Project Blue Book Era Records (1955–1967) – PURSUE Files

1955 Blue Book correspondence, a file on the U.S.-Canadian “Avro Project Y2” saucer-shaped aircraft, and the 1966–67 O’Brien Committee review that led to the Condon study

⚠ Note on validity: These are administrative and engineering records. The Avro file is a reminder that real disc-shaped aircraft were being designed in the 1950s, and the O’Brien Committee simply recommended outside scientific review.

Blue Book era records
Agency	U.S. Air Force (Project Blue Book, Scientific Advisory Board)
Dates covered	1955 – 1967
Key items	Avro “Project Y2” VTOL file; Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project Blue Book
Released	Release 04 (July 10, 2026)
Files	3 (PDF)
Previously public?	Partly — the O’Brien Committee report has been public since 1966 and the Avrocar since 2001; these file copies and correspondence appear newly published
Official releaseHistorical

These three files from PURSUE Release 04 cover the middle and late years of Project Blue Book: 1955 correspondence between government departments, Congress and citizens about sightings and Blue Book’s work; a 1955 file on joint U.S.–Canadian vertical take-off aircraft, including the near-circular Avro “Project Y2”; and the 1966–67 deliberations of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board’s Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project Blue Book, chaired by physicist Brian O’Brien.^[1]

The records

DOW-UAP-D096, Correspondence Relating to Project Blue Book, 1955

Open DOW-UAP-D096 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file contains correspondence relating to Project Blue Book, a 1952-1969 U.S. Air Force program to investigate the nature and origin of unidentified flying objects (UFO). The correspondence includes letters and memoranda sent between various departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, the Legislative Branch, and private citizens concerning UFO sightings and the research and findings of Project Blue Book.
— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-D095, Joint U.S.-Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports, 1954-1955

Open DOW-UAP-D095 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file contains reports, memoranda, and correspondence concerning various then-developmental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The file includes assessments of the experimental potential of the “Avro Project Y2,” a joint U.S.-Canadian near-circular VTOL aircraft that is similar in appearance to contemporary popular descriptions of unidentified flying objects (UFO). A 1954 memorandum opines that VTOL aircraft with a circular planform may be mistaken for UFOs to observers unfamiliar with such technologies. It also recommends that UFO reports in the vicinity of Soviet military operations or assets be re-examined to assess whether they may be attributable to previously unknown advanced VTOL aircraft of foreign design.
The file also contains correspondence relating to a UFO incident involving a U.S. Air Force (USAF) KC-97 flying near Newfoundland, Canada in July 1955. A USAF committee found that the characteristics described in the report were inconsistent with those of known Soviet, American, or Canadian military systems. The committee was also “unable to explain the simultaneous ground radar returns and aircrew visual sightings.”
It also contains correspondence relating to the potential value of data from incidental radar collection of meteors entering the atmosphere. USAF Air Research and Development Command recommended using that data to improve the performance of the AN/FPS-17 radar system. Finally, the file contains correspondence indicating support for the Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) program, a joint U.S.-Canadian civil-military program to standardize reporting methods for unusual or unidentified airborne and maritime hazards and threats.
— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-D092, Department of the Air Force Committee to Review Project Bluebook, 1966-1967

Open DOW-UAP-D092 (PDF) on war.gov →

This file documents the 1966-1967 deliberations and recommendations of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Scientific Advisory Board’s Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project Blue Book. Project Blue Book was a 1952-1969 USAF program to investigate the nature and origin of unidentified flying objects (UFO). The Committee recommended that the USAF contract a scientific team composed of university-affiliated representatives to investigate selected UFO sightings. The USAF subsequently adopted the Committee’s recommendation.
— Official PURSUE description

Analysis

Avro Project Y2. Avro Canada’s secret 1950s saucer-shaped aircraft designs, which led to the U.S.-funded Avrocar (VZ-9) tested in 1959–1961, looked very much like popular descriptions of flying saucers. The Avrocar never flew higher than a few feet and was canceled, but its existence has long been cited by both skeptics, as an example of secret terrestrial saucers, and by believers, as evidence the military took saucer designs seriously.^[2]

The O’Brien Committee. The committee recommended that the Air Force contract university scientists to study selected sightings in depth. The Air Force agreed, leading to the University of Colorado project under Edward Condon, whose 1969 report concluded further study was unlikely to be fruitful and prompted Blue Book’s closure in December 1969.^[1]

New or previously released? Partly. The O’Brien report and Avrocar history are well known; these specific file copies and the 1955 correspondence appear newly published.

Released files

PURSUE ID	Title	Type
DOW-UAP-D096	Correspondence Relating to Project Blue Book, 1955	PDF
DOW-UAP-D095	Joint U.S.-Canadian Aviation Projects and UFO Sighting Reports, 1954-1955	PDF
DOW-UAP-D092	Department of the Air Force Committee to Review Project Bluebook, 1966-1967	PDF

References

^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 04 (July 10, 2026): DOW-UAP-D096, DOW-UAP-D095, DOW-UAP-D092, with official descriptions. war.gov/ufo.
^ Zuk, B. (2001). The Avro Arrow and Avrocar; U.S. Air Force National Museum, VZ-9 Avrocar history.

Source: U.S. Department of War, PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters), war.gov/ufo. Official records are U.S. government works in the public domain; summaries and analysis on this page are by UFO UAP Wiki.