Project Blue Book Case Files on Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, 1947–1969 — NARA Record Group 341

NARA Collection landing 1940s Official link verified

Summary

AI-assisted summary — not an official document and not authoritative. It condenses the machine-extracted text; the original is the only authoritative source. Generated by summary:claude-opus-4-8@v1; last reviewed 2026-06-02.

Project Blue Book's case files on individual UFO sightings, 1947–1969, in National Archives Record Group 341. The U.S. Air Force investigation reviewed 12,618 reports and listed 701 as unidentified before closing in 1969.

This series comprises the case files on sightings of unidentified flying objects compiled by Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force's UFO investigation that operated from 1947 to 1969. Each file documents an individual sighting reviewed and dispositioned by the program. Over its life the investigation examined 12,618 reports; 701 of these remained listed as "unidentified," while the remainder were attributed to causes such as astronomical phenomena, aircraft, balloons, and weather. The series is part of Record Group 341 (Records of Headquarters U.S. Air Force). The project was terminated on December 17, 1969. The archive links to the National Archives Catalog entry for this series and does not host the records.

Common questions

What are the Project Blue Book case files?
They are the U.S. Air Force's files documenting individual UFO sightings investigated by Project Blue Book between 1947 and 1969, held in National Archives Record Group 341.
How many UFO cases did Project Blue Book investigate?
The investigation examined 12,618 reports; 701 remained listed as unidentified, while the rest were attributed to causes such as astronomical phenomena, aircraft, and balloons.
When did Project Blue Book end?
It was terminated on December 17, 1969.

Source & Classification

Record metadata

Record type
Collection landing
Decade
1940s
Review status
published
Publication status
published

Official source link

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821

Documents are linked to official source pages; copyright and license notes are recorded per source. This archive does not embed PDFs or videos.

Topics

Cite this record

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). "Project Blue Book Case Files on Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, 1947–1969 — NARA Record Group 341". 1940s. Official source: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821. Cataloged by the independent UAP Records Archive (not an official or government source): https://uap-archive.org/uap/records/nara-rg341-blue-book-case-files/.

BibTeX

@misc{uaprecords_nara-rg341-blue-book-case-files,
  title  = {Project Blue Book Case Files on Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, 1947–1969 — NARA Record Group 341},
  author = {National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)},
  year   = {1940s},
  howpublished = {Official source: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821},
  note   = {Cataloged by the independent UAP Records Archive — not an official or government source},
  url    = {https://uap-archive.org/uap/records/nara-rg341-blue-book-case-files/}
}

Evidence

License note (source-level)

U.S. Government records (U.S. Air Force), generally public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105; held in NARA Record Group 341 (Records of Headquarters U.S. Air Force (Air Staff)). Referenced via the official National Archives Catalog entry only; not self-hosted by this archive.

Archivist note

This series comprises the case files on sightings of unidentified flying objects compiled by Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force investigation of UFO reports between 1947 and 1969. The files document individual sightings investigated and dispositioned by the project, and the series is part of Record Group 341 (Records of Headquarters U.S. Air Force (Air Staff)). This archive links to the official National Archives Catalog entry and does not self-host the records.

Uncertainty / Limits

Archive state (this release)

Record status
Official link verified
Review status
published
Publication status
published
Archive URL
Not archived in U3
Local copy
Not stored in U3
Summary
Not published
Translation
Not published

U3 does not download or locally store source files.

Translation

Translation: not published in this release.