NICAP
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🏢 Organization
Contents 7
| Type | Organization |
|---|---|
| Also known as | National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena |
| On the Timeline | 20 events, 1947–2001 |
The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) was an American civilian UFO research organisation active from 1956 to 1980. Under director Donald Keyhoe it became the most visible UFO group in the United States, campaigning for congressional hearings and an end to official secrecy, and astronomer J. Allen Hynek called it one of the two best civilian groups of its time.[1]
Founding
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NICAP was founded on 24 October 1956 by inventor Thomas Townsend Brown. Its early board included Keyhoe, retired Rear Adm. Delmer Fahrney, former CIA director Vice Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter and Gen. Albert Wedemeyer. The board asked Brown to step down by January 1957 over financial mismanagement; Fahrney briefly took over and held a press conference on 16 January 1957, and Keyhoe became director later that year, launching the newsletter The U.F.O. Investigator.[1][2]
Growth and work
Membership passed 5,000 in 1958 and peaked near 14,000 in the early 1960s, though finances were always weak and Keyhoe often covered costs himself. NICAP favoured careful investigation and was skeptical of contactee and abduction claims; historian Jerome Clark described its field investigations as often first-rate. Its most important publication was The UFO Evidence (1964), edited by assistant director Richard Hall, which summarised hundreds of well-documented reports and remains a standard reference. In 1960 Hillenkoetter said publicly that the Air Force was hiding UFO facts behind official ridicule.[1][3]
The Condon Committee
NICAP at first shared case files with the Air Force-funded University of Colorado study led by Edward Condon, but relations soured, and after the leak of project coordinator Robert Low's "trick" memo NICAP formally cut its ties in early 1968. The study's negative report in 1969 helped cut NICAP's membership to around 5,000.[1][4]
Decline and end
In December 1969 the board, led by Col. Joseph Bryan III, a former CIA psychological warfare official, forced Keyhoe out and disbanded local affiliates. John Acuff became director, followed by Alan Hall. Allegations that the CIA had infiltrated or deliberately weakened NICAP have never been proven; several members had intelligence backgrounds, but Bryan's son, the writer C.D.B. Bryan, said the group "simply self-destructed". NICAP published its last newsletter in 1980 and dissolved. Its case files were bought by the Center for UFO Studies and in 2020 moved to the National UFO Historical Records Center in Albuquerque.[1][5]
Legacy
NICAP is remembered as the leading voice of the 1950s and 1960s movement for UFO transparency. A volunteer-run website, nicap.org, preserves many of its documents.[1][6]
On the UAP Timeline
- 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.
- Laredo UFO crash claim (1948) (1948) — An anonymous retired colonel claims a craft crashed near Laredo, Texas, and witnesses were sworn to secrecy.
- Bell Labs source on 1950 crash files (1950) — A Bell Labs source says a former NASA employee had technical files on a 1950 crash retrieval.
- 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.
- Dewey Fournet's motion study and Navy inquiry (1951) — A Blue Book officer reportedly runs a private, Navy-assisted inquiry into undersea and aerial UAP.
- Albert Chop and the Tremonton film release (9 February 1953) — Air Force spokesman Albert Chop claims the CIA killed a press release and ordered a debunking campaign.
- JANAP 146(C) (10 March 1954) — Directive JANAP 146(C) covers UAP reports and bars civilian pilots from discussing them.
- Air Force Manual 190-4 (1 May 1956) — A former Air Force spokesman says a manual governed all official statements about UFOs.
- Navy pilots' shoot-down orders claim (1956) (5 July 1956) — Unnamed Navy pilots claim standing orders to shoot down hostile UAP over the Pacific.
- NICAP fed a fake crash story (1957) (May 1957) — Civilian group NICAP is fed a fake UAP crash story by a source with NSA ties.
- McClellan subcommittee persuaded against hearings (1958) (28 February 1958) — An Air Force general says informal talks persuaded Senate investigators no UAP hearings were needed.
- McCormack subcommittee UFO briefing (1958) (13 August 1958) — The Air Force tells a House committee civilian UAP groups are its biggest UAP-related challenge.
- Airline pilots and the "Big Brother" gag rules (1958) (21 December 1958) — About 50 airline pilots criticize the Air Force's UAP gag rules as 'Big Brother'.
- Hillenkoetter's 1960 call for hearings (22 June 1960) — Former CIA Director Hillenkoetter tells a newspaper UFOs are under intelligent control.
- Air Force proposals to improve UFO work (1961) (17 March 1961) — Asked how to improve UAP work, the Air Force suggests a raise for adviser J. Allen Hynek and a new camera.
- Gun-camera films sent to the CIA claim (1962) — Researcher Richard Hall says jet gun-camera UAP films were routinely sent to the CIA.
- USS John F. Kennedy encounter (1971) (June/July 1971) — A Navy yeoman says the USS John F. Kennedy's systems failed during a UAP encounter in the Caribbean.
- Claims of CIA funding of UFO researchers (15 December 1978) — The same researchers claim the CIA secretly funded selected UAP researchers.
- Bruce Maccabee's CIA talk (1987) (7 July 1987) — Navy physicist Bruce Maccabee says he lectured about UAP at CIA headquarters.
- Mark McCandlish and the Alien Reproduction Vehicle (9 May 2001) — Illustrator Mark McCandlish says gravity propulsion was reverse-engineered from recovered craft.
References
- National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Adm. Fahrney Quits Saucer Probers", The Washington Daily News (10 Apr 1957) — Blue Book archive · web.archive.org · archived copy
- Richard H. Hall, "The Quest For The Truth About UFOs: A Personal Perspective On The Role Of NICAP" (1994) · nicap.org · archived copy
- Condon Report — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "National UFO Historical Records Center coming to Albuquerque", AP News (24 Nov 2022) · apnews.com · archived copy
- NICAP archive website · nicap.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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