Herbert Scoville

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Herbert Scoville

Illustration of a radar screen tracking unknown returns — Illustration: a radar screen tracking unknown returns. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Type	Person
On the Timeline	1 event, 1957

Herbert Scoville Jr. (1915–1985) was an American physicist and CIA official who headed the agency's Office of Scientific Intelligence and later became its first Deputy Director for Research. He later worked on arms control.

The Mach 3 target

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 September 1957, the chief of Air Force intelligence warned that a radar target had been tracked crossing the United States at about three times the speed of sound. Scoville and CIA scientific intelligence staff commented on the report, which raised concern about possible Soviet aircraft. The case is one of several from the 1950s showing intelligence agencies tracking unexplained fast objects.

On the UAP Timeline

Christopher Mellon — Christopher Mellon Photo: Max Moszkowicz · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Mach 3 radar target alert (1957) (24 September 1957) — The Air Force intelligence chief warns of a radar target crossing the U.S. at Mach 3.

Connected articles

References

CIA memo on the 20 Sept 1957 radar object — CIA reading room · cia.gov · archived copy
NORAD national air defense UFO alert, Sept 20 1957 — Christopher Mellon · christophermellon.net · archived copy
September 20, 1957: radars track a very fast target · uapdiscovery.discourse.group · archived copy
Intelligence Advisory Committee / Watch Committee memo — UFOScans · ufoscans.com · archived copy

Categories: Central intelligence agency | Federal bureau of investigation | Montauk project | Person | Us air force

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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