Roswell
Rancher Mac Brazel found a field of debris of foil, rubber, tape and sticks and brought it to the sheriff. On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field announced it had recovered a 'flying disc.' The next day General Roger Ramey's office said it was a weather balloon and showed the press the debris. The story faded until 1978, when retired officer Jesse Marcel told researcher Stanton Friedman the debris was unearthly. Books and witnesses followed, adding tales of bodies, a second crash site and threats.
The ledger
What the record shows, what people say, and the best explanation available so far.
What's documented
- The press release and its retraction made national news.
- In 1994 the Air Force identified the debris as a Project Mogul balloon train, a then-secret program to detect Soviet nuclear tests.
- In 1997 the Air Force tied the 'alien body' stories to 1950s crash-test dummy drops and an unrelated accident.
- A 1995 GAO report found some Roswell base records from that era had been destroyed.
What's claimed
- A craft crashed and alien bodies were recovered and hidden.
- The weather balloon story was a cover.
Best explanation so far
The debris matches Project Mogul materials. The body stories surfaced decades later and mix in events from other years. AARO's 2024 historical review found no evidence for the crash-retrieval version.
Check the sources
Go to the originals. Every link opens the archive or record in a new tab.
If you liked this one
Kenneth Arnold's Nine Objects
The sighting that gave the world the phrase 'flying saucer'.
The Aztec Crash Hoax
A bestselling book about a crashed saucer, built on a con man's sales pitch.
The Alien Autopsy Film
Black-and-white footage of an autopsy on a Roswell alien, broadcast around the world.
AARO's Historical Record Report
AARO reviews 80 years of claims and finds no evidence of alien technology.