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A newly declassified FBI case file, released as part of the ongoing PURSUE archive initiative, reveals a previously redacted internal memo from November 1957 in which the Dallas field office summarily referred a “Flying Discs” matter to the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) with no investigation and no further action, citing “existing instructions.” The document, titled “65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_9,” was released by the U.S. Department of War on May 8, 2026, and is now publicly available in a less-redacted form than previously posted versions.
FBI Memo Details Referral Protocol for Flying Disc Reports
According to the FBI record, a memo dated November 14, 1957, from the FBI’s Dallas field office (case number 62-1311) to the Director of the FBI states: “SUBJECT: FLYING DISCS C INFORMATION CONCERNING.” The memo notes it is a response to a Kansas City letter from November 8, 1957. The key operational detail is contained in a single sentence: “This matter is being referred to OSI without investigation and no other action is being taken in accordance with existing instructions.” The document is marked as recorded on November 19, 1957, and includes routing to the Bureau, Kansas City (66-2995), and Dallas.
The official description of the broader 62-HQ-83894 case file, provided by the U.S. Department of War, states that it includes “investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968.” The description further notes that the records contain “high-profile incident accounts, photographic evidence from sites like Oak Ridge, TN, and technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems,” as well as convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage. The Department of War explicitly states that this version of the file is “the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions,” contrasting it with a partially posted version on the FBI vault which had “more redactions and some pages missing.”
The memo itself offers no details about the specific “Flying Discs” information that prompted the referral. The subject line, “FLYING DISCS C INFORMATION CONCERNING,” is ambiguous, and the document does not specify whether the information originated from a public report, a military source, or an internal FBI lead. The reference to “existing instructions” suggests a standing protocol at the time for handling such reports, though the memo does not elaborate on what those instructions were or why the FBI chose not to investigate.
PURSUE Archive Releases Broader Context for UAP Records
This document is part of a larger, ongoing declassification effort. Per a Wikipedia summary of the United States UFO files, “the United States UFO files, also referred to as the UFO files or the UAP files, are a collection of declassified United States government records concerning UFOs, also called unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), released by the administration of Donald Trump beginning on May 8, 2026, and announced to continue as repeated, ongoing, expanding releases of UFO materials.” The Wikipedia entry notes that the release is intended to be an ongoing process, with additional materials expected.
The 1957 memo fits within a pattern of interagency referral documented in the broader case file. The official description notes the file spans from June 1947—the same period as the well-known Roswell incident—through July 1968, covering a period of intense public and government interest in UFOs. The inclusion of photographic evidence from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a site critical to the Manhattan Project and nuclear weapons development, suggests that some records in the file involve sensitive national security locations. However, the specific memo released today does not reference Oak Ridge or any particular location.
The document’s release under the PURSUE archive, hosted at war.gov, marks a significant step in transparency for these records. The Department of War’s statement that this version contains “only minor redactions” and includes “several newly declassified pages” indicates that previous public versions of the same file were more heavily censored. The memo itself shows redactions in the form of handwritten notations and stamped markings, including a date stamp of “NOV 19 1957” and a handwritten “RECORDED” notation, but the core text of the referral remains fully legible.
What remains unanswered is the specific nature of the “Flying Discs” information that triggered the referral, and why the FBI chose to pass it to OSI without any internal investigation. The memo does not indicate whether OSI subsequently investigated the matter or what the outcome was. Additionally, the phrase “C INFORMATION CONCERNING” in the subject line is not explained in the document, leaving its meaning open to interpretation. Readers should watch for future PURSUE releases, which the Wikipedia entry indicates will continue as an “expanding” series of materials, potentially including additional memos from the 62-HQ-83894 case file or related files that could shed light on the protocols and outcomes of these referrals.
