Official · Document · FBI
Air Force Wanted to Examine the Ground, Too
In 1949, procedures were established for investigating unidentified object reports — including soil samples and aircraft inspections.
Released to the public May 8, 20262 min read
In brief
In 1949, the US Air Force set guidelines for investigating UFO reports: ascertain how they vanished, search for debris, compare soil samples, and inspect nearby aircraft.
Summary
Serial 164 of FBI file 62-HQ-83894 ('Flying Discs' case file) is a 137-page PDF whose substantive content is a single U.S. Air Force document reproduced 17 times: 'Air Intelligence Requirements Memorandum Number 4: Unconventional Aircraft,' issued 15 February 1949 by the Directorate of Intelligence, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington 25, D.C., signed by Major General C. P. Cabell, USAF, Director of Intelligence, Office of Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. The memorandum, classified RESTRICTED and bearing form/control number 'C9-4892, AF', enunciates continuing Air Force requirements for reporting sightings of unconventional aircraft and 'Flying Discs,' rescinds Department of the Army Collection Memorandum No. 7 (21 January 1948) and letter CSGID 425.1 (25 March 1948), and prescribes detailed reporting procedures and a 7-page questionnaire (Part II - Requirements) covering observer position, object appearance, propulsion, radar observations, and physical evidence collection (soil samples, Geiger-counter checks, photographs, fragments). Page 1 is the FBI file jacket bearing the stamp 'Declassification authority derived from FBI Automatic Declassification Guide, issued May 24, 2007.' The file contains no FBI investigative narrative, no teletypes, no witness statements, and no agent reporting; it is the Bureau's retained reference copy (in 17 duplicates) of the USAF reporting requirement that defines what was to be collected and forwarded to the Commanding General, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, ATTN: MCIAXO-3.