UFO Sighting Questionnaire
12/31/1952
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Project Bluebook was the codename for the most well known of the U.S. Air Force's investigations into UFOs. During the Cold War in 1952, fearful that the objects might be secret weapons by the Soviet Union, the Federal Government established Project Blue Book to collect and evaluate UFO data.
Although officials were generally confident that the objects were simply known objects that couldn't 100% be identified, they didn't rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial phenomena. This omission led some members of the public to believe UFOs were signs of extraterrestrial life. As a result, civilians made tens of thousands of reports to Project Blue Book personnel claiming to have seen a UFO.
When civilians reported UFO sightings to the Air Force, they were given this packet to complete, asking them questions about what they saw. People were asked to record information such as where they were when they saw the object, how the object moved across the sky, and what the object sounded like. They were even given space to draw a picture of the object as best they could.
In 1968, the University of Colorado UFO Project, better known as the Condon Committee, released a report claiming that very little of substance had come from the Air Force’s study of UFOs. The committee argued that continued study of UFO sightings was unwarranted and called for Project Blue Book to be discontinued. The Air Force issued a termination order for the study in December 1969, and all activity officially ceased in January 1970.
This questionnaire was included in a Project Blue Book status report.
Although officials were generally confident that the objects were simply known objects that couldn't 100% be identified, they didn't rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial phenomena. This omission led some members of the public to believe UFOs were signs of extraterrestrial life. As a result, civilians made tens of thousands of reports to Project Blue Book personnel claiming to have seen a UFO.
When civilians reported UFO sightings to the Air Force, they were given this packet to complete, asking them questions about what they saw. People were asked to record information such as where they were when they saw the object, how the object moved across the sky, and what the object sounded like. They were even given space to draw a picture of the object as best they could.
In 1968, the University of Colorado UFO Project, better known as the Condon Committee, released a report claiming that very little of substance had come from the Air Force’s study of UFOs. The committee argued that continued study of UFO sightings was unwarranted and called for Project Blue Book to be discontinued. The Air Force issued a termination order for the study in December 1969, and all activity officially ceased in January 1970.
This questionnaire was included in a Project Blue Book status report.
This primary source comes from the Records of Headquarters U.S. Air Force (Air Staff).
National Archives Identifier: 595507
Full Citation: UFO Sighting Questionnaire from Project Blue Book Status Report Number Eight; 12/31/1952; Status Reports and Special Reports; Project Blue Book Administrative Files, 1947 - 1969; Records of Headquarters U.S. Air Force (Air Staff), Record Group 341; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ufo-questionnaire, March 28, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.