A man reported seeing a top-shaped object. When he approached it, the object ascended and knocked him to the ground.
Peter Camerlon Jones reported seeing a silver, top-shaped object in the mountains that rose and knocked him down. The FBI searched for him but couldn't find him.
Section 5 of FBI Headquarters file 62-HQ-83894 ('Flying Discs / Flying Saucers'), a 209-page compilation of teletypes, office memoranda, SAC field reports, citizen letters, and Hoover-signed acknowledgement letters spanning roughly July 1949 through September 1950. The file documents the Bureau's continuing posture (after October 1947) of forwarding UFO matters to the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) while still receiving and indexing public reports. Major recurring threads include: the Walter Winchell / Peter Cameron Jones flying-saucer letter routed through Ernest Cuneo (July 1949); the Stuart E. Adcock radar-detection incident over Oak Ridge, Tennessee (1-8 March 1950) involving FBI, AEC, CIC, OSI, USAF/NEPA, Naval Reserve and a reported CIA technician; the Denver lecture circuit of George Koehler and 'Mr. X' (Silas Newton) claiming recovered discs with three-foot tall human-like dead occupants in New Mexico (foreshadowing the Frank Scully / Donald Keyhoe narrative); the SAC Washington (Guy Hottel) memorandum of 22 March 1950 reporting three flying saucers recovered in New Mexico with three-foot bodies in metallic suits; the Alice, Texas hoax disc of 4 July 1950; the Louisville Times / Al Hixenbaugh movie-film hoax; the New Orleans 'man from Mars' photographs (Wiesbaden / Bleidenstadter Kopf, Germany); and a U.S. News & World Report article (7 April 1950) attributing flying saucers to a Navy/Chance-Vought project. The file contains the complete narrative attachment of the Knoxville/Oak Ridge investigation by SA Charlton C. McSwain.
Peter Cameron Jones reported observing a large silver metallic object 'shaped like a child's top' approximately one half block away while hiking at ~10:00 a.m.; he described two windows, transparent metal portions, an impression of life within; when he stood and waved, the object 'took off, knocking him to the ground.' Jones theorized negative gravity and curiosity over the atomic bomb. FBI was unable to locate Jones; address 164 W. 37th St., Los Angeles was negative.
Dr. Richard K. Parrish of Decatur IN allegedly observed a flying saucer; an FBI Agent named METCALF of the Omaha office allegedly saw the same object. Parrish later theorized that flying saucers were correlated with polio epidemics through 'uranium poisoning.'
Glen Sprouse, flying ~100 mph at 3,450 ft on compass course 60°, observed bright canary-yellow rocket-shaped object pass within ~100 ft below and ~50 ft right; estimated 15-18 in long, 4 in diameter; needle nose, vertical/horizontal fins on rear 1/3, no visible propulsion, no smoke or vapor trail; traveling ~240° true.
Stuart E. Adcock, owner of Radio Station WROL and amateur radar operator using a modified Army APN-7 set, reported repeated radar 'pips' at 40,000 to 100,000 feet altitude over Oak Ridge AEC installation, density similar to a DC-3/DC-4. CIC, OSI, FBI, AEC, USAF/NEPA (Col. Gasser, Capt. Cross), Naval Reserve Armory radar (Lt. Cdr. Shacklett), 14th Air Force, and a reportedly inbound CIA technician (later corrected to non-CIA) became involved. Naval Reserve and NEPA radar never confirmed the object; Adcock found at one point in 'inebriated condition' and absent from home; conclusion: existence quite improbable. The episode is treated as an inadvertent 'dry run' exposing confused jurisdictional response among AEC, 3rd Army, USAF and FBI.
Unidentified lecturer (refused to reveal identity) addressed classes at Denver University claiming to have personally observed several flying saucers, including one that landed in New Mexico, with occupants 'of human form, but about three feet tall' who were 'dead at time he observed them.' Linked to George Koehler of Radio Station KMYR; OSI Denver characterized Koehler as 'probable mental case.' Hoover replied 'no further action desired.'
SAC Guy Hottel reported information from MPD investigator Howe via SA Kurtzman that 'three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico,' circular, ~50 ft diameter, raised centers, each containing three bodies of human shape only 3 feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth like blackout suits used by speed flyers/test pilots; reportedly attributed to high-powered radar in the area interfering with the saucers' control mechanism.
