Condon Report
The Condon Report, formally titled Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, was a comprehensive UFO investigation commissioned by the United States Air Force and conducted by the University of Colorado from 1966 to 1968 under the direction of physicist Dr. Edward Condon. The report is widely viewed in UAP research circles as having been designed to scientifically legitimize the dismissal and stigmatization of UFO phenomena, despite containing documented cases of extraordinary military encounters that remain unexplained.
Overview
The Condon Report was conducted under contract to the Air Force with the explicit goal of providing an independent scientific assessment of UFO phenomena. The final report, published in January 1969, concluded that UFO investigations were not scientifically valuable and recommended the Air Force terminate Project Blue Book. This recommendation was swiftly implemented, with Project Blue Book officially disbanded in December 1969. UAP Gerb's video on The Origin of the UFO Stigma examines the Condon Report as a central instrument in the institutional suppression of serious UFO inquiry.
Case 5: The 1957 RB-47 Encounter
Case 5 of the Condon Report documents a September 19, 1957 encounter involving a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft launched from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. The case is notable for providing multi-sensor corroboration and is cited by UAP Gerb in the context of the Del Rio, Texas crash cases as evidence of a pattern of high-credibility UAP encounters originating from the same airbase.
The RB-47, equipped with electronic countermeasures (ECM) and reconnaissance equipment, was pursued for more than 600 miles by a large bright fireball alternating between red and white. The object was:
- Visually observed by the flight crew (pilot and co-pilot)
- Detected by Carswell ground radar
- Registered by the RB-47's onboard ECM equipment, which recorded a strong radar signal emanating from the object at 2,800 megacycles
Pilot Lewis D. Chase described the encounter: "Before any evasive action could be taken, the light crossed in front of the plane moving to the right at a velocity far higher than airplane speeds. The light was seen by pilot and co-pilot and appeared to the pilot to be a glowing body as big as a barn."
Upon landing, all ECM graphic data and radar records were removed by intelligence personnel. The original CIA report of the incident is publicly available and corroborates the documented details.
Relevance to Del Rio Cases
The RB-47 encounter is structurally and geographically parallel to Robert Willingham's 1955 account: both originated from Carswell AFB; both involved high-speed luminous objects detected by military radar; both saw intelligence personnel intervene to suppress or confiscate evidence. The Condon Report's inclusion of this thoroughly documented case — and the report's overall dismissive conclusions despite such evidence — is interpreted by UAP researchers as evidence of institutional bad faith in UFO investigation.