What the FBI Record Says About Roswell

Introduction

The FBI records connected to Roswell are among the most frequently cited official documents in the debate over the 1947 flying disc announcement. The most important FBI document is a Dallas Field Office teletype dated 8 July 1947, the same day the Roswell Army Air Field announcement was publicly reversed. The record shows that FBI officials were informed of a reported “flying disc” recovery near Roswell, but it also records information suggesting the object resembled a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

The document is significant because it captures the confusion of the announcement reversal as it happened: officials were exchanging information while newspapers and broadcasters were attempting to obtain details. At the same time, the FBI record does not document an independent FBI investigation, recovered extraterrestrial material, or evidence that the Bureau verified a non-human spacecraft explanation.[FBI]fbi.govufos and the guy hottel memoUFOs and the Guy Hottel Memo — FBIMarch 25, 2013…Published: March 25, 2013

The FBI communication details

The 8 July 1947 Dallas teletype

The central FBI Roswell document is a short teletype sent from the FBI Dallas Field Office to the Bureau director and other offices on 8 July 1947. It reported that Eighth Air Force headquarters had advised the Dallas office that an object described as a flying disc had been recovered near Roswell, New Mexico. The message stated that the object was “hexagonal in shape” and suspended from a balloon by a cable, while also noting that it resembled a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

The communication also recorded that the object and balloon were being transported to Wright Field, Ohio, for examination. It noted that information was being passed along because of the national attention surrounding flying disc reports and because news organisations were attempting to obtain the story. The final lines indicated that no further FBI investigation was being conducted at that point.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

This makes the teletype valuable as a snapshot of official communication during the rapidly changing public narrative. It does not show the FBI reaching a conclusion about the nature of the object; instead, it shows officials relaying information received from military sources while awaiting further examination.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

The FBI’s wider flying disc records

The Roswell teletype was part of a broader set of FBI files concerning flying disc reports during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The FBI has explained that it received reports of unexplained objects after the 1947 wave of sightings and, for a period, worked with the Air Force on some UFO-related matters.[FBI]vault.fbi.gov— Federal Bureau of InvestigationFBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation…

This wider record is important because it places the Roswell communication in its contemporary setting. In 1947, flying disc reports were being treated as a national information issue rather than as a single isolated event. The FBI’s role was primarily to receive, document, and sometimes assist with reports rather than to operate a dedicated UFO investigation programme.[FBI]vault.fbi.gov— Federal Bureau of InvestigationFBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation…

What the record confirms

The FBI document confirms several points about the official response in July 1947:

• Military officials were discussing a recovered object near Roswell. The FBI was informed that Eighth Air Force personnel had reported the recovery of an object described as a flying disc.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947
• The weather balloon explanation appeared in official communications immediately. The same message that mentioned a flying disc also described the object as resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947
• The matter was considered newsworthy at the time. The teletype refers to national interest and efforts by major news organisations to obtain information about the discovery.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947
• The FBI did not record a verified extraordinary discovery. The available FBI material does not contain evidence that the Bureau examined alien bodies, recovered spacecraft materials, or confirmed an extraterrestrial explanation. The FBI itself has stated that later claims connecting other FBI documents to proof of a Roswell UFO crash were incorrect.[FBI]fbi.govufos and the guy hottel memoUFOs and the Guy Hottel Memo — FBIMarch 25, 2013…Published: March 25, 2013

The document therefore occupies a middle ground in the Roswell debate. It is stronger evidence than later rumours because it is a contemporary government record, but its contents are limited: it records what officials were told, not a final scientific determination about the object.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

Limits of the document

The main limitation of the FBI Roswell record is that it is an information relay, not an investigation report. The Bureau did not independently inspect the debris described in the message, and the teletype does not contain photographs, laboratory results, witness interviews, or technical analysis from Wright Field.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

