
The interviewees were Brigadier General [[William N. Garland]], commanding general of the Air Technical Intelligence Center; Chadwell; [[Ralph L. Clark]], Deputy Assistant Director; Strong, chief of the Operations Staff; [[Stephen T. Possony]], acting chief of the Special Studies Group, Directorate of Intelligence, [[U.S. Air Force]]; Captain [[Edward J. Ruppelt]], chief of the Aerial Phenomena Branch; [[Dewey Fournet]] of the [[Ethyl Corporation]]; and Lieutenant [[R. S. Neasham]] and [[Harry Woo]] of the [[Navy Photo Interpretation Laboratory]] at [[Anacostia]].[^9]
### Sessions of January 14 to 17, 1953
The memorandum is headed "January 14-18, 1953." Its first meeting is dated "Wednesday, 14 January" and its eighth and final meeting is a Saturday afternoon, which makes the date 17 January; the attached lists and the Agency's later history also give 14 to 17 January.[^9] Present at the first meeting were Robertson, Alvarez, Page, Goudsmit, Strong, Lieutenant Colonel [[Frederick C. E. Oder]], [[David B. Stevenson]] and Durant; Berkner was absent until Friday afternoon.[^10] Strong enumerated what the Office regarded as potential dangers. The Panel saw motion pictures of sightings at [[Tremonton, Utah|Tremonton]], [[Utah]] (2 July 1952) and [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], [[Montana]] (15 August 1950), and in the afternoon Neasham and Woo presented the [[U.S. Navy]] laboratory's analysis. Ruppelt spoke for about forty minutes on Air Technical Intelligence Center methods. Hynek, Fournet, Captain [[Harry B. Smith]] and Possony attended that session.[^11]
The memorandum is headed "January 14-18, 1953." Its first meeting is dated "Wednesday, 14 January" and its eighth and final meeting is a Saturday afternoon, which makes the date 17 January; the attached lists and the Agency's later history also give 14 to 17 January.[^12] Present at the first meeting were Robertson, Alvarez, Page, Goudsmit, Strong, Lieutenant Colonel [[Frederick C. E. Oder]], [[David B. Stevenson]] and Durant; Berkner was absent until Friday afternoon.[^13] Strong enumerated what the Office regarded as potential dangers. The Panel saw motion pictures of sightings at [[Tremonton, Utah|Tremonton]], [[Utah]] (2 July 1952) and [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], [[Montana]] (15 August 1950), and in the afternoon Neasham and Woo presented the [[U.S. Navy]] laboratory's analysis. Ruppelt spoke for about forty minutes on Air Technical Intelligence Center methods. Hynek, Fournet, Captain [[Harry B. Smith]] and Possony attended that session.[^14]
On Thursday Ruppelt and Hynek attended both sessions. The memorandum records that "the Project STORK support at Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, was described by Dr. Hynek." Oder briefed [[Project Twinkle]], the camera-watch project of the [[Air Force Meteorological Research Center]] at [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. At 1615 Garland joined and gave three personal opinions: more use of Air Force intelligence officers in follow-up, "vigorous effort" to declassify reports, and a larger Air Technical Intelligence Center section for the subject. On Friday Hynek read a prepared paper and Fournet gave a briefing on his fifteen months as Washington project officer; Hynek attended the Friday afternoon session. On Saturday morning Chadwell reported that he had shown the rough draft to the Director of Intelligence of the Air Force "whose reaction was favorable."[^1]
The list of evidence presented included seventy-five case histories of 1951 and 1952 selected by the Air Technical Intelligence Center as the best documented, the status and progress reports of [[Project Grudge]] and [[Project Blue Book]], the progress reports of Project Stork, described as the code name for the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]] contract work supporting the Center, reports on Project Twinkle and Project Pounce (a proposal of [[Kirtland Air Force Base]]), a draft manual on making a flying object report, charts of unexplained 1952 sightings by location and of balloon launching sites, and "Intelligence Reports Relating to U.S.S.R. Interest in U.S. Sightings."[^12]
The list of evidence presented included seventy-five case histories of 1951 and 1952 selected by the Air Technical Intelligence Center as the best documented, the status and progress reports of [[Project Grudge]] and [[Project Blue Book]], the progress reports of Project Stork, described as the code name for the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]] contract work supporting the Center, reports on Project Twinkle and Project Pounce (a proposal of [[Kirtland Air Force Base]]), a draft manual on making a flying object report, charts of unexplained 1952 sightings by location and of balloon launching sites, and "Intelligence Reports Relating to U.S.S.R. Interest in U.S. Sightings."[^15]
### The Tremonton and Great Falls films
@ -135,7 +137,7 @@ The Navy laboratory had spent about 1,000 man-hours, at Air Force request, on pl