Jim Borden, UNM student/reporter, admitted producing a deliberate trick photograph showing a crashed and burning saucer with little men walking away and four hovering saucers; intended for UNM school paper.
Reported 'flying saucer' landing turned out to be a corrugated cardboard box, 40 in diameter, 1 ft thick at center, painted aluminum, with a Crosley radio tube and a trucker's red flare attached.
Lt. Smith, while on Kodiak Security Patrol, picked up an object on radar at 5 miles starboard bow showing indications of great speed; object passed overhead in ~10 seconds, indicating ~1,800 mph. Subsequently Lt. Causer and Lt. Purco of Patrol Squadron One sighted an unidentified object ascending westerly for 10 minutes, observed by Lts. Causer, Sarco and plane captain Payson; no radar contact in this second sighting; Causer unable to close at 170 knots.
Michael Halfery (New Orleans) sold for $1.00 photographs to John R. Esposito, then turned over to NOPE CID, depicting two 'flying saucers' allegedly photographed via infra-red cathode-ray tube and a 'man from Mars' ('Mister X', crew member) in custody of two U.S. Army MPs after a saucer crash at Bleidenstadter Kopf. Image captions in German referenced ultra-short sound waves inaudible to humans.
Douglas Harrison observed at 9:25 a.m. a cigar-shaped object, end tilted down, silver appearance, estimated 20,000-25,000 ft altitude; moving easterly.
Reliable confidential informant (b)(7)(D) at 1:00 a.m. observed cigar-shaped object, ~5 ft apparent length, glow like burning kerosene lamp on front 2/3, dark rear 1/3, blue-white trail ~4 in wide and ~3x object's length, no sound, ~15,000-20,000 ft altitude, NW to SE direction, in sight 20-25 sec.
Small elliptical contraption ~4-5 ft diameter, two radio aerials, slots indicating jet propulsion, marked 'X-147A' and 'DO NOT TOUCH'; constructed by welding two airplane wing portions together; freshly painted; no motor. Built by airport mechanics as a practical joke per Chief McEnheimer.
Tage Stensig (United Air Lines meteorologist) and his wife observed at 9:58 p.m. a large bright silvery object at ~10,000 ft, NNW direction; estimated 700-800 mph by comparison to commercial airplanes.
Al Hixenbaugh (Louisville Times photographer) claimed to film with 16mm magazine-loading camera a flying disk near a passing twin-motored DC-3 toward Standiford Field at 4:15 p.m., motionless ~10 sec, then receding west.
Walter D. Jones observed at 10:30 p.m. a hazy circling light through low clouds over his farm for 35 minutes; corroborated by his houseman; at times retarding speed and reversing orbit; disappeared westerly at 11:05 p.m.
"He stood up and waved towards this object and this so-called flying saucer was off the ground in a second, knocking Jones to the ground. In its flight he stated that its power was [...] and he raised the question as to whether this was [...] global landing on our planet."
Speaker: D. M. Ladd memo to The Director, 9 July 1949 (paraphrasing Cuneo's reading of Jones letter)
Why it matters: First substantive UFO narrative in the file: a 1947 Los Angeles 'top-shaped' close-encounter that Jones interpreted via 'negative gravity' and atomic-bomb curiosity from another planet; reached the FBI through Walter Winchell
Page 21
"He stated, 'To hell with the Air Force. He just didn't want to release the information if it would affect the Bureau'."
Speaker: Ernest Cuneo (per Ladd memo, 12 July 1949)
Why it matters: Captures Cuneo/Winchell's deference to the FBI specifically over the Air Force on UFO disclosure
Page 19
"I am attaching hereto a number of copies of reports being received in great numbers in this office concerning the so-called flying disks or unnatural phenomena being frequently observed around Camp Hood, Texas. ... Unless the Bureau believes this is unwise, this practice will continue."
Speaker: SAC, San Antonio to Director, 16 August 1949
Why it matters: Documents the Bureau's standing policy of reviewing and destroying flying-disc reports of no FBI interest, in part to avoid 'rapid accumulation of very bulky files' near Camp Hood
Page 31
"Dr. PARRISH told FARRIS that in his opinion, the cases which were thought to be polio in the vicinity of Decatur, Indiana, were not polio, but possibly the result of uranium poisoning and that he felt the presence of flying saucers had direct bearing on the polio epidemic."
