DOW-UAP-D095, Joint U.S.-Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports, 1954-1955
This file contains reports, memoranda, and correspondence concerning various then-developmental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The file includes assessments of the experimental potential of the “Avro Project Y2,” a joint U.S.-Canadian near-circular VTOL aircraft that is similar in appearance to contemporary popular descriptions of unidentified flying objects (UFO). A 1954 memorandum opines that VTOL aircraft with a circular planform may be mistaken for UFOs to observers unfamiliar with such technologies. It also recommends that UFO reports in the vicinity of Soviet military operations or assets be re-examined to assess whether they may be attributable to previously unknown advanced VTOL aircraft of foreign design. The file also contains correspondence relating to a UFO incident involving a U.S. Air Force (USAF) KC-97 flying near Newfoundland, Canada in July 1955. A USAF committee found that the characteristics described in the report were inconsistent with those of known Soviet, American, or Canadian military systems. The committee was also “unable to explain the simultaneous ground radar returns and aircrew visual sightings.” It also contains correspondence relating to the potential value of data from incidental radar collection of meteors entering the atmosphere. USAF Air Research and Development Command recommended using that data to improve the performance of the AN/FPS-17 radar system. Finally, the file contains correspondence indicating support for the Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) program, a joint U.S.-Canadian civil-military program to standardize reporting methods for unusual or unidentified airborne and maritime hazards and threats.
The summary above is sourced from the released file metadata as published to war.gov. The analysis sections below are original to this tracker.
Text of the document
Machine-extracted from the PDF war.gov published (its text layer or OCR), so expect errors, especially in names, numbers and handwriting; the PDF is the authoritative copy. Lines that did not extract as readable text are left out. Showing about 999 words from pages 3, 4, 27, 30, 37, 39, 40, 41, 57 of 57.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE Head.quarters United States Air Force SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF, tJSAF' scn;NrIFIC ADVISORY BOARD :REPORT ON AVRO PROJECT Y2 This document consists of ______ pages
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DEPARTMENT OF TBE AIR FORCE Head.quarters United States Air Foree Deputy Chiet of Staff, Development Headquarters United States Air Force Dear Don: In response to your request tor BAB commen·t,s on the Avco "Saucer'' project, the SAB baa taken the following action: The Aircraft and Propulsion Panels were brieted on September of the Board in Omaha. The tentat:ive conclusions ot bo·tb panels immediately atter this briefing were to the ettect that th.is pro .Ject warranted no more than limited support. l!oveve:r, to assu1·e ·thoro\lgb. consideration ot this project, I requested rt:?presentatives of these two panels to supplement. the briefings given 'to -them at With the advice of Clark Millikan and Dean Soderberg., a select committee ,ms choaen to conclude this study. It was c~sed ot Dean Soderberg, Chairman of the Propulsion Panel and senior member o'f the group; Professor Markham, of the Aircraft Panel; and Mr .. Donovan, who has been serving both as a member or 'the Aircraft Panel and as lie..:I.son member with the Propulsi,on Panel. The attached report ot this ,group is ~orwarded with my «.PPt•oval, representing the results ot the SAB's ccapleted study. Actins Chairman Scient.itic Advisory Board Office ot the Chief of Sta.ff
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTBM UNITED STATES AIR P'ORCIE - POI IIIIIAL UWOD 81IBJJIC!lt Anicle "91e J'qi.. Diao• ill DeCIIDW I•- of-. Air the artiele oa ta...,. aircraft 1NNl.t. lte ,ultliallei. withod ._ Ul4 Air fiatt .•1;1oa. Be re.,lie4 in tu attimatift Ml to el.1aillate the lut paracraph the article witll a 1ll'O i1e-1a, vtaicll vu prolNlltly cmarloek.e4 lteton ~lica\1011.. •• liaoe the reoeipt ot "1le aaoru4a trca the :lan.\i'ft a. !lie eneat ot coonliu.Uoa the article ia AD waa •• )Ir. hlJJa vu lllller u. erroaeou illprueiea that tu proJen 1IIM1. -..... fa'YOl'Uly cQU1UN4 lo" tu Air coaeil. aD4 ao