### Findings and recommendations
Tab A, signed by the five members, states that the evidence "shows no indication that these phenomena constitute a direct physical threat to national security" and that there is "no residuum of cases which indicates phenomena which are attributable to foreign artifacts capable of hostile acts" and "no evidence that the phenomena indicates a need for the revision of current scientific concepts." It states that "continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these perilous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective organs of the body politic," citing "the clogging of channels of communication by irrelevant reports," "continued false alarms" and "the cultivation of a morbid national psychology in which skillful hostile propaganda could induce hysterical behavior." It recommends an integrated program "designed to reassure the public of the total lack of evidence of inimical forces behind the phenomenon" and to train personnel to recognize and reject false indications.[^13]
Tab A, signed by the five members, states that the evidence "shows no indication that these phenomena constitute a direct physical threat to national security" and that there is "no residuum of cases which indicates phenomena which are attributable to foreign artifacts capable of hostile acts" and "no evidence that the phenomena indicates a need for the revision of current scientific concepts." It states that "continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these perilous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective organs of the body politic," citing "the clogging of channels of communication by irrelevant reports," "continued false alarms" and "the cultivation of a morbid national psychology in which skillful hostile propaganda could induce hysterical behavior." It recommends an integrated program "designed to reassure the public of the total lack of evidence of inimical forces behind the phenomenon" and to train personnel to recognize and reject false indications.[^16]
### Comments recorded in the Durant memorandum
@ -155,37 +157,37 @@ Suggested participants were psychologists, including [[Hadley Cantril]] of [[Pri
On "Unofficial Investigating Groups," the memorandum states that the "Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators" of [[Los Angeles]] and the "Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (Wisconsin)" "should be watched because of their potentially great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur," and that "the apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind." The Panel predicted that sightings would increase that summer.[^1]
[[Jennie Zeidman]], Hynek's assistant at Ohio State, wrote in 1991 that after the sessions Hynek told her: "They're not going to have a scientific investigation. For some strange reason they voted it down. They didn't even take a decent look at the data, and they decided to discredit them."[^14]
[[Jennie Zeidman]], Hynek's assistant at Ohio State, wrote in 1991 that after the sessions Hynek told her: "They're not going to have a scientific investigation. For some strange reason they voted it down. They didn't even take a decent look at the data, and they decided to discredit them."[^17]
### Distribution and sponsorship
The report went to the Intelligence Advisory Committee, the Secretary of Defense, the director of the [[Federal Civil Defense Administration]] and the chairman of the [[National Security Resources Board]]. Strong and Durant briefed the [[Office of National Estimates]]. The Agency dropped its effort to draft a National Security Council directive on unidentified flying objects, and, according to Haines, "any mention of CIA sponsorship of the panel was forbidden." Chadwell transferred monitoring in May 1953 to the Physics and Electronics Division, whose chief, [[Todos M. Odarenko]], proposed treating the project as inactive and, in 1955, terminating it.[^2][^15]
The report went to the Intelligence Advisory Committee, the Secretary of Defense, the director of the [[Federal Civil Defense Administration]] and the chairman of the [[National Security Resources Board]]. Strong and Durant briefed the [[Office of National Estimates]]. The Agency dropped its effort to draft a National Security Council directive on unidentified flying objects, and, according to Haines, "any mention of CIA sponsorship of the panel was forbidden." Chadwell transferred monitoring in May 1953 to the Physics and Electronics Division, whose chief, [[Todos M. Odarenko]], proposed treating the project as inactive and, in 1955, terminating it.[^2][^18]
### Contacts after the sessions
A note from Ruppelt to Hynek of 11 February 1953, among the Blue Book cables in Hynek's "Project Henry" files, states that Durant had called asking for the pencilled notes Hynek had promised him on a contact with the [[Aerial Phenomena Research Organization]]. A note of 13 July 1953 from Lieutenant [[Robert M. Olsson]] states: "we sent five of our best unsolved reports to Dr. Robinson [Dr. Robertson] on the West Coast" ([[Luke Air Force Base]], Continental Divide, [[Port Austin, Michigan|Port Austin]] and others). [[Jan Aldrich]] of Project 1947 added in a bracketed comment that Robertson was briefed on Blue Book again in 1957 at the Air Technical Intelligence Center and that Durant arranged for the Condon Committee to obtain copies of the Montana and Utah films and corresponded with Condon about official investigations in [[Norway]].[^16]
