FBI Files Reveal 1940s-50s Interest in Flying Saucer Reports

The Federal Bureau Act requests and made available by The Black Vault, reveal a federal agency actively engaged with the phenomenon long before the modern era of UAP task forces. Spanning the late 1940s and early 1950s, these records document a steady stream of citizen letters, internal memoranda, and interagency coordination, showing that the Bureau treated flying saucer reports as a matter worthy of official attention. The collection includes a detailed account of a 1947 sighting near Los Angeles, forwarded to the FBI in 1949, in which a letter writer described a metallic, top-shaped object with transparent sections and what appeared to be occupants.

Bureau officials recommended a discreet background check and interview of the witness, indicating a willingness to investigate such claims. Other correspondence reflects public anxiety and speculation, from theories about enemy devices to proposals involving television beams. The files also capture the FBI's careful jurisdictional boundaries, often…