Albert Chop and the Tremonton film release
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 9
| Date | 9 February 1953 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Disinformation & hoaxes (topic) |
| People | Albert Chop, Delbert Newhouse, Donald Keyhoe |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 48 |
| Year | 1953 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1953 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 12 |
Albert M. Chop (died 15 January 2006) was the U.S. Air Force's civilian press officer for UFO matters in 1952–1953. He handled the media during the July 1952 Washington, D.C., sightings and later said the Air Force had planned to release an analysis of the 1952 Tremonton, Utah, UFO film before the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel intervened.[1][2]
Career
A former newspaper reporter in Dayton, Ohio, Chop joined the press section of the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base after the Second World War and became its chief. In 1952, at the request of Air Force intelligence chiefs, he was transferred to the Pentagon press section to handle UFO inquiries. He began as a skeptic but said his view changed after talking to senior officials who believed many sightings involved real craft of unknown origin. On the night of 26 July 1952 he was in the radar room at Washington National Airport as unknown targets were tracked over the capital and jets were scrambled. He later worked in public affairs at NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.[1]
Chop and Keyhoe
Chop dealt regularly with Donald Keyhoe, who he said would often be waiting in his office with new questions. He cleared 51 sighting reports for publication in Keyhoe's 1953 book Flying Saucers from Outer Space, including the Tremonton case, and wrote a blurb calling Keyhoe a responsible, accurate reporter.[2][3]
The Tremonton film
On 2 July 1952 Navy photographer Delbert Newhouse filmed a group of bright objects near Tremonton, Utah. After about two months of frame-by-frame study, the Navy's photo laboratory at Anacostia concluded that the objects were not aircraft or birds and appeared to be intelligently controlled; an Air Force laboratory said they were not airplanes or balloons and probably not birds. In January 1953 the Robertson Panel suggested they might be seagulls. Blue Book chief Edward Ruppelt then wrote a press release, approved by the head of the Air Technical Intelligence Center, but the Pentagon rejected it.[4]
The CIA claim
Chop's account that the CIA blocked the release and ordered a debunking campaign comes chiefly from Keyhoe's books. The CIA's reading room includes a 1953 internal review of Keyhoe's book, showing that the agency followed what he wrote.[3][5]
Later years
Chop later joined NICAP and became a critic of official UFO policy. He was the central figure of the 1956 documentary-drama Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers, in which he was played by Tom Towers.[1][6]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Albert Chop — Air Force press officer for UFO matters in 1952–53 who later joined NICAP.
- Central Intelligence Agency — The U.S. foreign intelligence agency, which has followed UFO reports since the 1940s.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
- U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
- Delbert Newhouse — Navy photographer who filmed the 1952 Tremonton, Utah, UFO footage.
- Robertson Panel — Robertson Panel
- Donald Keyhoe — Retired Marine officer, author and director of NICAP who campaigned against UFO secrecy.
- NICAP — The leading U.S. civilian UFO group of the 1950s and 1960s.
On the Timeline
- Robertson Panel (18 January 1953) — The CIA's Robertson Panel recommends stripping UAP of special status and reducing public interest.
- CIA memo on Civilian Saucer Investigation (9 February 1953) — A CIA officer admits monitoring a public UAP meeting in Los Angeles.
See every 1953 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Albert M. Chop", Sign Oral History Project · sohp.us · archived copy
- "Sightings cleared for Major Donald E. Keyhoe by Albert M. Chop", NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
- Donald Keyhoe — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Patrick Gross, "The Tremonton film" (Ruppelt's account), UFOs at close sight · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- CIA reading room: UFO documents · cia.gov · archived copy
- UFO (1956 film) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- The Tremonton film — Patrick Gross · ufology.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- Keyhoe letter on the Tremonton film — Patrick Gross · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- CIA review of Keyhoe's 'Flying Saucers from Outer Space' (1953) · cia.gov · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
Further reading
- UFO documents — CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- Edward J. Ruppelt — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.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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