A note from Ruppelt to Hynek of 11 February 1953, among the Blue Book cables in Hynek's "Project Henry" files, states that Durant had called asking for the pencilled notes Hynek had promised him on a contact with the [[Aerial Phenomena Research Organization]]. A note of 13 July 1953 from Lieutenant [[Robert M. Olsson]] states: "we sent five of our best unsolved reports to Dr. Robinson [Dr. Robertson] on the West Coast" ([[Luke Air Force Base]], Continental Divide, [[Port Austin, Michigan|Port Austin]] and others). [[Jan Aldrich]] of Project 1947 added in a bracketed comment that Robertson was briefed on Blue Book again in 1957 at the Air Technical Intelligence Center and that Durant arranged for the Condon Committee to obtain copies of the Montana and Utah films and corresponded with Condon about official investigations in [[Norway]].[^19]
### Disclosure, 1956 to 1966
In 1956 [[The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects|Ruppelt's book]] disclosed the existence of the Panel, and civilian groups pressed for the report. The Air Force asked the Agency for permission to declassify; Strong refused to disclose Agency sponsorship. On 20 December 1957 Strong wrote to Berkner, Page, Robertson, Goudsmit and Alvarez and sent a memorandum to Major James F. Byrne of Air Force intelligence on declassification, and the Agency prepared a sanitized version that deleted references to the Agency and to psychological warfare. Berkner (20 November 1957) and Page (4 December 1957) had written to Strong, and the Agency's history states that the panel members "were also reluctant to have their association with the Agency released."[^2][^17]
In 1956 [[The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects|Ruppelt's book]] disclosed the existence of the Panel, and civilian groups pressed for the report. The Air Force asked the Agency for permission to declassify; Strong refused to disclose Agency sponsorship. On 20 December 1957 Strong wrote to Berkner, Page, Robertson, Goudsmit and Alvarez and sent a memorandum to Major James F. Byrne of Air Force intelligence on declassification, and the Agency prepared a sanitized version that deleted references to the Agency and to psychological warfare. Berkner (20 November 1957) and Page (4 December 1957) had written to Strong, and the Agency's history states that the panel members "were also reluctant to have their association with the Agency released."[^2][^20]
On 8 March 1958 [[Donald Keyhoe]] of the [[National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena]] told [[Mike Wallace]] on [[CBS]] that the Agency sponsored the Panel, and Keyhoe and the chemical engineer [[Leon Davidson]] wrote to the Agency; Davidson also wrote to Berkner and Goudsmit. Agency officers, according to the history, worried that Keyhoe "had the ear of" Hillenkoetter, who served on the committee's board of governors, and discussed having the General Counsel, [[Lawrence R. Houston]], show him the report. Hillenkoetter resigned from the committee in 1962.[^2][^17]
On 8 March 1958 [[Donald Keyhoe]] of the [[National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena]] told [[Mike Wallace]] on [[CBS]] that the Agency sponsored the Panel, and Keyhoe and the chemical engineer [[Leon Davidson]] wrote to the Agency; Davidson also wrote to Berkner and Goudsmit. Agency officers, according to the history, worried that Keyhoe "had the ear of" Hillenkoetter, who served on the committee's board of governors, and discussed having the General Counsel, [[Lawrence R. Houston]], show him the report. Hillenkoetter resigned from the committee in 1962.[^2][^20]
On 22 September 1958 Keyhoe wrote to the Agency as the committee's director that he had been aware since January 1953 that the Agency had assembled a group of scientists to examine the evidence; that an investigator for the McClellan subcommittee on Government Operations had told him the Air Force said the report was not an Air Force document and that it proved to be the Agency's, with a classified summary sent to the investigator; and that the Air Force, which had officially denied the existence of the document, then admitted it and released a summary with no mention of the Agency. He asked for declassification and for an interview with an Agency official, and wrote that Vice Admiral [[Roscoe Hillenkoetter]], formerly director of the Agency and a board member, and all the members of the board would, if questioned, say that they disagree with the secrecy. A routing slip dated 30 September 1958 records that the Air Force's Major [[Lawrence J. Tacker]] had received a letter of the same date and would answer both along the lines that the Air Force was "the only agency qualified to speak on unidentified flying objects," and that "the remaining portions of the report are not only Secret but do not deal with unidentified flying objects"; the writer adds, "Both the above statements are true."[^18]
