USNavy Report of Flying Discs 1948

This short file is a piece of the early Cold War reporting system for UFOs, then usually called “flying discs.” It is a cover letter dated 13 December 1948 from the Commandant of the Fifth Naval District, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, passing on to the commands under him a directive from the Chief of Naval Operations issued in November 1948.

What the order says

The quoted Navy directive explains its own origin: the U.S. Air Force’s Director of Intelligence had told the Navy that “a cycle of reappearance” of flying discs was becoming apparent and that a new wave was expected soon, and asked that sightings be reported quickly and investigated. The Navy therefore told all stations to report any sighting of flying discs or other unidentified aerial objects both to the closest Air Force command and to the district intelligence office, and to get photographs whenever possible.

District intelligence officers were to forward reports to the Chief of Naval Intelligence, who would pass them to Air Force intelligence by the fastest available means. The directive is signed by direction by Thos. B. Inglis, and the district’s letter by its chief of staff, R. C. Hudson. A stamp shows a copy reached the Army’s Office, Chief Army Field Forces.

Context

In 1948 the Air Force was the lead service for these reports, through Project Sign. The memo shows the Navy routing its sightings into that effort rather than running its own. The same month, Air Force intelligence produced the study in DOW-UAP-D093.