Within The 509 th Bombardment
Who Approved Roswell's Flying Disc Release?
Colonel William Blanchard commanded the base and group, but the surviving record leaves important questions about how the release was approved.
On this page
- Blanchard's command authority at Roswell
- What is known about the release approval
- What his temporary absence does and does not prove
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Introduction
Colonel William H. Blanchard occupied the pivotal command position when Roswell Army Air Field issued its famous 8 July 1947 announcement that the 509th Bombardment Group had recovered a “flying disc”. Although his authority over the base is not in dispute, the surviving historical record does not conclusively document the precise decision-making process that led to the release. What is well established is that the statement originated from his command, that public information officer First Lieutenant Walter Haut distributed it on his authority, and that higher headquarters reversed the announcement within hours by identifying the recovered material as a balloon and radar reflector. The central historical question is therefore not whether Blanchard was responsible for the command under which the release was issued, but how much he personally knew, approved and intended when authorising one of the most famous military press statements in modern history.[HISTORY]history.comroswell ufo aliens what happenedWhat Really Happened at Roswell? | HISTORYDecember 18, 2019…
Blanchard’s command authority at Roswell
In July 1947, William H. Blanchard commanded Roswell Army Air Field and the 509th Bombardment Group, then the United States’ only operational atomic-capable bombardment group. As base commander, he had authority over intelligence activities, public information and communications leaving the installation. Consequently, the press release cannot be understood as an unauthorised act by junior personnel. It emerged from the base command structure for which Blanchard was ultimately responsible.[HISTORY]history.comroswell ufo aliens what happenedWhat Really Happened at Roswell? | HISTORYDecember 18, 2019…
The sequence reconstructed from contemporary accounts is broadly consistent across historical sources. Rancher W. W. “Mac” Brazel reported unusual debris through Sheriff George Wilcox. Intelligence officer Major Jesse Marcel investigated and recovered material. The information reached Blanchard, after which public information officer Walter Haut prepared and released the now-famous statement announcing possession of a “flying disc”. Within hours, Brigadier General Roger Ramey at Eighth Air Force headquarters in Fort Worth publicly replaced that account with the balloon explanation.[history.com]history.comroswell ufo aliens what happenedWhat Really Happened at Roswell? | HISTORYDecember 18, 2019…
This chain of events shows that Blanchard stood at the key junction between the intelligence officers examining the debris and the public announcement that followed. It does not, however, establish exactly what assessment he had received regarding the material before approving publicity.
What is known about the release approval
The strongest evidence that Blanchard authorised the announcement comes from Walter Haut, whose role was to communicate official information rather than formulate policy independently. In later interviews, Haut consistently stated that he issued the press release because Blanchard instructed him to do so. The wording itself presented the recovery of a “flying disc” as an accomplished fact rather than as an unverified possibility, making the announcement unusually categorical for a military public information release.[PRWeek]prweek.comANALYSIS: History of PRANALYSIS: History of PR - UFO euphoria invades Roswell for 52 years/THE POWER OF PR/A press release fuels the fire over the existen…
Even so, historians distinguish between two separate questions:
- Whether Blanchard authorised the release. The available evidence strongly supports this.
- Why he authorised it. The surviving documentary record does not provide a definitive answer.
Several possibilities have been proposed over the decades. Some writers argue that Blanchard believed the intelligence officers had genuinely recovered something unlike any conventional aircraft debris they recognised. Others suggest he may have expected higher headquarters to review the matter before widespread publication, while another interpretation is that the release reflected confusion during the intense “flying saucer” wave of summer 1947 rather than a carefully considered institutional conclusion. None of these explanations can presently be demonstrated conclusively from surviving official records.[Theories of Anything]theoriesofanything.comOpen source on theoriesofanything.com.
Importantly, there is no surviving written order from Blanchard explaining his reasoning, nor has any authenticated memorandum been found describing the internal discussion that preceded the release.
What his temporary absence does and does not prove
One frequently discussed detail is that Blanchard was reportedly away from Roswell Army Air Field for part of the day after the announcement had been issued. This has sometimes been interpreted as evidence that he neither supervised nor fully understood the release.
The available evidence does not support such a strong conclusion.
Being temporarily absent after authorising a statement is not unusual for a base commander and does not imply that subordinates acted without authority. The more important point is that the release had already been issued through the command chain before higher headquarters intervened. Whether Blanchard remained physically present during the rapidly developing media response has little bearing on whether the decision originated under his command.[Apeirron]apeirron.comThe Roswell Incident — ApeirronThe Roswell Incident — Apeirron…
At the same time, his absence also cannot be used to demonstrate that others independently chose the wording or that he had no responsibility for it. The evidence simply does not support either extreme interpretation.
Why the decision remains historically uncertain
The enduring uncertainty arises because the documentary trail is incomplete.
Several factors complicate reconstruction of the approval process:
- No contemporaneous explanation by Blanchard survives describing why he believed the release was justified.
- Later recollections by participants were recorded decades after the event and sometimes differ in important details.
- Official attention shifted almost immediately to General Roger Ramey’s balloon explanation, leaving little documentation of internal discussion at Roswell itself.
- Later Air Force investigations focused primarily on identifying the recovered material—ultimately attributing it to Project Mogul—rather than reconstructing the precise internal approval process behind the original press release.[Theories of Anything]theoriesofanything.comOpen source on theoriesofanything.com.