Speaker: SAC, Indianapolis to Director, 6 September 1949
Why it matters: Early example of fringe medical/UFO correlation theory inside the FBI files: a doctor linking flying saucers to polio outbreaks
Page 35
"THIS PERSON CLAIMS TO HAVE SEEN SEVERAL SUCH OBJECTS, ONE OF WHICH ALLEGEDLY LANDED IN NEW MEXICO, HE ALSO CLAIMS TO HAVE OBSERVED OCCUPANTS OF SAUCERS DESCRIBED BY HIM AS OF HUMAN FORM, BUT ABOUT THREE FEET TALL. THESE OCCUPANTS OF SAUCERS ALLEGEDLY DEAD AT TIME HE OBSERVED THEM."
J. Edgar Hoover
Director, FBI · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Page 17
Clyde Tolson
Associate Director, FBI · FBI · Page 13
D. M. Ladd
Assistant Director · FBI · Page 10
A. H. Belmont
Special Agent / Supervisor (Oak Ridge matter) · FBI · Page 80
Ernest Cuneo
Intermediary for Walter Winchell; phoned FBI re Jones letter · New York City (private) · Page 5
Walter Winchell
Newspaper columnist; recipient of the Peter Cameron Jones letter · press · Page 10
Peter Cameron Jones
Author of August 1947 flying-saucer letter to Winchell; 164 W. 37th St., Los Angeles · private citizen · Page 17
Jonathan E. Caldwell
USAF subject of search; Marley Park, MD flying-disk story · private · Page 32
Elbert W. Farris
OSI investigator, Benjamin Harrison Air Base · USAF/OSI · Page 35
Richard K. Parrish
Doctor in Decatur, Indiana; alleged UFO sighting at Lake of the Woods, Canada, ~1 July 1949; theorized polio/uranium link · private (physician) · Page 35
Glen Sprouse
Witness of bright yellow rocket-shaped object over Lubeck, WV, 25 Sept 1949 · private citizen, S. Charleston, WV · Page 39
John B. Woodruff
Special Agent, FBI Charleston, WV resident agency · FBI · Page 39
Maurice F. Hatten
Correspondent, Circleville, Ohio · private · Page 37
Ferdinand R. Pfeil
Identity of Chicago confidential informant who observed cigar-shaped object over Great Lakes Naval Training Center; multiple lines marked '(b)(7)(D)'
Likely reason: FBI Exemption (b)(7)(D) - confidential source whose identity must not be disclosed
Classification line and authority block on transmittal of 'Summary of Aerial Phenomena in New Mexico' from Kirtland AFB OSI
Likely reason: Original classification (Confidential) since declassified; authority block redacted in OCR
Declassification authority block above September 8, 1950 Hoover letter to Walter D. Jones, Toronto
Likely reason: Declassification stamp area
Confidential message header and authority block, Department of the Army Staff Communications Office (3 March 1950) on Oak Ridge radar object
Likely reason: Originally Confidential; declassification authority block obscured
Confidential header on Department of the Army message AJACI 1-2 (2 March 1950)
Likely reason: Originally Confidential
Authority/declassified-by line on Department of the Army message
Likely reason: Declassification authority block
Declassification authority block on USAF OSI/CSAF Baker message (16 January 1950)
Likely reason: Original classification; authority block redacted
This is a dense 209-page section centered on July 1949 - September 1950 FBI handling of UFO/flying-disc reports. Highest-impact items for cross-section synthesis: (1) The 22 March 1950 Guy Hottel memo (pg. 68) appears here in its native chain alongside the 9 March 1950 Denver teletype (pg. 54) and the Koehler/Newton/Mojave thread (pg. 77) - a rare opportunity to show that the famous 'Hottel memo' 3-foot-occupant story had a clear documentary lineage to George Koehler / Silas Newton in Denver. (2) The Oak Ridge / Stuart Adcock radar episode (March 1-8 1950, pg. 70-96) is one of the richest cross-agency UAP investigations in the file - cross-walks with AEC, CIC, OSI, USAF/NEPA, USNR, '14th Air Force', and a reportedly inbound 'CIA technician'. (3) The 7 April 1950 U.S. News & World Report article (pg. 99-101) is preserved in-file - useful for the press-influence section. (4) The anonymous summary memo (pg. 156-159) gives an explicit FBI-era taxonomy of UFO theories (extraterrestrial / Soviet / U.S. secret / natural / mass hysteria). (5) Substantial OCR noise in handwritten letters (Ward, Pervier, Jones); transcriptions here are best-effort given the OCR. Many pages are blank versos / file backs (pp. 4, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, etc.) that yielded no usable text. Witness names, dates and locations have been transcribed conservatively from clearer typescript pages.