On 22 September 1958 Keyhoe wrote to the Agency as the committee's director that he had been aware since January 1953 that the Agency had assembled a group of scientists to examine the evidence; that an investigator for the McClellan subcommittee on Government Operations had told him the Air Force said the report was not an Air Force document and that it proved to be the Agency's, with a classified summary sent to the investigator; and that the Air Force, which had officially denied the existence of the document, then admitted it and released a summary with no mention of the Agency. He asked for declassification and for an interview with an Agency official, and wrote that Vice Admiral [[Roscoe Hillenkoetter]], formerly director of the Agency and a board member, and all the members of the board would, if questioned, say that they disagree with the secrecy. A routing slip dated 30 September 1958 records that the Air Force's Major [[Lawrence J. Tacker]] had received a letter of the same date and would answer both along the lines that the Air Force was "the only agency qualified to speak on unidentified flying objects," and that "the remaining portions of the report are not only Secret but do not deal with unidentified flying objects"; the writer adds, "Both the above statements are true."[^21]
Haines wrote that the Air Force again asked in July 1966 for declassification of the Panel report and the Durant report, after the [[House Armed Services Committee]] hearings and "Dr. Robertson's disclosure on a CBS Reports program that CIA indeed had been involved in UFO analysis"; the Condon Report, printed in 1968, refers to Robertson as "the late Prof. H. P. Robertson."[^2][^7] On 15 August 1966 the Office of Scientific Intelligence's deputy director, [[Karl H. Weber]], wrote to the Air Force that "We are most anxious that further publicity not be given to the information that the panel was sponsored by the CIA." [[James E. McDonald]] of the [[University of Arizona]] had read the Durant report at Wright-Patterson on 6 June 1966 and was refused a second look on 30 June as it was an Agency document. The science editor of the [[Saturday Review]], [[John Lear]], criticized the sanitized version on 3 September 1966.[^2][^17]
Haines wrote that the Air Force again asked in July 1966 for declassification of the Panel report and the Durant report, after the [[House Armed Services Committee]] hearings and "Dr. Robertson's disclosure on a CBS Reports program that CIA indeed had been involved in UFO analysis"; the Condon Report, printed in 1968, refers to Robertson as "the late Prof. H. P. Robertson."[^2][^10] On 15 August 1966 the Office of Scientific Intelligence's deputy director, [[Karl H. Weber]], wrote to the Air Force that "We are most anxious that further publicity not be given to the information that the panel was sponsored by the CIA." [[James E. McDonald]] of the [[University of Arizona]] had read the Durant report at Wright-Patterson on 6 June 1966 and was refused a second look on 30 June as it was an Agency document. The science editor of the [[Saturday Review]], [[John Lear]], criticized the sanitized version on 3 September 1966.[^2][^20]
[[Paul E. McCarthy]] wrote that when [[James E. McDonald]] first visited [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] on June 6, 1966, the 1953 Robertson Panel report "received routine declassification after 12 years" by Major [[Hector Quintanilla]], who approved his note taking; that when he returned on June 30 and asked for a Xerox copy, Colonel [[Louis DeGoes]] told him it would need an authorization; and that on his third visit, July 20 to 22, DeGoes told him the CIA had decided to reclassify the document. McDonald's note on the episode, written in October 1966, states that neither DeGoes nor Dr. [[Cacciopo]], chief scientist at the [[Foreign Technology Division]], showed interest in the CIA involvement, and McDonald began to discuss the report in his lectures that month. Replying to a letter from McDonald of October 1, [[Richard Hall]] of [[NICAP]] wrote that the sanitized report would be forwarded within a week once the [[John E. Moss|Moss]] subcommittee obtained its release.[^19]
[[Paul E. McCarthy]] wrote that when James E. McDonald first visited [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] on June 6, 1966, the 1953 Robertson Panel report "received routine declassification after 12 years" by Major [[Hector Quintanilla]], who approved his note taking; that when he returned on June 30 and asked for a Xerox copy, Colonel [[Louis DeGoes]] told him it would need an authorization; and that on his third visit, July 20 to 22, DeGoes told him the CIA had decided to reclassify the document. McDonald's note on the episode, written in October 1966, states that neither DeGoes nor Dr. [[Cacciopo]], chief scientist at the [[Foreign Technology Division]], showed interest in the CIA involvement, and McDonald began to discuss the report in his lectures that month. Replying to a letter from McDonald of October 1, [[Richard Hall]] of [[NICAP]] wrote that the sanitized report would be forwarded within a week once the [[John E. Moss|Moss]] subcommittee obtained its release.[^22]
