Charleston, S.C., The News and Courier, July 9, morning, front page (long version)
Army's 'Captured' Disc Proves a Dud
New York Herald Tribune, Paris, July 10, front page (short version)
U.S. Air Forces 'Flying Saucer' Story Makes a Crash Landing
Wilmington, N.C., Morning Star, July 9, front page (short version)
Army Whips Up Saucer Flurry
However "Find" Finally Fizzles
---------------
Mysterious Disc Found on Farm Proves Altitude Weather Device
By the United Press
CHICAGO, July 8 (UP) [July 9 dateline in Paris] The Army Air Forces whipped up a flurry of excitement today with an announcement that one of the mysterious "flying saucers" had been found on a ranch in New Mexico--but it turned out to be part of an Army high-altitude weather observation device .
Colonel William H. Blanchard, commanding officer of the Roswell (N.M.)/New Mexico Army Air Base announced the discovery, describing the object as a "flying disc/ disk." Brig./Brigadeer Gen./General Roger B.[sic] Ramey, Fort Worth Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force, then announced the object would be flown to Wright Field, O./Ohio, for investigation .
The Army Air Forces in Washington quickly followed with a statement that Ramey had reported to headquarters that "an object" reported to be a "flying saucer" was being forwarded to Wright Field .
Hours after the first announcement, Warrant Officer Irving Newton, Stetsonville, Wis./Wisconsin, assigned to the weather station at the Fort Worth Air Base, examined the "flying disc." He identified it without qualification as a "Rawin/rawin high altitude sounding device." Mr. Newton said that four of the devices are released each day by every Army weather station in the nation .
The devices, which are composed of a 50-inch synthetic rubber balloon and star-like/a device that looks like a box kite, can attain a height of 60,000 to 70,000 feet and may drift to any place . [NY Herald Tribune short version ends here]
Ramey immediately arranged for a broadcast over a Fort Worth radio station to "deflate" the stories about the object .
He described it as remnants of a tin foil covered box kite and a rubber balloon. He said it was a high altitude weather observation device--a very normal gadget in weather bureau observation. He added that he didn't know anything about "flying discs."
In his statement, Blanchard specifically referred to the object as a "flying disc"--one of the mystery missiles which have been reported during recent weeks by hundreds of persons in the United States, Canada, and Mexico .
Ramey informed his Washington superiors that the object was "of very flimsy construction--almost like a box kite". He said it had been smashed and apparently was made with a cover of some kind of material like tinfoil .
Reports from Ramey, AAF spokesman in Washington, and Sheriff George Wilcox of Roswell indicated that the object, if reconstructed, would have a diameter of 25 feet, would be too flimsy in construction to carry any person, and apparently had no source of power or capacity of speed especially supersonic speeds attributed to the flying saucers .
An AAF spokesman said the object was found a couple of weeks ago by W. W. Brizell, at the Foster ranch at Corona, 75 miles northwest of Roswell .
Meanwhile, another "object", which local police termed as "obviously the work of a prankster", was found in Shreveport, La., last night. It was examined by police and the FBI and turned over to authorities at Barksdale army air field.
The object, police said, was a 16 inch aluminum disc equipped with two tubular radio condensers, a fluorescent light starter and some copper tubing. It was found near the business district by F. G. Harston, an auto salesman. Harston said he first heard the disc whirling through the air and then he saw it just as it landed in the middle of the street .
Police believed a prankster constructed the disc and threw it into the street from behind a billboard.
The formal army announcement of the discovery was the latest development in reports about the mystery missiles. Even as the announcement was made, persons spurred by reward offers, other branches of the army, the navy and the Civil Air patrol were awaiting an opportunity to capture some of the elusive discs.
The first claimant for the $3,000 in rewards for a flying saucer came from Lloyd Bennet, an Oelwein, Ia., salesman. He exhibited a shiny steel disc, about six and a half inches in diameter which he said he found in his yard this morning .
A newspaperman who examined the disc thought it was the bottom from a smoking stand .
At least a few residents in every state of the nation had reported discs in the air. Kansas, the last state to locate same, checked in today. It is sheer coincidence that Kansas is one of the few remaining dry states in the union .
The army air forces and ground forces and the navy were investigating but didn't know what .
At Washington, the army air forces said they were convinced that the flying discs were not new-type army rockets, space ships, or secret bacteriological weapons designed by some foreign powers.
A York, Neb., farmer claimed that he had seen burning straw hats in the sky. He said "they went across the sky for more than an hour and there must have been two dozen of them."
[remainder of story omitted]
