The Flying Saucers Are Real

Published, 1950.


THE FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL

by Donald Keyhoe

New York



To Helen,

with love

Donald E. Keyhoe, who relates here his investigation of the flying
saucers, writes with twenty-five years of experience in observing
aeronautical developments.

He is a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He flew in
active service with the Marine Corps, managed the tour of the historic
plane in which Bennett and Byrd made their North Pole flight, was aide
to Charles Lindbergh after the famous Paris flight, and was chief of
information for the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce.



Author's Note

ON APRIL 27, 1949, the U. S. Air Force stated:

"The mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects
necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of Project 'Saucer'
personnel, and on the part of the civilian population.

"Answers have been--and will be--drawn from such factors as guided
missile research activity, balloons, astronomical phenomena. . . . But
there are still question marks.

"Possibilities that the saucers are foreign aircraft have also been
considered. . . . But observations based on nuclear power plant
research in this country label as 'highly improbable' the existence on
Earth of engines small enough to have Powered the saucers.

"Intelligent life on Mars . . . is not impossible but is completely
unproven. The possibility of intelligent life on the Planet Venus is
not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers.

"The saucers are not jokes. Neither are they cause for alarm."
[1]

On December 27, 1949, the Air Force denied the existence of flying
saucers.[2]

On December 30, 1949, the Air Force revealed part of a secret Project
"Saucer" report to members of the press at Washington. The official
report stated:

"It will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual
did not see a space ship, an enemy missile, or some other object."

Discussing the motives of possible visitors from space, the report
also stated:

"Such a civilization might observe that on Earth we now have atomic
bombs and are fast developing rockets. In view of the past history of
mankind, they should be

[1. Project "Saucer" Preliminary Study of Flying Saucers.

2. Air Force Press Release 629-49.'

{p. 6}

alarmed. We should therefore expect at this time above all to behold
such visitations."

(In its April 22 report, Project "Saucer" stated that space travel
outside the solar system is almost a certainty.)

On February 22, 1950, the Air Force again denied the existence of
flying saucers. On this same date, two saucers reported above Key West
Naval Air Station were tracked by radar; they were described as
maneuvering at high speed fifty miles above the earth. The Air Force
refused to comment.

On March 9, 1950, a large metallic disk was pursued by F-51 and jet
fighters and observed by scores of Air Force officers at Wright Field,
Ohio. On March 18, an Air Force spokesman again denied that saucers
exist and specifically stated that they were not American guided
missiles or space-exploration devices.

I have carefully examined all Air Force saucer reports made in the
last three years. For the past year, I have taken part in a special
investigation of the flying-saucer riddle.

I believe that the Air Force statements, contradictory as they appear,
are part of an intricate program to prepare America--and the
world--for the secret of the disks.

{p. 7}



CHAPTER I

IT WAS A strange assignment.

I picked up the telegram from my desk and read it a third time.

NEW YORK, N. Y., MAY 9, 1949

HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY. FIRST TIP HINTED
GIGANTIC HOAX TO COVER UP OFFICIAL SECRET....