Peter Camerlon Jones wrote about it to journalist Walter Winchell.
D.M. Ladd, an FBI agent, suggested considering that possibility in a later letter.
Speaker: FBI Denver teletype to Director, 9 March 1950
Why it matters: Earliest in-file FBI documentation of the now-iconic '3-foot-tall dead occupants in New Mexico' motif, two weeks before Hottel memo
Page 54
"FLYING DISCS. REURTEL MARCH NINE LAST CAPTIONED FLYING SAUCERS AND RE BUREAU BULLETIN NUMBER FIVE SEVEN DATED OCTOBER ONE, NINETEEN FORTYSEVEN IN CAPTIONED MATTER, NO FURTHER ACTION DESIRED."
Speaker: Hoover teletype to SAC Denver, 10 March 1950
Why it matters: References Bureau Bulletin No. 57 of 1 October 1947 - the original directive transferring flying-disc investigation to the Air Force; explicit hands-off order on the Denver/Koehler matter
Page 56
"An investigator for the Air Forces stated that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico. They were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. ... it is believed the radar interferes with the controlling mechanism of the saucers."
Speaker: Guy Hottel, SAC Washington, memo of 22 March 1950
Why it matters: The famous 'Hottel memo' - the most-cited FBI document in UFO popular culture; here it appears in its native file Section 5 context, alongside the Denver/Koehler chain that probably seeded it
Page 68
"Stuart E. Adcock, operator of Radio Station WROL, Knoxville, is reported to have detected on his radar equipment an object directly over Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at an altitude of 40,000 feet at 11:15 p.m., March 1, 1950."
Speaker: Hoover letter to AEC (Hammack) and OSI/IG, 14 March 1950
Why it matters: Inter-agency confirmation of the Oak Ridge UAP/radar episode at the heart of the file
Page 86
"It would appear from the manner in which this incident was handled that despite the fact that all agencies seemed to be operating in the manner prescribed by agreement ... there nevertheless seemed to be an impressive lack of any agency actually taking the responsibility for the situation and taking any action to verify or disprove the threat. ... it is now felt that this entire matter was in a manner of speaking 'dry run', it nevertheless warrants some consideration from a procedural standpoint"
Speaker: SA Charlton C. McSwain, FBI Knoxville (final summary, ~7 March 1950)
Why it matters: Striking institutional self-criticism: the Oak Ridge incident exposed jurisdictional confusion among FBI, AEC, 3rd Army, USAF, and a 'CIA technician' at the most sensitive nuclear installation in the U.S.
Page 96
"The Air Force discontinued their intelligence project to determine what flying saucers are the latter part of last year. ... after two years of investigation over three-fourths of the incidents regarding flying saucers proved to be misidentifications of a wide variety of conventional items such as lighted weather balloons and other air-borne objects."