### Publication in the Condon Report
The report was declassified in the summer of 1966 and printed as Appendix U of the [[Condon Committee]]'s Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, with some names deleted; the Condon Report states that the record is "still partially classified to the extent that the names of some of the members are deleted."[^7] The editors of the online edition restored deletions, which they marked in braces, from a copy they obtained from the [[Parascope]] site and checked against a [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] copy. The deleted items included the names of Alvarez, Chadwell, Strong, Oder, Stevenson, Neasham, Woo, Hynek, Fournet, Smith, Possony and Garland, the words "Office of Scientific Intelligence," the "Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence," "Battelle Memorial Institute" and the Intelligence Advisory Committee, and one tab.[^1][^20] Haines wrote that in 1967 Agency officials agreed that the Condon Committee could release the full Durant report "with only minor deletions."[^2]
The report was declassified in the summer of 1966 and printed as Appendix U of the [[Condon Committee]]'s Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, with some names deleted; the Condon Report states that the record is "still partially classified to the extent that the names of some of the members are deleted."[^10] The editors of the online edition restored deletions, which they marked in braces, from a copy they obtained from the [[Parascope]] site and checked against a [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] copy. The deleted items included the names of Alvarez, Chadwell, Strong, Oder, Stevenson, Neasham, Woo, Hynek, Fournet, Smith, Possony and Garland, the words "Office of Scientific Intelligence," the "Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence," "Battelle Memorial Institute" and the Intelligence Advisory Committee, and one tab.[^1][^23] Haines wrote that in 1967 Agency officials agreed that the Condon Committee could release the full Durant report "with only minor deletions."[^2]
The Condon Report described the Panel as five scientists "who had distinguished themselves in physics research and in their contributions to military research during and after World War II," said that a group of this competence could review the subject in a week, stated that "no official steps were ever taken to put into effect the training and 'debunking' recommendations," and held that "the word debunking means to take the bunk out of a subject."[^7][^21]
The Condon Report described the Panel as five scientists "who had distinguished themselves in physics research and in their contributions to military research during and after World War II," said that a group of this competence could review the subject in a week, stated that "no official steps were ever taken to put into effect the training and 'debunking' recommendations," and held that "the word debunking means to take the bunk out of a subject."[^10][^24]
### Later references
The Scientific Advisory Board committee under [[Brian O'Brien]] that reviewed Project Blue Book in 1966 gave "particular attention" to the Panel report. An Air Force action memorandum of 20 October 1969 recommending termination of Blue Book quoted the Panel's finding of no direct physical threat and added that "in spite of this finding, the Air Force continued to maintain a special reporting system."[^22][^23]
The Scientific Advisory Board committee under [[Brian O'Brien]] that reviewed Project Blue Book in 1966 gave "particular attention" to the Panel report. An Air Force action memorandum of 20 October 1969 recommending termination of Blue Book quoted the Panel's finding of no direct physical threat and added that "in spite of this finding, the Air Force continued to maintain a special reporting system."[^25][^26]
In 1975 [[William Spaulding]] of [[Ground Saucer Watch]] asked the Agency for the Panel report; a privacy coordinator, [[Gene Wilson]], replied that "at no time prior to the formation of the Robertson Panel and subsequent to the issuance of the panel's report has CIA engaged in the study of the UFO phenomena." Ground Saucer Watch sued under the [[Freedom of Information Act]] in September 1977; a search produced 355 documents of about 900 pages, of which the Agency released all but 57 on 14 December 1978, and a court dismissed the suit in May 1980. Haines wrote that the Agency's Deputy Director for Administration told Director [[Stansfield Turner]] there had been "no organized Agency effort to do research in connection with UFO phenomena nor has there been an organized effort to collect intelligence on UFOs since the 1950s."[^2]
@ -195,22 +197,25 @@ In 1975 [[William Spaulding]] of [[Ground Saucer Watch]] asked the Agency for th
[^2]: Gerald K. Haines, "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90," Studies in Intelligence (1997), sections "Early CIA Concerns, 1947-52," "The Robertson Panel, 1952-53," "The 1950s," "The 1960s" and "The 1970s and 1980s," copy at https://sgp.fas.org/library/ciaufo.html.
