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i AF FORM 112—PART | APPROVED 1 JUNE 1948 “Tal ted States of America ” BAR-2679 “Op Sa A, EE AIR INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION/REPORT Investigation of Alleged "Mying Saucers" (CLASSIFICATION) AREA REPORTED ON FROM (Agency) Fort Worth, Texas Headquarters Eighth Air Force DATE OF REPORT DATE OF INFORMATION EVALUATION ef April 1950 9 = 21 April 1950 F-5 PREPARED BY (Officer) SOURCE Ira M. Maxey, and Major Dalton Smith Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 April 1950 REFERENCES (Control number, directive, previous ist etc., as applicable) Letter, SAC 31 January 1950, subject: "Reporting'of Information on Unconventional Aircraft" SUMMARY: (Enter concise summary of report. Give significance in final one-sentence paragraph. List inclosures at lower left. Begin tert of report on AF Form 112—Part II.) 1. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, published 18 April 1950, carried a front page picture captioned "Pictures Offer Proof ... Vet Sees Flying Objects in Sky and Photographs Them," The accompanying story told how an Ira M. Maxey saw strange "banana-shaped" aircraft flying through a thundercloud and photographed them. The picture and story received nationwide distribution by AP Wirephoto. 2. The report was investigated since it was the first known time that pictures purporting to be flying saucers had appeared in the public press, and -- if proven to be genuine -- the pictures have definite intelligence value, 4. An interview with Mr. Maxey revealed many discrepancies between his version of the incident and the story appearing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Mr, Maxey reports that he photographed a series of perpendicular streaks of light moving in formation across the sky. After developing the film, Mr. Maxey discovered that crescent-shaped objects, apparently trailing vapor trails or exhaust, appeared on the negatives on two of the four pictures taken. 4. A study of the negatives by photo technicians at this headquarters indicates that "objects" are abrasions or crimps on the negatives resulting from mishandling during or prior to the developing process, t i # é r 3 4 f oe P f i ‘et i! H ft i a pt OA ll gals | APFROVED: : r * V bisa Lt Colonel, USAF Director of Intelligence USAE Mano 2 7 b i : bleak dks, tar gip AkS WflEY: ee ie NOLS, l-Item in Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr 50 e~Picture 3-FPicture 4-Pi cture 5-Picture 6-Weather Report DISTRIBUTION BY ORIGINATOR Director of Intelligence Headquarters USAF \\ Washington, D. ¢. AN (duplicate) NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT, 50 U. S.C.— 31 AND 32, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANY MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. E D: STATES AIR FORCE AGENCIES, EXCEPT BY PERMISSION OF THE DIRECTOR OF IT MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART, BY OTHER THAN UNI INTELLIGENCE, USAF. Cy ———— 0) / / [ II \/ 4 pwvth F (CLASSIFICATION) 16—55569--1 U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Declassification Authority: NND 57565