Evening star., 1947-07-09
AAF Is Embarrassed;
It's Flying Disc Is but
Weather Balloon

The faces of q number of Army
Air Forces officers were slightly red
today. like some Of the flying
saucers" reported to be skittering
about the heavens.
An apparently authentic account
from an AAF base at Roswell Field,
n. NJ, of the recovery of a mysteri-
ous aerial disc created international
excitement for several hours yes
terday until the object was identi-
fed as harmless high altitude
weather balloon.
Information specialists at the
pentagon worked far into the night,
and the small switchboard at Ros-
well was flooded with frantic in
uuiries from all over the United
States and as far off as London
while officers at Roswell "sweated
out" their problem.
The object in question, a twisted
mass of tinfoil, broken spars and
rubber skin, presented a mystery at
first. even to veteran airmen based
near the rocket launching sites at
White Sands, the first proving
ground of the atomic bomb, and
BIG crew training in atomic war
fare.
Rumors Become Reality"
The first bulletins" flashed over
the wires when a public information
lieutenant at Roswell released this
statement:
The many rumorS regarding the
flying disc became reality when
the intelligence Office of the 509th
IAtomic) Bomb Group of the Eighth
Air Force, Roswell Field, was for
tunate enough to gain possession OF
disc through the cooperation OF
one of the local rancherS and the
sheriff's Office of Chaves County"
This was enough to set the lines
of communication humming over a
Nation a bit jittery from rumors
practical jokes and speculation on
"secret weapons" This state OF
mind was typified locally in discov-
cry by an Arlington woman OF a
disc "contrsption" in her back yard
last night, and the unverified report
of falling airplane' or big ball
of fire" from Prince Georges County
during the afternoon.
The lieutenant at Roswell, which
is 100 miles from the White Sands
proving grounds and not much fur
ther from the site of the first atomic
bomb test, went on to say that the
flying object landed on ranch near
Roswell sometime last week
General Goes on Air.
Excitement was high until Brig.
Gen. Roger M. Ramey, commander
OF the 9th Air Force, went on the
air and explained the object had
been identified by weather officer
at Fort Worth, Tex. as the crushed
remains of a ray wind target used
to determine the velocity and direc-
tion of winds at high attitudes.
similar remains turned UP in Ohio
and other States in the last few days.
Meanwhile, Mrs. James w. Dorsey
Ol lou 1NOl III 6dSCWOOo oUl CSu. viz
wife of an Interstate Commerce
Commission examiner, found a
disc contraption' in her backyard
about o'clock last night.
Mrs Dorsey said she was uncer-
tain if the object was a practical
joke or had fallen there from the
sky. 1t was discovered to be made
of a bushel basket top covered with
paper and painted black. Hanging
onto it by wire was a roll OF
cotton bound in tar tape.
Earlier, at least 10 persons living
near Sixty-sixth street and Walker
Mill road, Prince Georges County,
reported seeing "a big ball OF flame
falling in the vicinity. They be-
lieved it to be a burning airplane.
The Army sent out spotter planes
from nearby airfields and police and
firemen conducted a search on foot
without discovering the source OF the
report. One report was that the
smoke and fire might have come
from locomotive on nearby tracks.