Civilian Saucer Investigations

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Civilian Saucer Investigations (CSI) was an independent unidentified flying object research group founded in Los Angeles, California in late 1951.

Unlike some of the amateurish "flying saucer clubs" of the era, CSI was comprised largely of people with considerable scientific and technical expertise, most notably rocket expert Walther Riedel and Ed J. Sullivan of North American Aviation.

Contents

[edit] History

CSI earned favorable mentions in mainstream media outlets like Time and Life magazines. In early 1952, Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, then head of Project Blue Book (the U.S. Air Force's UFO investigation project), met with the CSI leadership. He would later write[1]:

They turned out to be a well-meaning but Don Quixote-type group of individuals. As soon as they outlined their plans for attempting to solve the UFO riddle, it was obvious that they would fail. Project Blue Book had the entire Air Force, money, and enthusiasm behind it and we weren't getting any answers yet. All this group had was the enthusiasm.

Nonetheless, letters and notes in Ruppelt's personal files note that he considered collaborating with CSI, due to the high levels of training amongst its membership.

CSI was suspicious of contactees who claimed to be in regular contact with extraterrestrials, but stood apart from other groups by actively investigating close encounters of the third kind, where animate beings are alleged to be seen as part of UFO sightings.

They released a quarterly periodical, the CSI Bulletin; Jerome Clark[2] notes that their articles typically featured a sober, scientific tone.

In 1953, the group formally disbanded. The final issue of their periodical was devoted to their arguments in favor of the extraterrestrial hypothesis as the most plausible explanation for UFOs.

[edit] U.S. Government investigations of CSI

CSI was one of two UFO research groups named for survailence by the Robertson Panel, a scientific group under CIA direction.

According to American biochemist Michael D. Swords[3], CSI was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation almost immediately after its existence was publicized. Swords also cites circumstantial evidence to suggest that CSI was pressured by governmental agencies: the first CSI newsletter promised a detailed examination of increased Geiger counter readings associated with UFO encounters, yet the second newsletter did not feature this study, and mentioned it only briefly in a "vaguely worded"[4] paragraph. The third CSI bulletin declared that the group would "go on standby mode."

Riedel was pressured to resign from CSI.[5][6]

A declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum[7] dated February 9, 1953 wrote:

What was somewhat surprising to the writer was the exhaustiveness with which these [UFO] investigations are being made. Not only are very careful calculations made, if the data exists, to check the possibility of the report being physically possible (e.g., in terms of lines of sight), but the individual reporting the sighting is investigated privately at his place of residence to establish a general background of reliability and credibility. Of the 25% [of UFO reports] investigated, perhaps 25 or so sightings have been established as "reliable" in the sense that no known existing explanation exists for them. Apparently, most of these have been forwarded to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, although there appears to be a time lag of some duration while CSI is making its own check and calculations. Dr. Riedel's description of one reported sighting by a TWA pilot and crew, and the follow-up with respect to it, was impressive to the writer in the thought applied, the pains taken, and the very careful application of scientific method.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ruppelt, Edward J. [http://www.nicap.org/rufo/contents.htm The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, 1956
  2. ^ Clark, Jerome, The UFO Encyclopedia: 2nd Edition; Volume 1, A-K; Omnigraphics, Inc, 1998, ISBN 0-7808-0097-4
  3. ^ Swords, Michael D., "UFOs, the Military and the Early Cold War" in UFOs & Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge, David M. Jacobs, editor, University Press of Kansas, 2000, ISBN 0-7006-1032-4
  4. ^ Swords, 2000
  5. ^ Swords, 2000
  6. ^ http://www.project1947.com/shg/csi/csicia.html
  7. ^ http://www.project1947.com/shg/csi/csicia.html

[edit] External links

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