RAND memorandum RM-365
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 3
| Date | 14 April 1950 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic), Remote viewing & psi (topic), Disinformation & hoaxes (topic) |
| People | J. M. Hungerford |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 42 |
| Year | 1950 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1950 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
RAND memorandum RM-365 — An Air Force-funded RAND paper studies using superstition and the paranormal for psychological warfare.
RAND Corporation research memorandum RM-365, "The Exploitation of Superstitions for Purposes of Psychological Warfare", was written by J.M. Hungerford for the U.S. Air Force and dated 14 April 1950. It surveys how wartime propagandists had used astrology, prophecies, omens, chain letters and fear of the supernatural to influence enemy populations, especially during the Second World War.
The paper is a literature review rather than a plan of action, and it doesn't mention flying saucers. It catalogues techniques such as forged horoscopes and spreading rumours of bad omens, and discusses when they work and when they backfire. It is freely downloadable from RAND's website.
UFO researchers cite it because it shows that, at the start of the Cold War, the Air Force was paying for research into how unusual beliefs could be exploited. Some see it as background for later claims that intelligence agencies used UFO stories as cover or disinformation, as in the 1980s Bennewitz affair. It doesn't prove any such operation, but it confirms the interest.
People and topics
- RAND Corporation — The Air Force-funded think tank founded in 1948.
- J. M. Hungerford — Author of the 1950 RAND memorandum on exploiting superstition for psychological warfare.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
- Bennewitz affair — Bennewitz affair
On the Timeline
- Henry J. Taylor secret-weapon broadcast (1950) (27 March 1950) — A broadcaster announces saucers are secret U.S. weapons; the story is later called CIA disinformation.
- Holloman cigar-shaped object film (1950) (July 1950) — A Holloman AFB contractor films a cigar-shaped metallic object and hands the film to the base.
See every 1950 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- The Exploitation of Superstitions for Purposes of Psychological Warfare — RAND · rand.org · archived copy
- Psychological warfare research studies within the Air Force — CIA reading room · cia.gov · archived copy
- Superstitions as a weapon — Boing Boing · boingboing.net · archived copy
- Superstition PSYOP — Psywarrior · psywarrior.com · archived copy
- Superstitions as weapons (on RAND RM-365) — Boing Boing · boingboing.net · archived copy
- rand.org · rand.org · archived copy
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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