Speaker: SA S. W. Reynolds reporting Maj. Boggs and Lt. Col. Hearn, 28 March 1950
Why it matters: Establishes the FBI's understanding (post-Project Grudge close-out, December 1949) that Air Force investigation had concluded ~75% conventional misidentification - exactly the narrative pushed in the parallel U.S. News & World Report piece
Page 75
"Flying saucers, seen by hundreds of competent observers over most parts of U.S., are accepted as real. Evidence is that they are aircraft of a revolutionary type, a combination of helicopter and jet plane. ... U.S. BUILT FIRST ONE IN 1942"
Speaker: U.S. News & World Report, 7 April 1950
Why it matters: Magazine theory pinning saucers on a Navy/Chance-Vought (Charles Zimmerman, NACA) flying-disc program - included in the FBI file as cultural context
Page 99
"While it is not possible to categorically rule out theory No. 1 it is very easy to do so on reasonable grounds. The existence of any form of life on other planets is extremely tenuous and debatable. ... The continued reporting of aerial phenomena must then be attributed to a mass hysteria caused by the present tenseness in the international situation"
Speaker: Anonymous summary memo (~1950), pages 156-159
Why it matters: An internal-style analytical paper inside the FBI file advancing the 'mass hysteria + international tension + press sensationalism' explanation; opens with Ezekiel 1:16 and the 1946 Swedish 'ghost rockets'
Page 158
"FLYING SAUCER WAS CORRUGATED CARDBOARD BOX, FORTY INS. IN DIAMETER, ONE FOOT THICK AT CENTER. ENTIRE BOX PAINTED ALUMINUM. CROSLEY RADIO TUBE ATTACHED TO CENTER OF BOX WITH LOOSE WIRES HANGING FROM EACH SIDE OF TUBE, TRUCKER'S RED FLARE CONNECTED TO BOTTOM OF BOX"
Speaker: FBI Buffalo teletype, 8 April 1950
Why it matters: Vivid documentation of the ad-hoc 'flying saucer' hoax kit confronting agents at Elmira NY airport
Page 113
"DISC IS ELLIPITICAL SHAPE, FOUR TO FIVE FEET IN DIAMETER, HAS TWO RADIO AERIALS, SLOTS OR HOLES INDICATING JET OR ROCKET PROPULSION. DISC HAS NO. X ONE FOUR SEVEN A, PRINTED ON IT, TOGETHER WITH QUOTE DO NOT TOUCH UNQUOTE."
Speaker: FBI San Antonio teletype, 4 July 1950
Why it matters: Alice, Texas hoax 'X-147A' disc - airport-mechanic prank that pulled FBI, OSI Kelly AFB, and CAA into action on July 4, 1950
Page 180
"An accident occurred to one of the 'saucers' and the individual shown in custody of United States [military police], pictured in the right hand photograph was a 'Mr. X', a member of the crew of one of these 'flying saucers'. The location of both photographs was stated to be Wiesbaden, Germany."
Speaker: NOPE Intelligence Branch summary, 23 May 1950
Why it matters: FBI-filed narrative of the German 'Mister X / man from Mars' photograph hoax (Bleidenstadter Kopf), which supposedly showed an alien crew member captured by U.S. MPs
Page 153
"The flying saucer which was seen over south Chicago last April is a large fuel tank with crystal glass wings. ... It was financed by HOWARD HUGHES, millionaire aviation enthusiast. It is now being tested by the Glen F. Martin Aircraft Co. ... The name of the ship is the 'Danse Macabre'."
Speaker: Anonymous letter signed 'Albert Holmberg', received by Midwest Times, July 1950
Why it matters: An era-defining specimen of UFO disinformation: an apparently fabricated technical letter pinning saucers on Howard Hughes / Glenn L. Martin / German WWI ace 'Carl Teichman'
Page 194
"I could not distinguish its shape, as it was above the clouds and I could only see a filter of light. This was an entity in itself or within itself. It did not come from a beam either above or below. At times it seemed to retard its speed and then would circle in the opposite direction."
Speaker: Walter D. Jones, Toronto, letter of 29 August 1950
Why it matters: Civilian eyewitness account that became the closing entry of the section; FBI internally cross-referenced to a 1944 RCMP file on a Walter D. Jones connected to the National Council for Canadian-Soviet Friendship
Page 207
"Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was quoted as saying 'There must be something to them, for too many reliable persons have made reports on them. I am duty bound not to say what I know about them - or what I don't know about them. However, if they do exist, you can rest assured that they are ours.'"
