Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14 - Analysis of Reports of Unidentified Aerial Objects
Date
May 5, 1955
Document Type
Gov. Report
Pages
315
Authentication
Declassified / FOIARedaction Status
✓ Fully ReleasedIssuing Authority
Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (under USAF contract); prepared for Air Technical Intelligence Center, USAF
Summary
The most rigorous statistical analysis ever conducted on the USAF's UAP case files, produced by Battelle Memorial Institute under Air Force contract, covering 3,201 sightings. Chi-square analysis of six characteristics comparing identified versus unidentified cases found the 22% classified as 'Unknown' were statistically distinct from identified cases - they could not be explained as inadequately observed conventional objects. Secretary of the Air Force Donald Quarles publicly mischaracterized the findings on October 25, 1955, falsely claiming fewer than 3% remained unknown. The report's actual conclusions were never publicly corrected.
Significance
Blue Book Special Report No. 14 is the only rigorous quantitative analysis of the early USAF UAP data. Its central finding - unknowns were statistically different from knowns, not simply poorly reported conventional objects - directly contradicts the 'all UAP are misidentifications' position. The deliberate public mischaracterization by Secretary Quarles (22% unknowns stated as 3%) is the most clearly documented instance of a US government official falsely describing classified UAP data to the public.