Officials Worried in '50s UFO Hysteria Might Disrupt U.S. Defenses

WASHINGTON (August 3, 1997 6:27 p.m. EDT) -- U.S. officials worried during the Cold War that the Soviets might try to disrupt America's air defense system or the government itself by orchestrating mass UFO sightings, says a historian who scrutinized CIA documents of the period.

Such concern prompted the Air Force and others to play down the UFO issue during the 1950s and to concoct false cover stories to explain sightings of alleged "flying saucers" that were really super-secret U.S. spy planes, according to an article last spring in a CIA journal.

The article by historian Gerald K. Haines said a CIA special study group worried in 1952 that "the Soviets could use UFO sightings to touch off mass hysteria and panic in the United States."

He said the U.S. spy agency also was concerned about the possibility that hysteria over UFO sightings might "overload the U.S. air warning system so that it could not distinguish real (military) targets from phantom UFOs" and provide the Soviets an advantage for a surprise attack.

He said a special panel studying the issue concluded that "potential enemies contemplating an attack on the United States might exploit the UFO phenomena and use them to disrupt U.S. air defenses," wrote Haines.

The article, entitled "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90" was published in the spring issue of Studies of Intelligence, a CIA journal. An unclassified version appeared recently on the Internet.

Haines is a historian at the National Reconnaissance Office, which monitors and interprets data from intelligence satellites.

Haines wrote that concerns about hysteria over alleged UFO sightings prompted creation by the CIA in 1953 of a special outside scientific panel to look into the security implications.

The panel headed by California Institute of Technology physicist H. P. Robertson, concluded unanimously that there was no credible evidence of UFOs from outer space, nor evidence of a direct national security threat.

But the panel "did find that continued emphasis on UFO reporting might threaten the orderly functioning of the government by clogging the channels of communication with irrelevant reports and by inducing hysterical mass behavior harmful to constituted authority," Haines wrote.

Before disbanding, the panel recommended that the National Security Council "debunk UFO reports and institute a policy of public education to reassure the public of the lack of evidence behind UFOs."

It also urged the use of the mass media, advertising, business clubs and "even the Disney Corporation to get the message across," wrote Haines. The article gave no indication what involvement had been suggested for the Disney entertainment organization.

But by 1956, the Air Force was able to attribute 96 percent of all UFO sightings to the high altitude U-2 and SR-71 intelligence gathering planes, Haines said. But it took care "not to reveal the true cause of the sightings to the public," linking them instead to "natural phenomena such as ice crystals and temperature inversions."

A U.S. Air Force spokesman said Sunday that he could not comment on the information without first seeing the report. As for using a cover story to conceal the existence of new aircraft, Maj. Ed Worley said he didn't know if this took place, but added, "We take extraordinary measures to protect our national resources."

The original U-2s had silver bodies reflecting the sun's rays and sometimes causing those on the ground to see fiery objects, Haines wrote. Eventually they were painted black, as were the SR-72 "Blackbirds" used after 1962.

Haines wrote that the CIA's monitoring of the UFO issue during the 1970s and 80s focused more on "counter-intelligence concerns." These included Soviet capability in UFO sightings and suspicion that Moscow might try to use American UFO groups to spy on the vulnerability of U.S. defense to foreign missiles disguised as UFOs.

By steadfastly concealing its interest in the matter, the agency itself "contributed to later charges of a CIA conspiracy and coverup," wrote Haines.