Speaker: Eddie Rickenbacker, quoted in anonymous summary memo
Why it matters: Period-typical 'they're ours' framing by a celebrity former military pilot - cited inside the FBI file as the kind of public statement reinforcing 'mass hysteria'
Page 156
Correspondent, Philadelphia · private · Page 48
George Koehler
Denver radio (KMYR) figure who promoted dead-occupant flying-disc story · Radio Station KMYR, Denver · Page 54
Silas Newton
Denver oilman, alias 'Mr. X'; Newton Oil Co.; claimed disc with eighteen 3-ft occupants in Mojave · Newton Oil Co., Equitable Building, Denver · Page 77
Jefferson B. Armstrong
Wayne Welch Inc. employee who heard Koehler's story · Wayne Welch Inc., Denver · Page 77
J. K. Tool
Wayne Welch Inc., Denver; brother of SA H. Warren Tool, Jr. · Wayne Welch Inc. · Page 77
H. Warren Tool, Jr.
Special Agent, FBI New Orleans Division · FBI · Page 77
Donald Keyhoe
Author of True Magazine flying-saucer article and 'The Flying Saucers Are Real' · press / author · Page 77
Frank Scully
Variety Magazine columnist (January 1950 saucer piece) · Variety Magazine · Page 77
Florence Pervier
Correspondent, 1039 N. College, Tulsa, Oklahoma; submitted hand-drawn sketch of 'SAUCER BASE' between Siberia and Alaska · private · Page 64
Stuart E. Adcock
Owner/operator of Radio Station WROL, Knoxville; reported radar 'pip' over Oak Ridge · Radio Station WROL, Knoxville, TN · Page 80
C. D. Gasser
Colonel, Engineering Officer, USAF Material Command, NEPA Site, Oak Ridge · USAF / NEPA, Oak Ridge · Page 92
Robert Cross
Captain, USAF; radar expert assigned to observe Adcock equipment · USAF / NEPA · Page 92
E. L. Seagraves
Special Agent, CIC, 3rd Army (Knoxville) · U.S. Army CIC · Page 91
W. M. Price
Special Agent, OSI, USAF (Knoxville observer) · USAF/OSI · Page 91
Charlton C. McSwain
Special Agent, FBI Knoxville (lead observer/reporter for Oak Ridge matter) · FBI · Page 91
G. R. Shacklett
Lieutenant Commander, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Alcoa Highway, Knoxville · U.S. Naval Reserve · Page 91
Howard Woodside
U.S. AEC Security Division · Atomic Energy Commission · Page 96
John Meade
Colonel, 3rd Army Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia · U.S. Army · Page 96
Charles White
Physical Security and Plant Protection Branch, U.S. AEC · AEC · Page 93
Frank Callaghan
Assistant Chief, Security Division, U.S. AEC · AEC · Page 93
Francis R. Hammack
Acting Director, Division of Security, AEC · AEC · Page 86
Robey
SAC, FBI Knoxville · FBI · Page 80
Lt. Col. Nunamaker
Tennessee Military District (telephoned Third Army re radar sighting) · U.S. Army · Page 71
Gene Goerdien
U.S. Air Forces Security Officer (Oak Ridge conference) · USAF · Page 92
C. A. Rolander
AEC official to whom info was telephonically furnished · AEC · Page 86
James M. McInerney
Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, DOJ (recipient of 14 March 1950 memo) · Department of Justice · Page 89
Boggs
Major, Air Force Intelligence (told FBI Air Force discontinued saucer project Dec 1949) · USAF Intelligence · Page 75
J. V. Hearn
Lieutenant Colonel, Air Force Intelligence · USAF Intelligence · Page 75
S. W. Reynolds
Special Agent, FBI (obtained AF Intelligence brief 28 March 1950) · FBI · Page 75
Guy Hottel
SAC, Washington Field Office (author of 22 March 1950 'three saucers in New Mexico' memo) · FBI · Page 68
R. H. Kurtzman
Special Agent, FBI Washington (received Hottel's source info) · FBI · Page 68
Howe
Special Investigator, Sex Squad, Metropolitan Police Department (informant to Kurtzman) · Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, D.C. · Page 68
Charles H. Zimmerman
NACA designer of first U.S. flying-saucer-shaped aircraft (1942) · NACA · Page 99
Eddie Rickenbacker
Quoted (16 May) on flying saucers being 'ours' · private (former pilot) · Page 156
Jim Borden
Student/reporter, University of New Mexico; admitted producing trick photograph of flying saucer crash · University of New Mexico · Page 78
Miguel Angel Garcia y Macias
Correspondent, Veracruz, Mexico; sent technical letter and hand-drawn designs · private · Page 103