[^3]: H. Marshall Chadwell, memorandum for the Director of Central Intelligence, through the Deputy Director for Intelligence, "Unidentified Flying Objects," with attached draft memorandum to the National Security Council and draft NSC directive, 1952, Central Intelligence Agency, CREST document CIA-RDP81R00560R000100020008-2 (5 pages; reading-room publication date 9 December 1952), https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp81r00560r000100020008-2.
[^4]: Haines, text and notes 22 to 25, 30 and 36, citing Chadwell memoranda of 25 November and 2 December 1952, Chadwell to the Director, "Consultants for Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects," 9 January 1953, Strong's memorandum for the record on the meeting with Stratton and Millikan, and Chadwell's letter to Stratton of 27 January 1953.
[^5]: Durant memorandum, Tab A, signatures: Berkner (Associated Universities, Inc.), Robertson (California Institute of Technology, chairman), Goudsmit (Brookhaven National Laboratories), Alvarez (University of California), Page (Johns Hopkins University).
[^6]: Durant memorandum, Tab B (members, associate members and interviewees; Tab B was omitted from the 1968 Condon printing and the online edition labels the document list as Tab B).
[^7]: Condon, Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, Section V, chapter 2, "UFOs, 1947-1968," pp. 865-868, http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/s5chap02.htm.
[^8]: Durant memorandum, Tab B ("Associate Members"); Haines, notes 30 and 31, describing Durant as on contract with the Office of Scientific Intelligence and a past president of the American Rocket Society.
[^9]: Durant memorandum, Part I ("Wednesday, 14 January," "Saturday afternoon"), and Tab B and Tab C headings (January 14 to 17, 1953); Haines, text ("The panel met from 14 to 17 January 1953") and note 32 (Panel report dated 17 January 1953).
[^10]: Durant memorandum, Part I, "Wednesday Morning" and "Friday Afternoon": "Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner, as Panel Member, was present at this meeting for the first time"; Saturday morning, the rough draft "had been reviewed and approved earlier by Dr. Berkner."
[^11]: Durant memorandum, Tab B ("Associate Members"), and Part I, Wednesday afternoon through Saturday.
[^12]: Durant memorandum, Tab C, "Evidence Presented."
[^13]: Durant memorandum, Tab A, "Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects," paragraphs 2 to 4.
[^14]: Jennie Zeidman, "I Remember Blue Book," International UFO Reporter (Center for UFO Studies), March/April 1991, section "Project Henry," https://www.project1947.com/articles/jzbluebook.htm.
[^15]: Haines, text and notes 34 to 39 and 80.
[^16]: "Project Henry," Project 1947, notes of 11 February 1953 (Ruppelt) and 13 July 1953 (Olsson) and the bracketed comment of Jan L. Aldrich, http://www.project1947.com/projecthenry/index.htm.
[^17]: Haines, notes 47 to 51, 72 to 74 and 79, citing Strong's letters and memorandum of 20 December 1957, Berkner's letter of 20 November 1957, Page's letter of 4 December 1957, Weber's letter of 15 August 1966, and Lear, "The Disputed CIA Document on UFOs," Saturday Review, 3 September 1966, p. 45.
[^18]: Donald E. Keyhoe, National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, to the Central Intelligence Agency, 22 September 1958, with Agency routing slips of 30 September 1958 and note of 2 October 1958, CREST document CIA-RDP80B01676R004000110004-4 (5 pages), https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80b01676r004000110004-4.
[^19]: Paul E. McCarthy, "Politicking and Paradigm Shifting: James E. McDonald and the UFO Case Study," Ph.D. dissertation, University of Hawaii, 1975, chapter 2, pp. 41 and 58, https://files.ncas.org/mccarthy/chap02.html
[^20]: Editors' notes in the online Condon Report, Appendix U, https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-u.htm ("previously deleted names" shown in braces).
[^21]: Condon, Section V, chapter 2, pp. 865 and 877-878.
