Request for Vallée's best cases (1966)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | 23 July 1966 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic) |
| People | Jacques Vallée, J. Allen Hynek |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 69 |
| Year | 1966 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1966 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
In his journal entry for 23 July 1966, Jacques Vallée recorded that the observatory where he worked with J. Allen Hynek had received a letter from an aerospace engineer asking for its "twenty best cases" — a request that, Vallée noted, had recently been made by "a mysterious group of scientists from Wright Field".[1]
The entry
Vallée described the engineer as the same man who had been so secretive when he visited the previous year. He wondered whether the man was working for an intelligence agency, or for the secret study McDonnell Douglas was rumoured to be starting. In an earlier entry, of 17 May 1965, Vallée had noted rumours that many aerospace companies were conducting their own secret UFO studies, describing a Martin Marietta engineer who became upset when someone saw papers he should not have.[1]
Context
The request came during the Blue Book era, when the Air Force's public line on UFOs was dismissive while Hynek served as its scientific consultant. McDonnell Douglas did start a small UFO and propulsion study in 1966 under engineer Robert Wood, and a 1968 company document listed competitors' efforts, including a ten-man team at Hughes, work at Lockheed and Martin, and a RAND proposal.[1][2]
Assessment
The journals are a valuable first-hand record but do not name the engineer or the Wright Field group, and it is not known what, if anything, was done with any cases supplied.[1]
People and topics
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
- Forbidden Science — Jacques Vallée's published journals.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- J. Allen Hynek — Astronomer and Air Force UFO consultant from 1948 to 1969 who later founded the Center for UFO Studies.
- Project Blue Book — The Air Force's public UFO investigation from 1952 until its closure in December 1969.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
On the Timeline
- FBI denials of UFO interest (21 July 1966) — The FBI tells citizens UAP have never been its concern, contradicting its own files.
- Cedar Breaks radar site crash claim (1966) — A radar technician reportedly saw a disc crash at a Utah radar site linked to Area 51.
See every 1966 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Aerospace companies and UFOs — 2", UFOs Scientific Research (Jan 2010) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science — the journals of Jacques Vallée (Anomaly Archives) · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science series — Anomalist Books · anomalistbooks.com · archived copy
- Review of Forbidden Science 6 — SFCrowsnest · sfcrowsnest.info · archived copy
- Forbidden Science Dispatches — Tanner Boyle (journal summaries) · tannerfboyle.substack.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Project Blue Book files — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Hangar 18 (the legend and 1980 film) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Jacques Vallée — 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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