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CIA Letter to MIT Provost Julius A. Stratton on Unidentified Flying Objects

This CIA correspondence, addressed to MIT Provost Dr. Julius A. Stratton and signed by Assistant Director R. Marshall (H. Marshall) Chadwell, updates the recipient on CIA activity concerning 'unidentified flying objects.' The letter recounts that the Air Technical Intelligence Center received reports of sightings, that the matter was discussed at a December meeting of the Intelligence Advisory Committee (attended by CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Staff, State, AEC, and FBI), and that CIA was directed to assemble a panel of highly qualified personnel — competent in physics, radar, and astronomy — to examine the problem and its implications. Enclosures reference a panel report, a list of personnel, and evidence presented. The letter notes that CIA's interest in the subject was being carefully restricted to avoid public misunderstanding, and that the problem was regarded as operational rather than intelligence in nature. The content corresponds to the CIA scientific advisory group convened in January 1953 (the Robertson Panel) following the summer 1952 UFO wave. The document is heavily degraded by OCR, so some readings are uncertain.

cia.govIncident 1953Discovered Jul 4, 2026485.7 KBdocument
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Description

An OCR-degraded CIA letter, signed by Assistant Director R. Marshall (H. Marshall) Chadwell, informing Dr. Julius A. Stratton, Provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of progress on the 'unidentified flying objects' problem. It describes the referral of UFO sighting reports by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, discussion at a December Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting, and the assembly of a panel of qualified scientists in physics, radar, and astronomy to examine the phenomena — consistent with the CIA-sponsored scientific advisory group (the Robertson Panel).

Claims

  • The CIA was recommended to assemble a panel of highly qualified personnel — with competency in physics, radar, and astronomy — to examine the UFO problem.

    80%
  • The subject of unidentified flying objects was discussed at a December meeting of the Intelligence Advisory Committee comprising CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Staff, State, AEC, and FBI.

    80%
  • CIA's interest in the UFO subject was carefully restricted from public knowledge to avoid probable misunderstanding.

    80%
  • The UFO matter was discussed at a December Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting attended by CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Staff, State, AEC, and FBI.

    80%
  • CIA was directed to assemble a panel of highly qualified scientific personnel (physics, radar, astronomy) to examine the UFO problem.

    80%
  • The Air Technical Intelligence Center was charged with analyzing reports of sightings and presented a briefing at the agency.

    75%
  • The Air Technical Intelligence Center was charged with reviewing reports of UFO sightings and presented evidence at an intelligence meeting.

    75%
  • CIA's interest in the subject of flying saucers was being carefully restricted to avoid probable public misunderstanding.

    75%
  • The UFO problem was regarded as operational rather than intelligence in nature.

    65%

Events

  1. Nov 30, 1952

    December meeting of the Intelligence Advisory Committee

    Meeting at which the UFO subject was discussed and it was recommended that CIA assemble a panel of qualified scientists to examine the problem.

  2. Dec 31, 1952

    CIA O/SI Advisory Group review of UFO evidence

    Scientific advisory group convened to review available evidence on unidentified flying objects and evaluate the CIA's existing assessment (the Robertson Panel).

  3. Nov 30, 1952

    Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting on UFOs

    UFO sighting evidence was discussed at a December meeting attended by CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Staff, State, AEC, and FBI, recommending CIA assemble a scientific panel.

  4. Dec 31, 1952

    CIA scientific panel review of UFO evidence

    CIA assembled a panel of qualified scientists in physics, radar, and astronomy to examine available evidence on unidentified flying objects (the Robertson Panel).

Dates mentioned

1952-121953December (Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting)

Keywords

Entities

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