Commentary on DSI/JTIC Report No 7
The report begins with a history of the UFO phenomenon, covering the Scandinavian “Ghost Rocket” wave of 1946, Kenneth Arnold’s sighting, the death of Captain Thomas Mantell and the work of Projects Sign and Grudge. Curiously, Foo Fighters were not mentioned at all. Through our study of various DSI/JTIC minutes it seems that this oversight occurred because while Fighter Command were invited to submit views to the Flying Saucer Working Party, Bomber Command were not.
Roswell is not mentioned, although there is reference to a report of a “crashed flying saucer full of the remains of very small beings”. But the Report states that the author of these claims had admitted that it had been a fabrication and it is clear that this is a reference not to Roswell but to Frank Scully’s claims about the recovery of a UFO at Aztec, New Mexico, in 1948.
The report then details some British UFO sightings, concentrating on three cases involving military witnesses. But in each case, the sightings are dismissed as either optical illusions or misidentifications of ordinary aircraft or meteorological balloons. One visual sighting from a pilot had apparently been correlated by radar, but this was attributed to interference from another radar system.
The report concludes that all UFO sightings could be explained as misidentifications of ordinary objects or phenomena, optical illusions, psychological delusions or hoaxes. The main body of the report ends with the following statement:
“We accordingly recommend very strongly that no further investigation of reported mysterious aerial phenomena be undertaken, unless and until some material evidence becomes available”.
The report was duly considered by the DSI/JTIC and Mr Turney recommended that in view of the its sceptical conclusions, it should be regarded as a final report. He further suggested that the working party be dissolved with immediate effect. This was agreed by the meeting, thus bringing to an end the MOD’s first UFO research project.
The DSI/JTIC minutes of the meeting that agreed to dissolve the working party contain the following telling quote, recording Mr Turney’s views:
“He went on to say, that following the lead given by the Americans on this subject, the Report should he thought, have as little publicity as possible and outside circulation should be confined to one copy to Sir Henry Tizard”.
We should point out that in this context the terms “publicity” and “outside circulation” refer to publicity and distribution of the report within the MOD. There was certainly no question of informing the public.
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