A separate FBI document often discussed alongside Roswell is the 1950 Guy Hottel memo, which described a claimed flying saucer recovery. However, that memo was created almost three years after the Roswell events, and the FBI has stated that it was not evidence of a Roswell crash or verified UFO recovery. The Bureau characterised it as an unverified report rather than a confirmed finding.[FBI]fbi.govufos and the guy hottel memoUFOs and the Guy Hottel Memo — FBIMarch 25, 2013…Published: March 25, 2013

Later official reviews also found no Project Blue Book documentation establishing that the Air Force’s UFO investigation records contained evidence of an extraterrestrial craft from Roswell. The National Archives notes that Project Blue Book records do not contain documentation discussing the 1947 Roswell incident and references later Air Force reviews of the case.[National Archives]archives.govNational Archives Project BLUE BOOKNational ArchivesProject BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects | National ArchivesJune 25, 2024…Published: June 25, 2024

The lasting importance of the FBI record is therefore not that it proves one interpretation of Roswell, but that it preserves a contemporary view of the uncertainty surrounding the announcement reversal. It shows that officials were dealing with a reported “flying disc” while simultaneously circulating a conventional explanation involving balloon equipment, capturing the administrative confusion that helped make the Roswell case historically significant.[Ufologie]ufologie.patrickgross.orgUFOS at close sight: Roswell 1947, declassified official documents, FBI memo of July 8, 1947July 8, 1947…Published: July 8, 1947

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Endnotes

1. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: — Federal Bureau of Investigation
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=Unexplained+Phenomenon

2. Source: fbi.gov
Title: ufos and the guy hottel memo
Link:https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ufos-and-the-guy-hottel-memo

Published: March 25, 2013

3. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: — Federal Bureau of Investigation
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=ufos

4. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: — Federal Bureau of Investigation
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=UFOS&b_start%3Aint=0

5. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: — Federal Bureau of Investigation
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=Guy+Hottel

6. Source: archives.gov
Title: National Archives Project BLUE BOOK
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos

Published: June 25, 2024

7. Source: archives.gov
Title: Do Records Show Proof of UFOs?
Link:https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/do-records-show-proof-of-ufos

Published: February 9, 2018

8. Source: unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov
Title: the roswell reports what crashed in the desert
Link:https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2014/07/07/the-roswell-reports-what-crashed-in-the-desert/

9. Source: archives.fbi.gov
Title: ufos 040610
Link:https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2010/april/ufos_040610

10. Source: fbi.gov
Link:https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/inside-the-fbi-ufos-102921.mp4/view

11. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=ufo

12. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=Roswell+UFO

13. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/unexplained-phenomenon//search

14. Source: ufologie.patrickgross.org
Link:https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/rw/f/fbimemo01.htm

Published: July 8, 1947

15. Source: abcnews.go.com
Link:https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fbi-vault-reveals-ufo-roswell-files/story?id=13347754

16. Source: ufology.patrickgross.org
Link:https://ufology.patrickgross.org/rw/f/fbimemo02.htm

Additional References

17. Source: atlasobscura.com
Title: The Most Viewed File in the FBI’s Vault Has Nothing to Do With Roswell
Link:https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-most-viewed-file-in-the-fbis-vault-has-nothing-to-do-with-roswell

Published: January 5, 2016

18. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdThIO-a_D8

Published: July 8, 1947

19. Source: ufotransparency.com
Title: 65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 serial 130
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/65-hs1-834228961-62-hq-83894-serial-130

Published: May 8, 2026

20. Source: youtube.com
Title: The Roswell Incident Mystery Finally Solved
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz0vYcc4KiI

21. Source: gutenberg.org
Link:https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/25706/pg25706-images.html

22. Source: gutenberg.org
Link:https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25706/25706-h/25706-h.htm

23. Source: gutenberg.org
Link:https://gutenberg.org/files/63659/63659-h/63659-h.htm

24. Source: nypl.org
Link:https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b21579018

25. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uSqM7X_Fr0

Published: July 8, 1947

26. Source: standard.net
Title: What did FBI say about Roswell ‘flying saucers IJ’ | News, Sports, Jobs
Link:https://www.standard.net/uncategorized/2013/mar/29/what-did-fbi-say-about-roswell-flying-saucersij/