1947 in UFO history
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📅 Year
Contents 5
| Year | 1947 |
|---|---|
| Events | 12 |
| Decade | 1940s |
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic), Nuclear & missile sites (topic) |
| Timeline | 1947 on the UAP Timeline |
1947 in UFO history — the UAP Timeline records 12 events in 1947, mostly about crashes & retrievals and secrecy & cover-up. People named in these events include William Blanchard, George Schulgen, Walter Haut, Jaime Shandera, Jesse Marcel.
Overview
1947 is usually treated as the start of the modern UFO era. On 24 June civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reported a group of fast craft near Mount Rainier moving "like a saucer would if skipped across water." The press coverage gave the world the terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc."[1] Within weeks a Gallup poll found that 90% of Americans had heard the new term, and sightings became a daily occurrence.[1] On 9 July Army Air Forces intelligence and the FBI began a formal investigation of selected reports.[1]
The year's best-known event was the Roswell incident. On 8 July Roswell Army Air Field announced it had recovered a "flying disc." Within a day the Eighth Air Force in Fort Worth presented the debris as a weather balloon.[2] The material actually came from Project Mogul, a secret balloon program to detect Soviet nuclear tests.[2] Most of the timeline's 1947 entries are later affidavits from people involved. Press officer Walter Haut, newspaper editor Art McQuiddy, Colonel Thomas DuBose and Lieutenant Robert Shirkey described "flying saucer" debris, flights to Fort Worth and Wright Field, and a balloon cover story.[3] Haut's affidavit is described in the timeline as "allegedly signed."[3]
Official attitudes were mixed. On 19 August an Air Force officer told the FBI he suspected secret Army or Navy tests explained some reports, while the War Department said it knew of no such program.[3] On 23 September General Nathan Twining wrote to General George Schulgen that the discs were "real and not visionary or fictitious." He noted that no physical evidence from "crash recovered exhibits" had been found. His letter led to the creation of Project Sign.[1][4] The timeline also lists two documents attributed to CIA Director Roscoe Hillenkoetter, one of them a disputed "MAJIC" memo linked to the later MJ-12 papers, which are widely regarded as forgeries.[3][4][5] It also lists claims of a crash with bodies in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and of an "unknown missile" in Mexico.[4] In December an Army officer reported that German designers Reimar and Walter Horten had been found. An investigation concluded no German flying-saucer design had ever existed.[4]
Events
- Walter Haut sealed affidavit (8 July 1947) — Roswell press officer Walter Haut's affidavit says his commander told him the base had recovered crash debris from a disc.
- Art McQuiddy and the Roswell press release (8 July 1947) — Roswell newspaper editor Art McQuiddy says the base announced a recovered disc, then asked him to call it a weather balloon.
- Thomas DuBose affidavit on the Roswell debris (8 July 1947) — Col. Thomas DuBose's affidavit says the Roswell debris went via Fort Worth to Wright Field and the balloon photos were a cover story.
- Robert Shirkey affidavit on the Roswell debris flights (8 July 1947) — Lt. Robert Shirkey's affidavit says he saw debris loaded for flights from Roswell to Fort Worth and Wright Field.
- Garrett's suspicion of secret U.S. tests (1947) (19 August 1947) — An Air Force officer tells the FBI he suspects secret U.S. military tests explain some flying disc reports.
- War Department denial of a U.S. disc program (1947) (19 August 1947) — The War Department says it knows of no U.S. program that could explain the flying discs.
- Hillenkoetter MJ-12 memo of 19 September 1947 (19 September 1947) — A disputed memo attributed to CIA Director Hillenkoetter calls for a presidential directive and scientific study of the discs.
- Twining memo (1947) (23 September 1947) — Gen. Nathan Twining writes that the flying discs are real and could be a secret U.S. or Soviet project.
- Hillenkoetter letter of 24 September 1947 (24 September 1947) — A letter attributed to the CIA director allegedly names Air Force and Navy intelligence units as leads on recovered objects.
- Selman Graves and the Paradise Valley crash claim (October 1947) — Pilot Selman Graves says he saw a crashed craft and two humanoid bodies recovered in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
- Mexican mystery missile (1947) (October 1947) — An unknown missile allegedly crashes in Mexico and the State Department is said to seek the wreckage.
- Pretty memo on the Horten brothers (1947) (16 December 1947) — A U.S. Army officer reports locating the German Horten brothers, designers of flying-wing aircraft.
People
- William Blanchard — Roswell base commander in 1947 who later became Air Force vice chief of staff.
- George Schulgen — Air Force intelligence general who asked for the 1947 Twining memo and issued the Schulgen memo on flying discs.
- Walter Haut — Public information officer at Roswell Army Air Field who wrote the July 1947 "flying disc" press release and left a disputed sealed affidavit.
- Jaime Shandera — TV producer who received the MJ-12 film in 1984.
- Jesse Marcel — Intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group who recovered the Roswell debris in 1947.
- Roscoe Hillenkoetter — First Director of Central Intelligence (1947–50) and later NICAP board member; named in the disputed MJ-12 papers.
- Harry S. Truman — 33rd U.S. president (1945–53), in office during the first flying disc wave and the start of official UFO studies.
- Nathan Twining — Commander of Air Materiel Command who wrote the 1947 memo calling the flying discs "something real".
- Tom Carey — Roswell researcher and co-author of Witness to Roswell.
- Don Schmitt — Roswell researcher and co-author of Witness to Roswell.
Nearby years
References
- Unidentified flying object — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony, entries for 8 July to 19 September 1947 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for 23 September to 16 December 1947 · oversight.house.gov
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Unidentified flying object”, “Roswell incident”, “Majestic 12”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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