Frank Scully
Encyclopedia
Frank Scully was an author in the 1940s and 1950s and wrote for the show business publication Variety
.
In October and November 1949, Scully published two columns in Variety, claiming that extraterrestrial beings were recovered from a flying saucer crash, based on what he said was reported to him by a scientist involved. His 1950 book Behind the Flying Saucers expanded on the theme, adding that there had been three such incidents in New Mexico
and one in Arizona
, including one that crashed near Aztec, New Mexico
in 1948 that was 100 feet in diameter
. The saucers supposedly worked on magnetic principles. In the book, Scully revealed two sources to be a Silas Newton and a scientist named "Dr. Gee". Sixty thousand copies of the book were sold. The character Dana Scully from the X-files is named after him. Scully was known for his idiosyncratic prose, describing Dr. Gee as having "more degrees than a thermometer" and an alleged crashed UFO in the Sahara as "more cracked than a psychiatrist in an auto wreck."
published an exposé by San Francisco Chronicle
reporter J. P. Cahn http://www.physics.smu.edu/~pseudo/UFOs/Scully/Cahn1.pdf that Newton and "Dr. Gee" (identified as Leo GeBauer) were a pair of oil con men who had hoax
ed a gullible Scully.
Behind the Flying Saucers was the only book Scully wrote on flying saucers. He did briefly revisit the subject in his 1963 book Armour Bright, reiterating his belief in the veracity of a 1948 Aztec, NM crash. Scully had also made clear from the beginning that "Dr. Gee" was really a composite of multiple sources who supposedly had inside knowledge about flying saucers and the Aztec crash.
However, skeptics suspect the unidentified "informant" was probably either Silas Newton or Leo GeBauer, who they say conned Scully, and likewise was telling stories to the Air Force and FBI.
was in charge of a small group looking into the modus operandi
of the saucers. Other Smith correspondence made it clear the group operated within the Research and Development Board (see Majestic 12
)
Smith's inquiries led to the formation in late 1950 of the small Canadian government UFO research project known as Project Magnet
to test Smith's ideas of saucer operation. Project Magnet was officially closed down in 1954.
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
.
In October and November 1949, Scully published two columns in Variety, claiming that extraterrestrial beings were recovered from a flying saucer crash, based on what he said was reported to him by a scientist involved. His 1950 book Behind the Flying Saucers expanded on the theme, adding that there had been three such incidents in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and one in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, including one that crashed near Aztec, New Mexico
Aztec, New Mexico
Aztec is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Farmington, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,378 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Juan County...
in 1948 that was 100 feet in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. The saucers supposedly worked on magnetic principles. In the book, Scully revealed two sources to be a Silas Newton and a scientist named "Dr. Gee". Sixty thousand copies of the book were sold. The character Dana Scully from the X-files is named after him. Scully was known for his idiosyncratic prose, describing Dr. Gee as having "more degrees than a thermometer" and an alleged crashed UFO in the Sahara as "more cracked than a psychiatrist in an auto wreck."
Exposure as a hoax
In 1952, True MagazineTrue (magazine)
True, also known as True, The Man's Magazine, was published by Fawcett Publications from 1937 until 1974. Known as True, A Man's Magazine in the 1930s, it was labeled True, #1 Man's Magazine in the 1960s. Petersen Publishing took over with the January 1975, issue...
published an exposé by San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
reporter J. P. Cahn http://www.physics.smu.edu/~pseudo/UFOs/Scully/Cahn1.pdf that Newton and "Dr. Gee" (identified as Leo GeBauer) were a pair of oil con men who had hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
ed a gullible Scully.
Behind the Flying Saucers was the only book Scully wrote on flying saucers. He did briefly revisit the subject in his 1963 book Armour Bright, reiterating his belief in the veracity of a 1948 Aztec, NM crash. Scully had also made clear from the beginning that "Dr. Gee" was really a composite of multiple sources who supposedly had inside knowledge about flying saucers and the Aztec crash.
FBI memo
Like Scully's story, an FBI memo, dated March 22, 1950, on the surface seems to confirm three flying saucer crashes in New Mexico. It states: "An investigator for the Air Forces stated that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico." It then goes on to say that "According to Mr. XXXXXX, informant, the saucers were found in New Mexico due to the fact that the Government had a very high-powered radar set-up in that area and it is believed the radar interferes with the controling mechanism of the saucers.".However, skeptics suspect the unidentified "informant" was probably either Silas Newton or Leo GeBauer, who they say conned Scully, and likewise was telling stories to the Air Force and FBI.
Canadian inquiries
Canadian radio engineer Wilbert B. Smith, who had his own ideas that the saucers might work on magnetic principles, read Scully's book when it first came out in September 1950. He then sought to verify if there was any truth to it by arranging briefings through the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. Smith was put in contact with Dr. Robert Sarbacher, an electronics and missile expert and a consultant to the U.S. military Research and Development Board. According to Smith's handwritten notes of the briefing, when he asked about the truth of the Scully book, Sarbacher informed him that "the facts reported in the book are substantitally correct", that flying saucers existed, they didn't originate on Earth, they were classified higher than the H-bomb, and their mode of operation was unknown. According to a top secret memo Smith wrote immediately afterward, he was further informed that Dr. Vannevar BushVannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
was in charge of a small group looking into the modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
of the saucers. Other Smith correspondence made it clear the group operated within the Research and Development Board (see Majestic 12
Majestic 12
Majestic 12 is the alleged code name of a secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, supposedly formed in 1947 by an executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman...
)
Smith's inquiries led to the formation in late 1950 of the small Canadian government UFO research project known as Project Magnet
Project Magnet
Project Magnet was an unidentified flying object study programme established by the Canadian Department of Transport on December 2, 1950, under the direction of Wilbert B. Smith, senior radio engineer for the DOT's Broadcast and Measurements Section...
to test Smith's ideas of saucer operation. Project Magnet was officially closed down in 1954.