records
also do not include mishaps involving unmanned air vehicles such as remotely
piloted aircraft, low-speed cruise missiles, and most balloons.
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SEARCH FOR RECORDS
In searching for government records on the Roswell crash, we were
particularly interested in identifying and reviewing records of military
units assigned to RAAF in 1947 -- to include the 509th Bomb Group, the 1st
Air Transport Unit, the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit, and the 1395th
Military Police Company (Aviation).
Document disposition forms obtained from the National Personnel Records
Center in St. Louis, Missouri, indicate that in 1953, the Walker Air Force
Base (formeriy RAAF) records officer transferred to the Army's Kansas City
records depository the histories of units stationed at Walker Air Force
Base. These histories included the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF for February
1947 through October 1947; the 1st Air Transport Unit forJuly 1946 through
June 1947; and the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit for January 1946 to
February 1947. We could not locate any documentation indicating that records
of the 1395th Military Police Company (Aviation) were ever retired to The
National Personnel Records Center or its predecessor depositories.
The July 1947 history for the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF stated that the RAAF
public information office "was kept quite busy ... answering inquiries on
the `flying disc,' which was reported to be in [the] possession of the 509th
Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a radar tracking balloon." By his
signature, The RAAF's commanding officer certified that the report
represented a complete and accurate account of RAAF activities in July 1947.
(Excerpts from the report are contained in app. I.)
In addition to unit history reports, we also