[^22]: Condon, Appendix A, "Special Report of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project 'Blue Book,'" March 1966, section I, https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-a.htm.
[^23]: Air Force action memorandum, "Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)," 20 October 1969, with signature block of Brigadier General C. H. Bolender, paragraph 4, text at http://www.nicap.org/Bolender_Memo.htm.
[^5]: H. Marshall Chadwell, memorandum for the Director of Central Intelligence, "Flying Saucers," October 2, 1952, Tab A paragraph 5, CIA reading room document 0005515933. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0005515933
[^6]: Philip G. Strong, memorandum for the record, "Flying Saucers," December 3, 1952, CIA-RDP81R00560R000100020007-3. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0005515940
[^7]: H. Marshall Chadwell to Dr. Julius A. Stratton, Provost, MIT, January 27, 1953, CIA reading room document 0005515714. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0005515714
[^8]: Durant memorandum, Tab A, signatures: Berkner (Associated Universities, Inc.), Robertson (California Institute of Technology, chairman), Goudsmit (Brookhaven National Laboratories), Alvarez (University of California), Page (Johns Hopkins University).
[^9]: Durant memorandum, Tab B (members, associate members and interviewees; Tab B was omitted from the 1968 Condon printing and the online edition labels the document list as Tab B).
[^10]: Condon, Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, Section V, chapter 2, "UFOs, 1947-1968," pp. 865-868, http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/s5chap02.htm.
[^11]: Durant memorandum, Tab B ("Associate Members"); Haines, notes 30 and 31, describing Durant as on contract with the Office of Scientific Intelligence and a past president of the American Rocket Society.
[^12]: Durant memorandum, Part I ("Wednesday, 14 January," "Saturday afternoon"), and Tab B and Tab C headings (January 14 to 17, 1953); Haines, text ("The panel met from 14 to 17 January 1953") and note 32 (Panel report dated 17 January 1953).
[^13]: Durant memorandum, Part I, "Wednesday Morning" and "Friday Afternoon": "Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner, as Panel Member, was present at this meeting for the first time"; Saturday morning, the rough draft "had been reviewed and approved earlier by Dr. Berkner."
[^14]: Durant memorandum, Tab B ("Associate Members"), and Part I, Wednesday afternoon through Saturday.
[^15]: Durant memorandum, Tab C, "Evidence Presented."
[^16]: Durant memorandum, Tab A, "Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects," paragraphs 2 to 4.
[^17]: Jennie Zeidman, "I Remember Blue Book," International UFO Reporter (Center for UFO Studies), March/April 1991, section "Project Henry," https://www.project1947.com/articles/jzbluebook.htm.
[^18]: Haines, text and notes 34 to 39 and 80.
[^19]: "Project Henry," Project 1947, notes of 11 February 1953 (Ruppelt) and 13 July 1953 (Olsson) and the bracketed comment of Jan L. Aldrich, http://www.project1947.com/projecthenry/index.htm.
[^20]: Haines, notes 47 to 51, 72 to 74 and 79, citing Strong's letters and memorandum of 20 December 1957, Berkner's letter of 20 November 1957, Page's letter of 4 December 1957, Weber's letter of 15 August 1966, and Lear, "The Disputed CIA Document on UFOs," Saturday Review, 3 September 1966, p. 45.
[^21]: Donald E. Keyhoe, National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, to the Central Intelligence Agency, 22 September 1958, with Agency routing slips of 30 September 1958 and note of 2 October 1958, CREST document CIA-RDP80B01676R004000110004-4 (5 pages), https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80b01676r004000110004-4.
[^22]: Paul E. McCarthy, "Politicking and Paradigm Shifting: James E. McDonald and the UFO Case Study," Ph.D. dissertation, University of Hawaii, 1975, chapter 2, pp. 41 and 58, https://files.ncas.org/mccarthy/chap02.html
[^23]: Editors' notes in the online Condon Report, Appendix U, https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-u.htm ("previously deleted names" shown in braces).
[^24]: Condon, Section V, chapter 2, pp. 865 and 877-878.
[^25]: Condon, Appendix A, "Special Report of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project 'Blue Book,'" March 1966, section I, https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-a.htm.
[^26]: Air Force action memorandum, "Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)," 20 October 1969, with signature block of Brigadier General C. H. Bolender, paragraph 4, text at http://www.nicap.org/Bolender_Memo.htm.