This is a declassified CIA intelligence report from April 1955 about unusual aerial objects reported in Hungary. The information came from a personal letter written by a Hungarian resident to a relative living in the United States. The letter described fast-moving objects that had captured public and scientific attention.
What was in the letter?
The Hungarian correspondent wrote about aerial objects that had been exciting people for several weeks. She described them as moving at an estimated speed of 12,000 kilometers per hour and noted that scientists were actively studying them. She included a sketch showing the suspected path of these objects in relation to Budapest and Moscow.
How did the CIA get this information?
The report came from a naturalized U.S. citizen who received a letter from a niece living in Budapest. The CIA obtained a photostatic copy (an early type of photocopy) of the original Hungarian letter along with an English translation. This was the first time the niece had mentioned such objects in her correspondence.
What does the report say about reliability?
The document is marked as "unevaluated information," meaning the CIA had not yet assessed whether the account was accurate or what it represented. The report simply documents what the letter contained without drawing conclusions about the nature of the objects described.
Full Document Text
Text extracted directly from the source PDF. Text extraction via abigailhaddad/ufo-releases; original file at war.gov.
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--- PAGE 1 ---
Appro v e d fo r Re l e as e 2 02 6 Und er Se ction 18 42 o f t he Nationa l De f ens e
Autho ri z a t i on Act for Fi sca l Yea r 2 02 4
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~T""r""o.,.ill to rPAGE roR ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONTBOLS; IF ANY
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INFORMATION REPORT National D•lnH ol II•• UJ>.itod Skl!es wllblD th~
mealng ol llw Eaploru,ge L<n01; Till- 18, U, S. C.
PREPARED AND DISSEMINATED BY Seca. 793 and 794, the trCIIISD1l,aloa.. or re -,!r.ttou
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CJ:NTRAL INTELLIGENCE AG.ENCY 19n la p,ohlblled b:r ~..-, j)
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COUN:TRY RtPORT NO,
~ 00- B--9.3674
$VBJECT DAT£ Ot STAIBtJreo
Report o~ l1m1.S1Mll. ~ Ob,1ect Sightin&& and 17 .4Pr ;t
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED IMFORMATION
SOURCE Naturaliud OS· citis~n:f:': extraction. He correspoma regµJ,arl;y nth
two m.eces liVi.llS 1n t. I
I I
1. In l'lOirEIIIJlle'r 19,55· I received f!. l e ~ .frGIII ~ niece in ·~ e s t . ·fbis letter
cont.llined tlla f«!llow:tng intere~ i:tellt /Jree tftzlslati~:
~e a o ~ " f ~ saucera (roc~ts) [rde7 for Se"reral wee~ kept
the people in a nervous state. These very raet spe!Nllllg t ~ ~eyt
tfcl.en.ti:fic: UOU.PIJ· v-:, busy-. :i: 0m sure you heard alreeq bdDJ 'tllo •
~ , ;Ja ~ km per b®r was eetilllatecl on these f~ers."
2. I n r ~ ~tb the l.e'tter was the fo~ng sketch 1ndicat1ng the :t'onmstion
m:i.d SU11,Pected course of the above obJects:
Bwlapest
C
0
Moscow
3. ~s :i,_s the first t:lme iq .niece has mentioned such obJeets in her J;etters.
Ji.. .Jl.vail»le on loan f'ral!i •CIA L1bra!7' 1s a· ~llotostatic C(JJ}Y or o r ~ letter
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NoFORN ,: NO DISSEM- ABROAD ~
JJ.bf.lTfD: DU.Seminotion limited fo luJl-rime e mploy• os ~j Cl.I{., AEO and FBI; ~ad. withUI. State «•d Doterue. lo d:se ln.tt:.?ligcnee t:omponeors-1 other
olJiC.;s produC'ln9 NIS e lement,. and higher vehelon:.s \Vith thoir Jmmtd}a~ n~pporlln11 stalls. Not lo .be dWeminalod to con.suUantc, oxteuaol projc,. ~
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II!J1-ff fb?•WfIIJin,. parrnitsion ol tho Ori<,Inotl»g,ollfr:e ho~ &con ohtojned_t:brougb tho A.ulstcr.nl Dl~clot for CoUecrton ond Pbscminotio.n. CIA.
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Dear Uncl
I don't J:r.nm;r whether the letter I sent before will arrive. I wish you
all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Here, the children are
preparing for Christmas. "rhe shops are full of toys and Christmas trees . •
The streets are crowded with window shoppers.
The three of us are spending the holidays in Pest
~---~
fhe childre~ will have a vacation from 20 December through 17 January,
Ir
took a d~y off on All Souls' D a y l ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~
you write so little. How are your· Has the family grown7
Are you all well?
~ - - - ~ i s having a lot of trouble with her back.ohas been sent
off for a week to do some work in the province, he won't return till the
evening of the 24th.
A famous German circus is on tour here now with many animals and artists ..
They say it is very good. We are planning to see it with the children~
Ev.eryone has been ·excited by the so-called saucers for the past few
weeks. These fast-rushing heavenly phenorna have been and still are keeping
scores of scientists busy -~I_____~ras surely seen them or read about them;
these amazing ~liers moved at a speed of 12,000 kilometers per hour.
We wish you all good health and send our regards and affection to mother
and the children. Much love and many prayers,
--- PAGE 3 --- View the official fileFrequently Asked Questions
What objects were described in the Hungarian letter?
The letter described fast-moving aerial objects referred to as saucers. The correspondent wrote that these objects had been keeping people in a nervous state and had attracted the attention of scientists.
These fast-rushing heavenly phenorna have been and still are keeping scores of scientists busy
How fast were these objects estimated to be traveling?
According to the letter, the objects were estimated to be moving at a speed of 12,000 kilometers per hour.
Who provided this information to the CIA?
A naturalized U.S. citizen provided the information. This person received a letter from a niece living in Budapest, Hungary, and the CIA obtained a copy of that letter.
What does unevaluated information mean?
Unevaluated information means the CIA had received the report but had not yet assessed whether it was accurate or determined what the objects actually were. The document simply records what was reported without drawing conclusions.
Congressional Context
No confirmed links between this file and the congressional record yet. Connections are added only when the source text supports them, never inferred.