FBI Photo A Series: Declassified 1947 UFO Photo Files

FBI-UAP-PH01 source map

Record ID

FBI-UAP-PH01

Release

PURSUE Release 01, published May 8, 2026

Originating Office

Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Division

Investigation Date

July 1947

Classification

Declassified FBI internal security and forensic files

The FBI’s 1947 forensic photo investigations

This release establishes that J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI Laboratory maintained active forensic investigative pipelines to determine whether early flying saucer photographs were hoaxes, military tests, or genuine unknown phenomena.

Incident summary

Following Kenneth Arnold’s June 1947 sighting and widespread flying disc reports, the FBI cooperated with the War Department to investigate high-profile photographs. FBI-UAP-PH01 compiles field office communications, witness interview summaries, and laboratory photographic evaluations examining grain structure and suspension thread possibilities.

What the FBI Photo A files contain

• FBI-UAP-PH01 was declassified in the initial PURSUE Release 01 tranche on May 8, 2026.
• The file contains high-resolution scans of original photographic prints examined by the FBI Laboratory in July 1947.
• The photographs depict disc-shaped objects captured over Western and Midwestern states during the initial flying saucer wave.
• FBI forensic notes document negative inspection, lighting consistency, and shadow angle calculations.

J. Edgar Hoover’s directive on flying discs

• Note FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s handwritten annotations requesting full access to recovered discs.
• Look for the FBI Laboratory forensic division stamp and negative emulsion analysis reports.
• Distinguish between photographs deemed fraudulent and those left categorized as unresolved.

What the photographic analysis reveals

The file demonstrates the FBI conducted rigorous laboratory forensic analyses on early UFO photographs to detect hoaxes.

How the FBI evaluated photographic authenticity

• Cross-reference the incident dates with Air Force Project Sign and Project Grudge case catalogs.
• Examine whether camera shutter speed and focal length data were recorded by interviewing field agents.
• Analyze the geometric consistency of shadows cast by the objects relative to known terrain markers.

The FBI-Air Force jurisdictional struggle

In July 1947, the FBI briefly took the lead in investigating domestic flying disc sightings under national security espionage statutes, until military authorities centralized intelligence collection under the Air Materiel Command at Wright Field.

• Hoover insisted that before the FBI investigated, agents must be granted full access to physical military files.
• The laboratory division evaluated film negatives for darkroom manipulation and double exposures.
• The surviving photo prints demonstrate early federal efforts to distinguish camera hoaxes from valid observations.

Limits of 1940s film emulsions and optical grain

It does not prove extraterrestrial origin; optical limitations of 1947 film emulsions leave many photographic geometries ambiguous.

Questions on surviving negative plates

Where are the original camera negatives preserved, and do modern multi-spectral scans reveal additional forensic details?

Tags

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Department of War Release 01 announcement - Official Department of War press release for the inaugural May 8, 2026 PURSUE Release 01.
• Department of War PURSUE image records - Official War.gov image-filter view for PURSUE records, including Release 01 FBI and NASA image rows.
• FBI Vault / Declassified UAP Photographic Records - Official FBI Vault electronic reading room for declassified UFO and unexplained phenomena files.