The US Navy examined two old films, shot in Montana and Utah, that appear to show unidentified objects in the sky. Investigators couldn’t determine with confidence exactly what they depicted.
The films are part of the fifth batch of records the Department of War released to the public. The 41 records include documents, photographs, and videos. Some offer not just intriguing evidence, but a glimpse of how difficult it can be to determine what people are actually seeing.
What Can We Learn From the Two Films?
One film was shot in Montana in 1950; the other, in Utah in 1952. A 1953 document describes how a Navy center specializing in photographic analysis examined them. It outlines the investigators’ assumptions, their preliminary conclusions, and recommendations for further study.
The document doesn’t describe what the images show. It does explain that certain assumptions limited the investigators’ confidence in their conclusions. Even after the analysis, no definitive answer emerged about the objects captured on film.
Ghost Rockets Over Scandinavia
Another record concerns reports that began in May 1946. People reported seeing rocket-like objects in the sky over Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. A 1947 military review examined eyewitness accounts, the Swedish government’s position, and information provided by a US military representative in Stockholm.
The term “ghost rockets” describes the nature of the reports; it doesn’t explain what the objects were. The record details what investigators examined, but doesn’t identify what was seen in the sky.
Reports Deemed Genuine
Documents from 1947 and 1948 concern a US Air Force program that investigated reports of fast-moving objects in the sky. In some reports, the objects were considered real, rather than fabricated or the result of misperception. That reflects how the reports were assessed, not an identification of the objects.
What Remains Unknown
It’s not known exactly what appears in the two films or what the objects reported over Scandinavia were. The film analysis notes that its assumptions limited confidence in its conclusions; the released material offers no explanation that resolves the cases.
