Project Blue Book Case Files on Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

This series consists of the case files on sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) of Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) investigation into UFOs which were sighted between June 1947 and December 1969. From 1947 through 1951, the USAF Air Material Command Intelligence Department Technical Intelligence Division maintained the series. From 1951 through March 1952, the USAF Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations Office of the Director of Intelligence Air Technical Intelligence Center maintained the series. From March 1952 through 1969, the USAF Air Force Systems Command Foreign Technology Division Project Blue Book Office and its predecessors maintained the series. The first subseries contains sighting case files. The second subseries contains photographs that have been withdrawn from the first subseries. The files contain the information the Air Force gathered about specific UFO sightings. Each case file relates to one sighting or to a group of closely related sightings. The files contain reports from UFO observers, correspondence between these observers and the Air Force, newspaper and magazine clippings, and reports of analyses of photographs and physical evidence. Some reports were submitted by letter or telegram, but most reports of sightings were submitted on an Air Force questionnaire which contains the name and address of the observer, date and hour of the sighting, and a description of what the observer saw. Each case file contains a control sheet which summarizes the sighting report and shows the Air Force explanation and conclusions for the sighting. There is a monthly list of sightings of unidentified flying objects for which case files were prepared. For each sighting the list contains the date, location, name of observer, and evaluation of the sighting report. The list for each month can be found at the beginning of the relevant files in this series. The case files contain cross reference sheets to photographs that can be found in the second subseries to this series. The case files also contain cross reference sheets with citations to the photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and artifacts that were submitted with reports and that can be found in the series "Project 'BLUE BOOK', 1954-1966" (National Archives Identifier 542184), "Project Blue Book Motion Picture Films, 1950 - 1966" (National Archives Identifier 61934), "Sound Recordings Relating to Project Blue Book Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Investigations, 1953 - 1967" (National Archives Identifier 1142703), and "Project Bluebook Artifacts, 1952 - 1969" (National Archives Identifier 23857160).

Arrangement. Arranged in two subseries. The first subseries, case files of sightings, is arranged chronologically by date of sighting and assigned file number. The second subseries, photographs, is arranged by file number.