The Roswell Incident of 1947

UFO Crash in New Mexico ?

Through the years, the Roswell UFO incident of 1947 has taken an inordinate proportion and has become one of the most famous ufo phenomena in the world. There are many documents dealing with the subject: films, TV series, books by the hundreds as well as several entirely dedicated websites. Ufologists, lovers of extraterrestrial events, have plenty to eat when it comes to the Roswell incident. The most fanatical can even go to New Mexico every year and take part in the UFO Festival, a summer event where people come accompanied by their pets disguised as aliens. Some even go so far as to present themselves with animals as unlikely as American polecats and other chihuahuas. For the more curious, all this is made accessible on the official website of the festival: www.ufofestivalroswell.com. But what distinguishes the desert of New Mexico from hundreds of other stories of alien phenomena that can be read and that quickly falls into oblivion ? Why has the Roswell UFO incident in particular become so famous ?

A disc in a ranch

Around early July 1947, William Brazel, then a ranch owner in the New Mexico desert, found strange debris near Roswell, about 50 km to the north. He will describe them later as "rubber bands, aluminum foil, rather hard paper and bars". At first sight, the discovery does not excite him too much. A few days pass before the rancher decides to return pick up the debris with a pickup. He brings them home and stores them in his barn. Having noticed that the papers were rumbling with reports of mysterious flying saucers, Brazel chooses to share his findings with the authorities. The next day, Major Jesse Marcel of the Roswell Army Air Field and another man went to Brazel's home to collect the debris. Claiming to have found a flying saucer, a press secretary publishes to the local newspapers the following communiqué on July 8, 1947:

"The many rumors of a flying saucer became a reality yesterday when the intelligence service of the 509th Operations Group at the Roswell base took possession of a disc thanks to the cooperation of a rancher and the Chaves County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico. The flying object landed on a ranch near Roswell during the last week. Without a phone, the rancher kept the disc until he could contact the sheriff's office, who informed Major Jesse A. Marcel of the 509th Operations Group. An action was immediately launched, and the saucer was recovered at the rancher's home. It was examined at the Roswell base, then forwarded to higher authorities."

A weather balloon

Before it is quickly removed. However, too little too late, all the media seized the case and the story snowballed. To the sorrows of those who believe in aliens, Fort Worth Army Airfield identifies the remains as those of a weather balloon. A week later, the Roswell UFO incident fades and the usual calm returns to the New Mexico desert. It will be more than thirty years before this dark story comes back in the spotlight with theories just as wacky as each other. What was originally thought to be a UFO crash would be a huge government plot to hide the discovery of alien bodies, "little green mens", and smother all the details. The story has been greatly sensationalized and since the first official Roswell incident publication in 1980, several authors have contributed to its popularity by adding successive layers of mystery to the story. In addition, an ever-increasing number of witnesses, no doubt in need of attention, continues to stir fire by confirming different versions of events.

Roswell conspiracy

Secret Service agents, wearing black clothes and sunglasses such as "Men In Blacks", have left incredible descriptions of the discovery of a flying saucer and an alien crew. All kinds of discussion emerged about the material used to make the engine which would not be rubber, aluminum foil or wood, but indeed a strange substance with extraordinary properties previously never seen on Earth. Several people say that they have been intimidated by senior government and military officials to keep quiet. Moreover, it is reported that official military documents were falsified or even literally destroyed in order to disguise the actual chronology of events while the dead bodies of the alien crew were taken to a nearby secret location, Area 51, so that they could undergo an autopsy. As the Roswell UFO incident of 1947 turned into a media storm in the 1990s, it can be assumed that the intimidation attempts did not have the desired effect. Released in 1995, the autopsy film has created a hype all over the world. Debates broke out as to the authenticity of the video, with some claiming that all the Roswell story was actually a gigantic conspiracy while others asserting with conviction that this story is indeed real. Ten years later, the filmmaker confessed to using rubber mannequins, sheep brains and raspberry jam to film the scene in a London apartment.

The Mogul project

The US Air Force, however, denied most ufologist allegations by publishing a detailed report on the weather probe that crashed in New Mexico. It is rather a secret Soviet nuclear test detection program, the Mogul project. The balloon would have exploded at high altitude before crashing into the New Mexico desert. Virtually nobody believed the Air Force and ufologists are also of the opinion that it is only a story invented to cover the case. It is claimed that secret warehouses and morgues, scattered over several military bases, are filled with ufo debris and alien bodies. No matter whether it's a weather balloon or a flying saucer, the fact remains that the Roswell UFO incident is somewhat interesting. However, the general public will have to wait before having confirmation of the existence of "little green mens" ...