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22 This statement was in an official document dated July 30, 1947, and was based on a study of just fifteen sightings of flying saucers (mainly from pilots) between May 19 (five weeks be- fore Kenneth Arnold's highly publicized report that kicked off the modern UFO era) and July 10. It produced considerable in- formation on the appearance and behavior of things that 99.99 percent of the people had been convinced were imaginary: . The appearance of these objects is metallic, indicating a metallic skin, at least. . When a trail is observed, it is lightly colored, a blue- brown haze, that is similar to a rocket engine's exhaust. Contrary to a rocket of the solid type, one observation indicates that the fuel may be throttled, which would indicate a liquid rocket engine. . As to shape, all observations state that the object is circular or at least elliptical, flat on the bottom and slightly domed on the top. The size estimates place it somewhere near the size of a C-54 or Constellation [1940s airliners having a wingspan of 120 feet and length of 95 feet]. . Some reports describe two tabs, located at the rear and symmetrical about the axis of flight motion. . Flights have been reported, with three to nine of them, flying good formation on each other, with speeds al- ways above 300 knots (350 mph). . The discs oscillate laterally when flying along, which could be snaking. The U.S. Army Air Forces, fresh from a major share of the victory in history's largest and most violent air war, was baffled by some high-performance craft flying through skies it right- fully considered its own. The flying saucers or flying discs or flying whatevers were fast and maneuverable and thus capable of evading American interceptors with ease. It requires little imagination to picture the consternation that must have swept through the offices of high-ranking Army Air Forces people in CRASH AT CORONA