Eric Henry Wang
Dr. Eric Henry Wang was an Austrian-born scientist who headed the Office of Special Studies at Wright Air Development Center and is suspected by researchers of leading UFO crash retrieval and reverse-engineering operations in the late 1940s and 1950s.
| Role | UFO crash retrieval and reverse engineering team lead |
|---|
Wang's career has been deliberately obscured in public records, with minimal biographical information available despite his alleged involvement in highly classified aerospace programs.
Professional Background
After earning his degrees and teaching in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wang began work on secret government projects in 1949 at Wright Development Center. According to his April 1961 obituary in Mechanical Engineering magazine, Wang worked as a consultant to Wright Air Development Center on aerodynamic metallurgical design for the structure division and served on staff at the University of Cincinnati.
In 1956, Wang's department was moved to Sandia National Laboratories at Kirtland Air Force Base, where he remained until his death in 1961.
Connection to Aztec and Kingman
According to William Steinman's 1986 book, Dr. Wang was called onto the 1948 Aztec UFO Crash Retrieval project in November 1949 — over a year and a half after the craft's recovery — suggesting he was brought in for specialized analysis or reverse-engineering work.
Wang is also named by witness Arthur Stansel as the head of the reverse-engineering team for the 1953 Kingman, Arizona UFO Crash, where he allegedly led the Office of Special Studies' technical examination of a recovered craft. Kingman researcher speculation links Wang's involvement to Operation Upshot-Knothole, a nuclear test series believed to have caused the Kingman craft's crash.
Records Suppression
Wang has proven exceedingly difficult to track in historical records, as if deliberately erased from public documentation. William Steinman believed Majestic 12 wished to keep their "prize scientist" off public record.
An individual known only as "MW" told Steinman that upon Wang's death, all of his personal papers were confiscated by military intelligence and placed behind lock and key in a highly secretive section of the library at Kirtland Air Force Base. Steinman attempted to follow up via mail with MW but never received a response, and noticed his own mail being tampered with and a tracking device on his van.