Lewis A. Ward
Correspondent, Yuba City CA / San Jose; reported Russian-language saucer drawings via 'Ubalsky' · private · Page 132
Charles J. Prelsnik
Special Agent, FBI San Francisco (interviewed Ward 13 June 1950) · FBI · Page 163
DeWayne B. Johnson
Graduate Department of Journalism, UCLA; asked FBI for info · University of California, Los Angeles · Page 162
William A. Rhodes
Photographer (referenced re photographs given to A-2 Fourth Air Force, 1947) · private · Page 119
Douglas Harrison
Witness, 2337 Ashmead Place NW, Washington, D.C.; cigar-shaped object 25 June 1950 · private (Hot Shoppe employee) · Page 166
Tage Stensig
Meteorologist, United Air Lines; Downers Grove IL witness 4 July 1950 · United Air Lines · Page 169
John E. Keating
Special Agent, FBI Chicago (received Stensig report) · FBI · Page 169
Stokes McEnheimer
Chief of Police, Alice, Texas (verified hoax disc, 4 July 1950) · Alice, TX Police · Page 178
O. C. Wetzell
Captain, Security Officer, Ellington Field Air Force · USAF, Ellington Field · Page 176
Glenn Lee Adams
Correspondent, 921 South 40th St., Louisville, KY; referenced Keyhoe's book · private · Page 186
Al Hixenbaugh
Louisville Times staff photographer; took alleged 16mm film of saucer 27 June 1950 · Louisville Times · Page 187
Robert Steinau
Courier-Journal photographer who alleged Hixenbaugh hoax · Louisville Courier-Journal · Page 189
William Davis
Head of photographers, Courier-Journal/Louisville Times · Louisville newspapers · Page 189
Michael Halfery
Subject of New Orleans 'man from Mars' photograph case; 2453 Urquhart St., New Orleans · private · Page 149
John R. Esposito
615 Piety Street, New Orleans; sold photographs to CID · private · Page 149
John F. Quinn
Agent, NOPE CID (received Halfery photographs) · U.S. Army CID, New Orleans Port of Embarkation · Page 151
Louis Robillia, Jr.
Criminal Investigator, Intelligence & Security Branch, NOPE · U.S. Army NOPE · Page 151
Merle L. Mennie
Major, Intelligence and Security Officer, New Orleans Port of Embarkation · U.S. Army · Page 149
Robert R. Petrone
Publisher, Midwest Times, Chicago; received the 'Albert Holmberg' hoax letter · Midwest Times · Page 194
Albert Holmberg
Pseudonymous author of Chicago saucer-design letter (subjects: Spaunholdt/Hoochpaw/Teichman, Howard Hughes, Glenn L. Martin Co., 'Danse Macabre') · unknown · Page 194
Walter D. Jones
Correspondent, 36 King Street East, Toronto; reported July 19 1950 sighting near Toronto · private (Canadian businessman) · Page 207
Ralph C. Williams
Captain, USAF Duty Officer, OSI · USAF/OSI · Page 111
V. P. Keay
FBI official (referred Elmira 'flying saucer' to OSI) · FBI · Page 111
W. T. Brooking
FBI official (memo on Elmira flying saucer hoax) · FBI · Page 111
Robert Cryan
Special Agent, FBI Buffalo Office · FBI · Page 111
Galveston, Texas, USA
Page 3
Alexandria, Louisiana, USA
Page 3
Camp Hood, Texas, USA
Page 31
Marley Park, Maryland, USA
Page 32
Manhattan Beach, California, USA
Page 32
Decatur, Indiana, USA
Page 35
Lake of the Woods, Canada
Page 35
Benjamin Harrison Air Base, Indianapolis, USA
Page 35
Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Page 35
Lubeck, West Virginia (4 mi W of S. Parkersburg), USA
Page 43
Clark Field, St. Albans, West Virginia, USA
Page 39
Parkersburg, West Virginia, USA
Page 39
Circleville, Ohio, USA
Page 37
Denver University, USA
Page 54
New Mexico (alleged saucer landing site), USA
Page 54
Mojave Desert, California (alleged disc recovery), USA
Page 77
Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Page 64
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Page 70
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Fourth Army
U.S. Army · Page 3
Third Army Headquarters (Atlanta, Georgia)
U.S. Army · Page 70
14th Air Force (Greenville, SC)
USAF · Page 70
Air Force Material Command, NEPA Site, Oak Ridge
USAF · Page 92
17th District Office of Special Investigations, Kirtland AFB
USAF/OSI · Page 165
13th OSI District, Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska
USAF/OSI · Page 46
14th OSI District, Lowry AFB, Colorado
