This is a brief guide to researching records of UFOs. The surviving records consist mainly of documents relating to official policy, Parliamentary business (including responses to Parliamentary Questions), correspondence between the public and the Ministry of Defence, and UFO sighting reports.
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What records can I see online?
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UFO reports and correspondence (1950-2002)
Browse the digital records available on our website.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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UFO reports, correspondence, and parliamentary business (1950-1995)
Search Discovery, our catalogue in DEFE, AIR, FCO and BJ for records of UFOs, using keywords such as 'UFO', 'unidentified flying' and 'saucers'.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Records held locally
Search the Access to Archives (A2A) and National Register of Archives (NRA) databases to find records held in local archives.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Read the article on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) on Your Archives.
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Books
Read The UFO Files: the Inside Story of Real-Life Sightings by David Clarke (The National Archives, 2009).
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Security history