Robert Shirkey affidavit on the Roswell debris flights
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 9
| Date | 8 July 1947 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic) |
| People | Robert Shirkey, William Blanchard, Jesse Marcel |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 38 |
| Year | 1947 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1947 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
Robert Shirkey was a first lieutenant with the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field in July 1947, working as an assistant operations officer. In an affidavit signed on 30 April 1991 he said he watched debris from the Roswell recovery being loaded onto a B-29 bound for Fort Worth on 8 July 1947.[1][2]
The affidavit
Shirkey said that a B-29 was readied on Colonel William Blanchard's orders for a flight to Fort Worth, and that Blanchard waved through about five people carrying debris he understood to be from a crashed flying saucer. He described metal pieces, including one about 18 by 24 inches with a brushed stainless-steel look, and an I-beam with markings on it. He also said a sergeant and airmen had swept up debris and bodies at the crash site and that the bodies were laid out in Hangar 84, and that the people involved were shipped out within two weeks; these parts of his account came from others rather than his own observation, and he later softened the claim that everyone involved was transferred.[1]
Later statements
In interviews with the Houston Chronicle, the Albuquerque Journal and researcher Stanton Friedman, Shirkey said Major Jesse Marcel carried aboard a box of foil-like material and the I-beam, that the plane left at about 2 p.m., and that the debris looked nothing like the weather balloons launched near his office.[1]
Transfer
About nine days after the incident, Shirkey received orders, signed by General Roger Ramey, sending him to Clark Field in the Philippines as a weights-and-balance officer. He was flown to California by Lieutenant Colonel Payne Jennings, which he considered unusual treatment, and on arrival found no such vacancy and was made assistant operations officer of a photo-reconnaissance unit. He came to see the transfer as "part of the cover-up". A 1999 Freedom of Information request for the orders found that the record had been lost in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.[1]
The book
Shirkey later taught oilfield safety at Eastern New Mexico University's Roswell campus, on the grounds of the former airfield. His self-published 1999 book, Roswell 1947: I Was There, repeats his account; it included contributions from Frank Kaufmann, a witness whose credibility has since been widely questioned.[1][2]
Assessment
Researchers generally treat his first-hand account of debris being loaded onto a plane as the most solid part of his testimony, while noting that it was given more than 40 years after the event, and skeptics argue that the material is consistent with the Project Mogul balloon debris.[1][2]
People and topics
- Robert Shirkey — 509th Bomb Group officer who said he watched Roswell debris being loaded onto a B-29 in July 1947.
- Roswell — The New Mexico town at the center of the 1947 crash story.
- Fort Worth — The Texas city where the Roswell debris was shown to the press in 1947.
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
- 509th Bomb Group — The nuclear-armed bomber group based at Roswell in 1947.
- Roswell Army Air Field — The bomber base at Roswell, home of the 509th Bomb Group in 1947.
- William Blanchard — Roswell base commander in 1947 who later became Air Force vice chief of staff.
- Jesse Marcel — Intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group who recovered the Roswell debris in 1947.
- Weather balloon — A balloon carrying weather instruments, used to explain the Roswell debris.
On the Timeline
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- Thomas DuBose affidavit on the Roswell debris (8 July 1947) — Col. Thomas DuBose's affidavit says the Roswell debris went via Fort Worth to Wright Field and the balloon photos were a cover story.
- Garrett's suspicion of secret U.S. tests (1947) (19 August 1947) — An Air Force officer tells the FBI he suspects secret U.S. military tests explain some flying disc reports.
See every 1947 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Patrick Gross, "Robert Shirkey", Roswell witness page, UFOs at close sight · ufology.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Robert Shirkey witness page — Patrick Gross · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- The Roswell witness affidavits (1991–93) · ufopedia.pages.dev · archived copy
- Roswell UFO incident collection — UT Arlington Libraries · libraries.uta.edu · archived copy
- ufologie.patrickgross.org · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- UFOs and the Air Force: records — National Archives · archives.gov · 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
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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