Nevada
Atomic Proving Ground
May 20, 1953
In 1953, Arthur G. Stancil was a project engineer on an Air Force contract with the Atomic Energy Commission for something called "Operation Upshot-Knothole." His part in the operation involved the measuring of the effects of atomic blasts on various types of buildings that were especially erected on the proving grounds for the tests. On May 20, 1953, he spent most of the day doing just that at a site on the Nevada proving ground known as "Frenchman's Flats." He finished up for the day and went to his quarters, expecting another routine evening. However, his daily routine was a bout to be broken. On that evening, he received a call from his superior, Test Director Dr. Ed Doll, ordering him to go on a special mission the next day. May 21.
Arthur worked within what was known as the Air Material Command Installations Division, for the Office of Special Studies headed by
Dr. Eric Wang, out of Wright-Patterson AFB. His specialties at that particular time included the engineering design of Air Force engine test cells, development techniques for determining blast effects on buildings and structures, and aircraft landing gear design. No slouch, Arthur worked his way up to become chief of alighting devices in the aircraft laboratory, Wright Air Development Center; which from there led him up to management positions at Wright-Patterson AFB.
On May 21, Arthur worked at Frenchman's Flats until 4:30 PM, at which time he reported for his mysterious special assignment. He was driven to nearby Indian Springs AFB where he found that about fifteen other specialists had also been ordered to report for special assignment. At the base, they were ordered to leave all of their valuables for safekeeping, then they were flown by military aircraft to Phoenix, Arizona.
At Phoenix, Arthur and the others were loaded into a bus with blacked-out windows and driven for four hours to an undisclosed location. Arthur felt that the location was near Kingman, Arizona. During the trip, they were told by an Air Force Colonel, that a top-secret Air Force Test Vehicle had crashed and that since they were all specialists in certain fields, they were to investigate the crash in terms of their own specialty and nothing more.
When the bus finally stopped, the men exited one at a time as their names were called, and they were then escorted by military police to the area that they were
to inspect.
Near Kingman, Arizona
May 21, 1953
At the site, two spotlights were centered on a crashed object that was encircled by security guards. The lights were so bright that while standing in front of them, it was impossible to see the surrounding area. The object was oval and looked like two deep saucers, one inverted atop the other. It was about thirty feet in diameter with convex surfaces, top and bottom. These surfaces were about twenty feet in diameter.
The force of impact had buried the object about twenty inches into the ground. It was constructed of a dull silver metal like brushed aluminum. The metal was darker where the saucer "lips" formed a rim, around which were what looked like slots. A curved open hatch door was located on the leading end and was open. There was a light coming from the inside, but it could have been placed there by the Air Force.
Arthur's particular job was to determine the vertical and horizontal speed at which the object had hit the earth from the angle and the depth to which it had buried itself in the sand. There was no visible landing gear. Arthur saw no marks or dents on the surface--not even scratches.
The military personnel present refused to answer any questions that were not pertinent to the questioner's particular area of specialization and they closely watched Arthur an dthe others. In spite of being closely watched, Arthur later said that he briefly glimpsed a four-foot-long human-looking body in a silvery metallic suit inside a closely guarded tent.
As each person finished his part of the investigation, he was debriefed by officers with a tape recorder and then escorted back to the bus. Another member of the group told Arthur that he had gotten a look inside the object and had seen two swivel-like seats as well as instruments and displays. One of the guards, noticing them talking together, separated them and warned them not to talk to each other.
After the group had all returned to the bus, the Air Force Colonel in charge had them raise their right hands and take an oath not to reveal what they had seen. They were instructed to write their reports in longhand and not to type them or to keep any copies. A telephone number was given to them to call when their report was complete. Later, when Arthur called the number, an airman came and picked up the report.
Much later, Arthur recognized a Colonel working with Project Bluebook as the same Colonel who had been in charge at the crash site.
Arthur first told his story to Jeff Young and Paul Chetham in 1971. Arthur's story came to the attention of ufologist Raymond Fowler, who interviewed him in 1976 and published the interview in "Official UFO" magazine. Arthur also gave Fowler a signed affadavit stating that the story was true, and Fowler used the pseudonym "Fritz Werner" to protect Arthur's identity. Raymond Fowler also reported the case in his 1981 book "Casebook of a UFO Investigator."
Fowler was apparently able to verify to his satisfaction that Arthur held degees in mathematics and physics and a Master's degree in engineering. Arthur also claimed to have later worked as a consultant to Project Bluebook, which Fowler was not able to verify. Arthur also apparently worked for Raytheon in Sudbury, Massachusetts in the early seventies on avionics systems. The existence of "Operation Upshot-Knothole" is a fact, as well as the existence of Dr. Ed Doll and Dr. Eric Wang. Friends of Arthur reported to Fowler that he was a man of integrity, not given to exaggeration.
Corroboration of Arthur Stancil's story has been difficult to obtain. Some sources have mentioned 1948 as the date of a Kingman UFO crash, and at least one (Robert Dean) gives a date of 1972! There have been a few stories here and there that seem to corroborate a Kingman crash, notably the recent testimony of US Marine Corps Captain Bill Uhouse of the "Disclosure Project."