USAF/OSI · Page 46
U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Alcoa Highway, Knoxville
U.S. Navy · Page 91
Patrol Squadron One (Kodiak)
U.S. Navy · Page 147
117th CIC Detachment FO, NOPE
U.S. Army CIC · Page 151
New Orleans Port of Embarkation (NOPE) CID
U.S. Army · Page 151
AEC Security Division, Oak Ridge
Atomic Energy Commission · Page 72
Knoxville Naval Reserve Armory radar unit
U.S. Navy · Page 84
Tennessee Military District
U.S. Army · Page 71
Army Surplus APN-7 radar set (Adcock's home unit)
radar · Page 80
U.S. Naval Reserve radar (Knoxville Armory)
radar · Page 84
Lockheed Air Force X-90 (analogy used by Sprouse)
aircraft · Page 42
Chance-Vought XF5U 'Flying Flapjack' / 'Flounder' (1942 prototype, NACA design by Zimmerman)
aircraft · Page 99
DC-3 (used as density/speed reference for radar 'pip')
aircraft · Page 70
F-51 (three USAF pilots reportedly chased Fort Knox saucer)
aircraft · Page 100
Crosley radio tube (Elmira hoax disc component)
ground · Page 113
Several handwritten/initial-style markings consistent with administrative notations on October 1949 Hoover letter
Likely reason: Routine administrative — not a substantive redaction
Page 70
Ft. McPherson, Georgia (Third Army HQ), USA
Page 70
Smyrna Air Base, Nashville, USA
Page 72
Maxwell Field, Alabama, USA
Page 93
Greenville, South Carolina (14th Air Force HQ), USA
Page 95
Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico (17th OSI District), USA
Page 165
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Page 165
Veracruz, Mexico
Page 103
Wiesbaden, Germany (Bleidenstadter Kopf)
Page 153
Yuba City, California, USA
Page 132
San Jose, California, USA
Page 163
Elmira, New York (airport), USA
Page 113
Downers Grove, Illinois, USA
Page 169
North Chicago, Illinois (22nd St. & rail tracks), USA
Page 174
Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois, USA
Page 174
Alice, Texas (municipal airport), USA
Page 176
Ellington Field, Texas, USA
Page 176
Kelly AFB, Texas, USA
Page 180
Louisville, Kentucky (Longest & Everett Aves; Standiford Field; Godman Field), USA
Page 187
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (12 mi NE of City Hall)
Page 207
Kodiak Naval Air Station, Alaska, USA
Page 147
Arkansas (Chicago & Southern Air Lines passing saucer), USA
Page 100
Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA
Page 100
White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, USA
Page 99
Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA
Page 186
Peenemunde, Germany
Page 156
Dago Island, Estonian coast
Page 156
In the mountains outside Los Angeles, a man saw a silver object that looked like a large spinning top. He was far from it, and it appeared to be roughly the size of a balloon.
The man wrote to journalist Walter Winchell about a brief encounter that ended with him falling to the ground. Two years later, the FBI tried to locate him but failed. The story remained without an eyewitness who could be questioned about what exactly happened.
In August 1947, Peter Camerlon Jones wrote to Winchell. He recounted that he was hiking in the mountains outside Los Angeles when he saw a large, silver, metallic object, shaped like a child's spinning top.
Jones wrote that the object seemed to be alive, although he saw no one inside it. He got up and moved toward it. In an instant, the object rose and knocked him to the ground.
In July 1949, the FBI requested an investigation to identify Jones and interview him about the encounter. Agents tried to gather details and find people who knew him.
They also checked the address he provided, but whoever lived or managed the location did not know Jones. The search efforts did not lead to him. The man who wrote about the object remained beyond the reach of investigators.
It is unknown whether the encounter occurred as described, or what the object was. In a later letter, D.M. Ladd, an FBI agent, suggested considering whether the original letter was a hoax; Jones himself was also never located.
A silver object rises from the ground — and the man who wrote about it vanishes from the story.