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DEPARTMENT .OF THE AIR FORCE MIIDWIDUM JOI. DIBl&TCll 07 IIDLLIGDCI, DOIi SUBJJCT: Scientitio Advisor, Board bport on .A.VIO •n11nc Saucer" port of the Scientitic Mriaor, Board on their atud7 ot the •t17- 2. Your attention ia particul.arl.7 iDTited to ta. generally negative tiDdiDga vit.b reprd to technical feasibility expreaaed 1D thia report, in contrut to~ pnenJ. 1.lqateaeion ot techni cal aouadDeaa ad optiJliatic expectation.a COllff,-d in the article. on "The Pl1ing Diec• publiahed in the Decaber, 1954, iasue ot 10 Deouber in reaponae to hie pretlou reqU11at tor SlB oaamta. -ottice ot 'tM Ohief ot Statt
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OIIIIIII a, DATE ( Un.cl) Memorandua for Record Iniiial column denote review prior action. column review of completed "lN" to to Initial "OUT~' to denote action. {X for action; ; for coordination.) IN OUT OFFICE OFFICE Sit ARMY OFF 1Porwar4ec1. your approval and signature. Colonel, USAF Directorate of Intelligenoe AFHQ "~: 0-86 PR!YIOUI EDITIONS OF THIS FORII
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at 161H OF &AS IC DATE TE TYPE Memorandum. for Record r to &ctioa. Initial "OUT" column to deuote reTiew of completed 1. tt ia teaint tbat yow. tau the.tollolt1.nc two ~iou;
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MEMORANDtM FOR RECORD 1. To evaluate Kc 97 crew sightings and ground radar returns of object in Kc 97 sightings and GCI radar returns over Newfound.land as summarized and detailed 3. In arriving at the following conclusions the conmittee reviewed reports summarizing the incident, the crew interrogations and the NEAD evaluation of the j_nc1.dent. In addition certain new U.S. and Canadian developments in high performance unconventional aircraft were considered. 4. It was concluded that no intelligence is available to support or deny the existence of unconventional Soviet aircraft comparable to those un.der consideration in the US and Canada and provid1.ng performance such as reported. 5. The committee was unable to explain the simultaneous ground radar returns and aircrew visual sightings, and tentatively accepts the NEAC evaluation attributing the :i.ncident to electrical phenomenon on the one hand and mis interpretation of -the s:i.ghtings by aircrew members on the other. 6. It was further concluded that this inc:f.dent should be classified as UFOB. 7. This i ten1 is not consj_dered suitable for inclusion in D/I Policy Book or the Daily Staff Di..gest. 8. Due to the serious technological threat should tmfriendly nations succeed in developing high performance unconventional ai.rcraft increased effort should be made by all collec·tion agencies to penetrate the Soviet Research and Development establishments a.nd programs in order to give the U.S. adequate warning of any developments in this area. 9. It is further recommended that in the event of future incidents of this nature fighter scrambles be effected without delay. AFOIN-2C4, Col. MacDuff, ext. 52 AFOIN•-2Cl, Lt. Col. Farrior, ext. AFOIN-2C2, CoJ.. Gould, ext. 56200
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TO OFFICE OF PREPARATION CICI raclar in the aaae ar-. obtaiaed a raclar r•~ o~,aa !b.1ect vllich apparently,,.. by tbia Directorate t. eV&l:ct&te this sighting reviewed r-.,orta n111~:riz1Dg the inciclent electrical ph-.eacm and visual Jliainte17retaticm by aircrew J1811ltera. . At the auae tiae, honver, the P--~ttee 41acuee4 the poaaibility that the object might have been an hip pertomu.ce 'IUlCODva.ticmal aircraft. !bi• Directorate is or the op1Jlien that tbe clevelopaent of such an aircraft by u untri~_nation woucl. conetitute a aeriou teolmelopcal threat to the Uaited states, and therefore eve-ry ettort mat be aa4e to 2. In ita cliacuaaioa of aethecla to be uaed to obta:f.B 1i.ent11'1catien or objects FRANK B. CHAPPELL It.. Sipature of attached •aaage. Colonel USAF Directorate ot Intelligex1ce
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IIBIIORANDt111 FOR THE RECORD SUBJECT: CIBVIS Program 1. In accordance with AFR 200-3, Bq KATS, is responsible for contacting commercial airlines and pilots to indoctrinate them and secure their participation in the CIRVIS program as outlined in the JAMAP 146 series. 2. Intelligence Division, Rq JIATS, has done an out standing job in this indoctrination, having contacted coJD.ercial airlines, the National Business Aircraft Association, and the pilots in both. They have secured the cooperation of all coapanies and associations through writing a multitude of letters. They have gone into the field and personally lectured
Where this file fits in the PURSUE archive
This file is one of DoD's 282 files in the Trump PURSUE disclosure. Within the DoD agency block it ranks #152 of 282 by Anomalousness Index. Across the entire 478-file archive it ranks #276 of 478.
