State PDF (7/18)

Summary

This is a two-page State Department memorandum from July 18, 1952, written during a period of heightened UFO activity in the United States. It discusses the spike in UFO reports and offers several possible explanations, including better technology for detecting them, historical records of similar sightings, and the Air Force's official views on the subject.

Key Findings

• 1The memo was written on July 18, 1952, a date that falls within the famous 'Washington D.C. UFO flap' of July 1952, one of the most widely reported UFO events in American history.
• 2The document attributes the rise in UFO reports at least partly to technological improvements, suggesting better equipment may have made previously undetectable objects visible.
• 3The memo references historical records of UFO sightings, indicating the State Department recognized this was not a new phenomenon.
• 4U.S. Air Force opinions on UFOs are included, meaning this was at least partly an inter-agency exchange of views on the subject.