Little Issues :Roswell Report Case Closed?

Scanning through my books I happened on my copy of this "Case Closed" book on Roswell. I thumbed through, stopping to read notes made, and reminding myself of previous research. 

Page 40, "High Altitude Polyethylene Research Balloons"

The author for the Air Force was Captain James McAndrew, and in this section he writes that in 1946, Charles B. Moore was "a graduate student working under contract for the U.S. Army Air Force."

Since Moore's biography states he graduated with a B.A. in 1947, I was interested in how he could be a graduate student the year before.

The author then also states "Polyethylene balloons, first produced in 1947 for Project Mogul..." with the inference they were used on the alleged "lost flight # 4" that allegedly landed on a ranch north of Roswell.

Yet according to the interview with Moore in the government report - those polyethylene balloons did not arrive until the last week of June 1947 - too late to fit the alleged flight # 4 scenario. Indeed, on arrival Moore and  his team had to use regular neoprene metrological balloons that were no different than the balloons regularly sent up from Air field and military bases regularly all over the country.  When Irving Newton was called into the offices in Ft. Worth to identify the debris they had spread out there he had no trouble identifying any of it. He said it was a balloon and a RAWIN target. There was nothing top secret or classified or innovative in any manner. Thus, the puzzled look on the face of Marcel in some of the images. 

Later definition would infer that the "black box" component would have been the only odd and classified element of the entire configuration. Nothing on the floor was anything not already seen and sent aloft from Roswell and nearly every other military base or weather station.

Of course, the whole acceptance of the Test # 4 flight being the "Roswell Incident" source ignores the fact that a team member, Albert Crary, indicated the flight never lifted. The next one was found and that could not be it nor others all accounted for. (See previous entry on Roswell and the interviews in Fact vs Fiction in the New Mexico Desert).

The whole question of the RAWIN (Radar Wind) target device is also a little sketchy and contradictory. Its presence and public identity is made plain in photos from the time of Roswell (see the young woman holding one in the photo from Ohio. It had a reward attached to it as well.). On the one hand the military wanted to convey the idea the target was the unusual aspect, at another the balloon, and at another some other element entirely. It was if the story was - evolving.  A January 1947 scholarly article in Engineering and Science Monthly by Patrick J. Harney clearly defines "RAWIN" as a term designated by the services to define information about winds aloft by electronic means. He further stated it referenced a balloon borne target with or without a radiosonde attachment. So, clearly, the term was in common weather worth use in January of 1947 and infers its use earlier.  The use of weather balloons - even the plastic coating or material of such - was common fodder of small news filler pieces from 1941 and forward.

Oddly, for such a top secret project coming out of Alamogordo. Local New Mexico newspapers were soon flooded with claims that they were responsible for the rash of "flying saucer" sightings across the country. When in truth a map of weather stations and air currents seems to contradict that claim too. See some fascinating images that did not seem to get picked up and carried as widely as one might have thought they would have been (Alamogordo_July9a (roswellproof.com)).  A widespread move by the military to debunk the flying saucers as weather balloons meant many bases and posts held demonstrations (in Oklahoma one such event was held in August of 1947 at Tinker Air Field) "militarydebunk (roswellproof.com).

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See this article for the common view. Note the inference that the Roswell balloon was poly or mylar coated. Roswell UFO ‘Strange Metal’ Mystery | Skeptical Inquirer

Link to copy of Fact Vs Fiction in the New Mexico Desert is here - /tardir/mig/a326148.tiff (dtic.mil)

ROSWELL: PLAYING FAST AND LOOSE WITH FACTS - STILL

 I was researching and ran across the History Channel page on Roswell and found in bold red print this nugget:

"Did you know? The Project Mogul team invented a number of high-tech materials for its balloons and other equipment, including ultra-lightweight and ultra-strong metals, fiber-optic cables and fireproof fabrics. This is part of the reason why some people who saw the debris thought it came from outer space: It didn’t look or behave like anything they’d ever seen. Many of these materials are still in use today." Source: Roswell - New Mexico, Alien & UFOs - HISTORY

I found this fascinating because if you explore the original reports, the Air Force interviews for their first exposé on Roswell the principal players admit there was nothing out of the ordinary with anything used in those early Mogul flights. Charles Moore states they did not even change from the common neoprene balloon to the plasticized version until after the end of June 1947! Since most sites float the Flight #4 as the Roswell debris, the debris would have been parts of a neoprene balloon. Those flights used primarily linen strings and cords as well. The fireproofing, according to Moore, was applying a layer of Elmer's glue-like substance to various parts.

Read all about Mogul here pt05a.pdf (smu.edu)

Charles E Moore shown here with reflector from a weather balloon such those used in Mogul

"Based on the above, it appeared likely that the debris found by the rancher and was subsequently identified as a ”flying disc” by personnel from Roswell AAF was, with a great degree of certainty, MOGUL flight no. 4, launched on June 4, 1947. " ---Roswell: Fact vs Fiction

"June 4 Wed. Out to Tularosa Range and fired charges between 00 and 06 this am. No balloon flights again on account of clouds. Flew regular SO"O buoy up in cluster of balloons and had good luck on receiver on ground but poor on plane. Out tith Thompson pm. Shot charges from 1800 to 2400.

 June 5 Thurs. Up at 4 to shoot 2 charges for balloon flight. Whole assembly of constantaltitude balloons set up at 0500. Fired charges at 0537 and 0552, the" ~00" buzzed by plane 1947 11 to return. Receiver at plane did not work at all. Ground receiver worked for a short time but did not receive explosions. B-17 and most of personnel out to Roswell - recovered equipment some 25 mi east of Roswell. [my emphasis] Out at 10 this morning, sot TKI and went out to range. " ---NYU/Mogul Balloon, Crary Diary, 1947 

So, from these sources it is shown that flight #4 lifted June 4 (according to the Air Force report and Moore's comments), but is listed as having an unknown landing site in one source and in Crary's diary it is clearly stated no lifts were made due to cloud coverage.

One thing the work of Project Blue Book discovered was that most people - read leaders, administrators, government officials, reporters - and so they read the summary, they consume the pre-digested information and accept as fact all the summary presents under a guise of logical, objective, rational, and unbiased information. 

When the Condon Committee prepared their reports in the late 1960's, head of the project Condon was already preparing his summary based on the biases he held or had been told to hold. Much of his summary was in opposition to the conclusions of his committee members. Most people read just the summary and accepted those conclusions as facts. Just the way the reports in the Blue Book Project had often made conclusions that witnesses statements contradicted, the Condon report and so many others, saw this flaw in human beings and utilized it to push forward an agenda. 

1947 Hoax - File Mentions "Mogul"

The FBI snagged this one first and then forwarded it to the OSI who kicked over to Army Air Intelligence.  They identified the bits and pieces as mundane enough materials of earthly origin.  It was the notation 'Mogul' in handwriting that drew attention.

A closer examination of the file for this find from Hackensack, New Jersey revealed that someone had gone through it at a later date. The notation of 'Mogul' appears to be from that later date. I found myself wondering if the notation was from the time when the Project Mogul was declassified. Or was it just before the Air Force released their 'final answer' in "Roswell: Fact vs Fiction" report from the early 1990's.

Project Mogul only ran from 1947 to 1949 before its work was taken up by Skyhook and Moby Dick High Altitude balloons.