That places it in the lower-scoring band of the archive (276 of 478 by score), typical of investigative-record style files where the report is paper-based rather than instrumented.
Anomalousness Index: 56/100
Evidentiary weight that this encounter remains unexplained after conventional analysis. Not a probability of extraterrestrial origin - that number is not honestly computable from the released files and this tracker refuses to publish it.
🤖 AI-ASSISTED SCORING · methodology
The six rubric components break down for this file as follows. Each component has a weighted contribution to the final score; the per-component explanation below describes what this file's particular value on that component means in the rubric's framework.
Reported by a witness with no instrumented record. The lowest tier in the rubric's sensor axis. Eyewitness perception in field conditions, even when the witness is highly credentialed, scores below capture by any instrumented modality. This report reached the federal record through the Department of War.
Trained U.S. military personnel reporting from an operational mission context. A high witness-credibility tier, ranked in the rubric below astronaut, trained-aviator, and federal-agent testimony. This is the witness profile shared by the entire AARO-submitted infrared-capture cluster that anchors the 66-point score band.
Single-witness or single-instrument capture. This is the corroboration tier for the overwhelming majority of the PURSUE archive on the released metadata - the rubric records the honest limit of the underlying record rather than inferring multi-witness corroboration that the released summaries do not establish. A small number of files with an independent second witness or instrument score on the multi-witness/multi-instrument tier above this one.
No kinematic measurements - speed, acceleration, vector - are published in the released file with sufficient precision to score on the kinematic axis. The rubric does not infer kinematic anomaly from narrative observer estimates. Every file in the archive carries this value, which is itself an observation about the disclosure: kinematic-grade telemetry was not part of what was released.
A conventional candidate explanation has been considered but is not dispositive. Every file in the archive scores this way - reflecting that the underlying release metadata systematically caveats strong determinations in either direction. The released summaries warn against reading them as conclusive analytical judgments, and the rubric respects that.
Released as open after formal review by the originating agency. The file passed through a review process and was published in that posture - a stronger disposition signal than 'unresolved with no review,' because review has occurred and the open status is the agency's published conclusion.
Bottom line on the score: the Anomalousness Index of 56/100 reflects evidentiary weight that this specific file's encounter remains structurally unexplained by the rubric's six axes - it is not a claim that the underlying event involved anything non-conventional, and it is not comparable across rubrics that use different weights. For the full per-axis weights and the rubric JSON, see /methodology.
Related files in DoD
Other PURSUE files in the same category, ranked by Anomalousness Index.
DOW-UAP-PR024, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2023
DOW-UAP-PR072, "ADMINISTRATIVE REVISION: IIR 1777 J0032 22 Kazakhstan - UAP in the vicinit…
DOW-UAP-PR106, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2020
DOW-UAP-PR108, Unresolved UAP Report, Western United States, 2020
DOW-UAP-PR109, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2015
DOW-UAP-PR110, Unresolved UAP Report, Eastern United States, 2020
Verification
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