 On July 12, 1947, the US Army released photos of a hoaxed "flying disc" recovered from Twin Falls. In the wake of the release, flying saucer reports decreased rapidly. | |
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| Date | July 11, 1947 (1947-07-11) |
|---|---|
| Location | Twin Falls, Idaho |
| Coordinates | 42°33′20″N114°28′15″W / 42.55556°N 114.47083°W /42.55556; -114.47083 |
| Type | UFO Hoax |
| Perpetrator | Unnamed teenagers |
TheTwin Falls saucer hoax was ahoaxedflying disc discovered inTwin Falls, Idaho, United States, on July 11, 1947. Amida nationwide wave of alleged "flying disc" sightings, residents of Twin Falls reported recovering a 30 in (76 cm) "disc".FBI and Army officials took possession of the disc and quickly proclaimed the object to be a hoax. Press reported that local teenagers admitted to perpetrating the hoax.
On June 24, 1947, civilian pilotKenneth Arnold reported asighting of 'flying discs'. By June 27, disc sightings were being reported nation-wide.[1]
On July 1, Twin FallsTimes-News declared that "flying saucers have invaded"the Twin Falls region after a forest ranger and his companion reported seeing eight to ten "discs" flying in a V-shaped formation overGalena Summit.[2] The two men were marking timber about three miles south of Galena Summit when they reportedly heard a buzzing noise overhead and saw shining objects above themselves.[2] One of the witnesses, Walter Nicholson, was quoted as saying "it wasn't anything like an airplane".[2]
The following day, on July 2, press reported on a second sighting. Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Meuser were reportedly driving nearMalta, Idaho, when they spotted a lone "big ball of fire" about the size of the moon, only "much brighter".[3]
A third sighting was reported on July 3; railway foreman B. G. Tiffany contacted theTimes-News with a story of him and his crew having seen a fleet of nine discs noiselessly flying in a V-shaped formation overHollister, Idaho, a month prior.[4] Two additional sightings were reported on July 4. Twin Falls resident R. L. Dempsey reported seeing two discs over the city. Three residents ofRichfield, Idaho, reported having seen a single disc.[5]
On July 5, a group of 60 picnickers reportedly witnessed 35 discs in the skies over Twin Falls, making it the "largest number of the mystery devices reported anywhere in the nation" according to local press.[2] On July 7, additional sightings were reported, with one report naming three 14- to 15-year-old boys as witnesses of a lone disc that was "the size of a motor scooter wheel".[6]
| 1947 flying disc craze |
|---|
 The Rhodes photographs |
| Events |
The Twin Falls disc was not the first story of a recovered disc. On July 8, it had been reported that Army personnel atRoswellhad recovered a 'flying disc'; the following day, it was reported that the Roswell debris was an ordinaryweather balloon.[7] On July 10,United Press reported on a hoax saucer allegedly recovered inNorth Hollywood.[8]
On July 11, the press reported the recovery of a 30-inch (76 cm) disc from the yard of a Twin Falls home.[9][10][11] Residents reported hearing a "thud" around 2:30 am but dismissed the noise as a truck.[12] At 8:20 am, a next-door neighbor reportedly discovered a "disc" and contacted police.[13]
Local police arrived and took possession of the object. The matter was referred to both FBI and military intelligence. Multiple officers fromFort Douglas (two lieutenant colonels, two first lieutenants, and a civilian) flew in to investigate.[14] Authorities "clamped down a lid of secrecy pending the outcome of further investigation".[15] Local press featured a piece on Army "cloak and dagger" during the disc investigation, mentioning that photographs of the object were confiscated.[16]
That same day, the FBISpecial Agent In ChargeGuy Banister reported the object had been turned over to the Army.[17] On July 12, it was reported nationally that the Twin Falls disc was a hoax.[18] Press reported that four teenagers had confessed to creating the disc.[18] Photos of the object were then publicly released.[18]
The object was described as containingradio tubes, electric coils, and wires underneath aPlexiglas dome.[18] According toDeseret News:[18]
"The disc is described as being thirty inches in diameter and resembling the base of an old-fashioned chandelier. It has a dome-like bubble, made of plexiglass, on one side and steel dome-like bubble on the other. Inside the plastic dome are three silver painted radio tubes with wires attached to what appears to be an electro-magnetic coil on the outside."
TheIndependent Record further described it, stating: "The object measured 301⁄2 inches in diameter with a metal dome on one side and a plastic dome about 14 inches high on the opposite side, anchored in place by what appeared to bestove bolts. The gadget is gold painted on one side and silver (either stainless steel, aluminum, or tin) on the other. It appeared to have been turned out by machine."[17]
The Twin Falls hoax, with its nationally published image showing a bemused army officer holding a disc-like object of mundane construction, has been called the "coup de grâce of press coverage" on the 1947 flying disc craze. In the days following the story, "press accounts rapidly fell off".[19]
The Twin Falls hoax was not the last recovered saucer hoax. On July 28, 1947, just weeks after the Twin Falls hoax, there were reports ofrecovered disc debris at Maury Island, Washington.[20] In 1949, another 'crashed disc' story circulated as part of theAztec, New Mexico UFO hoax.[21]
In the late 1960s,Guy Banister, the FBI official who had overseen both the Twin Falls and Maury Island cases, was posthumouslyaccused of involvement in the JFK assassination by New Orleans District AttorneyJim Garrison, as dramatized in the 1991 filmJFK.[22] Fringe conspiracy theorists includingKenn Thomas,Nick Redfern, andPeter Lavenda would cite the two cases in connection with bothUFO conspiracy theories andJFK assassination conspiracy theories.[23][24][25]
FBI Agent W.G. Banister said an object which appeared to be a 'flying disc' was found early today at Twin Falls, Idaho, and was turned over to federal authorities. Banister, special agent in charge of the FBI in Montana and Idaho, said the bureau had reported the discover to the army at Fort Douglas, Utah.
At the time, the FBI's Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for Butte, Montana was one Guy Banister. He was dead by the time of the Clay Shaw trial, but that didn't stop suspicion from falling on him. According to Jim Garrison's files on Crisman, both he and Banister were connected to Sergio Aracha Smith, a leader of a CIA backed anti-Castro group that Banister apparently helped supply with arms. These twists of high weirdness surrounding the JFK Assassination are so high and so weird, that H.P. Albarelli to dedicated a book to it.
