ANATOMY OF A HOAX: 1947 - "We must have access to all discs", J. Edgar Hoover

After the Arnold sighting hit newspapers across the nation the ongoing problem of people seeing things in the skies multiplied. It did not begin with Arnold but he brought to national attention. A quick response from the military was that "most reports were hoaxes, mass hysteria, or drinking."

So - what were those hoaxes? How many were there? Who did them and what did they do?

The stories in FBI, Air Force and newspaper files of the pranksters and hoaxes are a small precent of the whole. The problem with accepting those labeled "hoaxes", "unreliable report", or "psychological" in the Project Blue Book files is there is a blind acceptance that the information is true and accurate. Given the early involvement of "military intelligence", "Office of Special Investigations (OSI)" and the secrecy and control created with the development of the Manhattan Project - truth took on a flexible meaning for many. Working beneath a "national security" flag they kept secrets within secrets within even more secrets. Many were doing what they thought was best for the safety of the country, others to safeguard information and developments that could save lives, and some - maybe more than some - for the power that control of the truth might provide.  So, simply sticking a label of hoax on a file may not mean it was anything of the sort. 

In 1947 - there were maybe eight pranks or hoaxes, most appear after the Roswell event but some before. They are clearly recognized as such. After July 8, however, and the Roswell event there are a number of "pranks" that appear to be almost planted objects. They bear unexplainable labels using the term "missile" (one favored for the unknown objects prior to Arnold), apparently fake claims to contact a Army depot in Seattle, and similarly "pranks" that seem to be trying too hard. 

At deeper look they appear to be an attempt to direct and control the way the "flying discs" and then the "flying saucers" are viewed by the public. The various "intelligence" groups at work may have been playing a little "misdirection" since the memos of the time indicate they considered something was real in the skies and they could not always identity what they were. So label hoaxes, hysteria and political troublemakers, instigate an attitude of humor about the things seen and the people seeing them, and the "problem" is contained. 

9 July 1947, post Roswell there are some news articles that claim death sentences and life imprisonment possible for sharing data about the discs. They cite 1917 espionage laws and the more recenet Atomic Energy Security laws. There was a emerging "clamp down" post Roswell.

That is something Ruppelt admits in his book of the mid-1950's; he call's it the military putting a lid on things. Late July newspapers will carry articles of sighting dropping as "Army and Nacy Crack down." 

So, criteria for this list. The "object" was under 3 feet in diameter, usually manmade by machining some metal (aluminum or something similar), cutting plywood, adding electronics (batteries, wires, fluorescent light elements, light, and in a few cases ceramic telephone or electric insulator parts, etc.) and in one case utilized an old large-scale circular saw blade (ouch!).  It was seldom thicker than a few inches, was sometimes concave, and sometimes had a wooden or metal "fin" or "rudder" type configuration. 

In one or two cases, there may have been a motor and an attempt to mimic a weird whirring whistle by adding a police type whistle to the motorized elements. Some were crude attempts to produce a remote-controlled object and more than one person sent that suggestion to the FBI, newspaper, and the Army Air Force. 

Since the early 1930's the concept of remote-control flying planes and racing vehicles had been a reality. It was hobby, with national "meets" (The Good old Days -The Birth of RC - Model Airplane News). It was a time of hobbyists and home workshops utilized by men and boys with sometimes warped concepts of humor. These "pranks" are seen and admitted to in several cases. More are clearly recognized by the police or FBI as pranks and jokes and they passed that information along to the "flyboys."

7 July 1947 - Shreveport, Louisiana. The New Orleans Office of the FBI was notified and investigated the story of an object that whizzed over the street in Shreveport about 6:05 p.m. The object was found in the street and was a described as an 18-inch machine made aluminum disc with electronic condensers and wires curling on one side. The local Police and the FBI were notified.  This made it into Project SIGN as Incident # 41. Turned out that a man nearby had made it to prank a man, name blacked out in files, who was listed as his employer. 

This may be the "flying disc" mentioned in the FBI telegram about Roswell. This disk was originally examined, briefly, deemed a "hoax" but passed on to the Army Intelligence. This may the object of a scribbled note on a memo dated 10 July 1947 in the FBI files (part 1). The note was by FBI head, John Edgar Hoover: 

The relevant section says the FBI would agree to cooperating with the AAF only if they had full access to discs recovered. "For instance in the LA case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for a cursory examination."

Later on, they will deem someone who has read books on UFO's, flying saucers, etc. or claimed to have seen one, an "unreliable witness."  Later, as psychological studies and outcomes are explored using this subject (as attested to in more than one AF report about passing on data to the psychological branch), reports will be classed "psychological."  In the post-Arnold and pre-Roswell rash of sightings there will be claims by military leaders of reports coming in only from the states were drinking is allowed...

Hoax is a word that can mean a simple and humorous joke, but it can also mean a malicious and intentional act to deceive. In the end, it might be that the hoaxers - the ones really attempting to intentionally deceive - were not the ones reporting but those collecting the reports under a guise of true investigation.