Project Blue Book: What did the US conclude about UFOs?

Unexplained Mysteries

In the summer of 1947, a civilian pilot called Kenneth Arnold reported that whilst flying his small plane, he had seen nine objects moving at tremendous speeds across the skies of Washington’s Mount Rainier. These reports were widely publicized and were corroborated by several people.

This led to the US Air Force opening an investigation under the name of Operation Sign in 1948. However, this was not enough, and four years later the operation was converted into a Project named Blue Book in 1952.

Project Blue Book became the longest-running inquiry by the US for UFO sightings, compiling more than 12,000 sighting reports. It lasted 17 years from 1952 to 1969. 

Early Sights of UFOs

Despite there being many reports of UFOs, supernatural phenomena, angels, phantoms, and spirits for many centuries, it was only really after World War II and the advance in rocket science that marked a new interest and obsession with space. Initially, visitors to another planet were aptly named unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

The first report of a UFO sighting officially happened in June 1947 when Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine objects that glowed bright blue and white in a V formation above Mount Rainer. He claimed that they were flying at speeds upwards of 1,700 mph.

1947 newspaper report of the Kenneth Arnold sighting using the phrase “flying saucer” (Chicago Sun / Public Domain)