These gaps explain why historians generally distinguish carefully between established facts and later speculation. The existence of the release, Blanchard’s command position and Haut’s role are well documented. The motivations behind the decision remain less certain.
Assessing Blanchard’s responsibility
A balanced historical assessment separates command responsibility from broader claims about the Roswell incident.
The available evidence supports several conclusions with reasonable confidence:
- Blanchard was the commanding officer responsible for Roswell Army Air Field and the 509th Bombardment Group.
- The “flying disc” announcement was issued through his command.
- Walter Haut stated that he released the announcement under Blanchard’s instructions.
- Higher headquarters rapidly superseded the announcement with the balloon explanation.
Beyond those points, the evidence becomes increasingly uncertain. The surviving record does not demonstrate that Blanchard knowingly announced the recovery of an extraterrestrial craft, nor does it prove that he intentionally disseminated false information. Likewise, there is no documentary evidence showing that the press release was issued without his approval.
For that reason, Blanchard’s historical significance lies less in resolving what the Roswell debris actually was than in explaining how one of the most consequential military press releases of the twentieth century emerged from the command of the 509th Bombardment Group before being publicly reversed only hours later.[history.com]history.comroswell ufo aliens what happenedWhat Really Happened at Roswell? | HISTORYDecember 18, 2019…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: history.com
Title: roswell ufo aliens what happened
Link:https://www.history.com/articles/roswell-ufo-aliens-what-happened
Source snippet
What Really Happened at Roswell? | HISTORYDecember 18, 2019...
Published: December 18, 2019
2.
Source: prweek.com
Title: ANALYSIS: History of PR
Link:https://www.prweek.com/article/1232280/analysis-history-pr-ufo-euphoria-invades-roswell-52-years-the-power-pr-a-press-release-fuels-fire-existence-flying-saucers-sherri-deatherage-green
Source snippet
ANALYSIS: History of PR - UFO euphoria invades Roswell for 52 years/THE POWER OF PR/A press release fuels the fire over the existen...
3.
Source: apeirron.com
Title: The Roswell Incident — Apeirron
Link:https://www.apeirron.com/node/roswell
Source snippet
The Roswell Incident — Apeirron...
4.
Source: time.com
Title: DI D ALIENS REALLY LAND?
Link:https://time.com/archive/6731010/did-aliens-really-land/
5.
Source: theoriesofanything.com
Link:https://theoriesofanything.com/research/roswell-incident-historical-analysis
6.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Roswell incident
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_incident
7.
Source: decur.org
Title: Roswell Incident
Link:https://decur.org/cases/roswell-1947
8.
Source: qsl.net
Link:https://www.qsl.net/w5www/roswell.html
Additional References
9.
Source: fbi.gov
Title: laboratory statement on ames ii technical report
Link:https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-laboratory-statement-on-ames-ii-technical-report
Source snippet
April 21, 2026 — FBI LABORATORY STATEMENT ON AMES II TECHNICAL REPORT NEWS * Stories * News Blog * Press Releases * Podcasts * Videos...
Published: April 21, 2026
10.
Source: disclosurearchives.com
Title: fbi flying disc master file 1947 1968
Link:https://disclosurearchives.com/events/fbi-flying-disc-master-file
Source snippet
FBI 62-HQ-83894: the master 'flying disc' file, 1947–1968 · [Disclosure]({{ 'disclosure/' | relative_url }}) ArchivesMay 8, 2026 — Document Release Records: 1947–1968 · Releas...
Published: May 8, 2026
11.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Truth about Roswell: Decoding Decades of Deception
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rih9-80p0Ec
Source snippet
William Blanchard Roswell flying disc press release 1947 The Roswell Press release and Colonel William Blanchard! #roswell...
12.
Source: newspaceeconomy.ca
Title: The release stated th
Link:https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2025/12/07/roswell-a-skeptical-inquiry-into-the-modern-myth/
Source snippet
Roswell: A Skeptical Inquiry into the Modern Myth | New Space EconomyDecember 7, 2025 — THE FLYING DISC PRESS RELEASE AND PANIC On July 8...
Published: December 7, 2025
13.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4AxRTzASxE
Source snippet
The Truth about Roswell: Decoding Decades of Deception...
14.
Source: youtube.com
Title: What Really Crashed at Roswell? The Declassified Answer
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn6qkPHRB7Y
Source snippet
UFO Roswell Incident (Full Episode) | Undercover History Updates | National Geographic...
15.
Source: nsa.gov
Link:https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/FOIA-Reports-and-Releases/FOIA-Reports-and-Releases-List/igphoto/2002761373/
16.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOZn8XWbbI
Source snippet
What Really Crashed at Roswell? The Declassified Answer...
17.
Source: ufofiles.net
Title: “Mac” Brazel,
Link:https://ufofiles.net/historic-cases/roswell-1947-the-recovery-the-press-release-the-walk-back-and-the-fight-over-what-really-landed-in-new-mexico/
Source snippet
Roswell 1947: the recovery, the press release, the walk-back, and the fight over what really landed in New Mexico - The UFO FilesOctober...
18.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odUSnDgU-oo
Source snippet
Roswell 1947: The Crash the Army Announced, Then Took Back...