Gerald Haines

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Gerald Haines

Illustration of an open book about flying saucers — Illustration: an open book about flying saucers. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Type	Person
On the Timeline	2 events, 1976–1997

Gerald K. Haines is an American historian who served as the CIA's chief historian and the National Reconnaissance Office's historian.

CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs

Illustration of official papers and files — Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

In 1997 Haines published "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90" in the agency's journal Studies in Intelligence. It reviewed the CIA's involvement from the 1950s onward, including the Robertson Panel. Its most-quoted finding was that over half of UFO reports in the late 1950s and 1960s were caused by U-2 and SR-71 spy plane flights, and that the Air Force had misled the public about them to protect secrecy.

On the UAP Timeline

Illustration of a disc-shaped craft in the night sky — Illustration: a disc-shaped craft in the night sky. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

CIA Domestic Collection Division memo (1976) (26 April 1976) — A CIA teletype says agency staff monitor UAP unofficially.
CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90 (3 August 1997) — A CIA history by Gerald Haines covers the agency's role in UAP study from 1947 to 1990.

Connected articles

References

Robertson Panel — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy

Categories: Central intelligence agency | Ground saucer watch | Person | Unidentified anomalous phenomena | Unidentified flying object

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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