CONVERSATION OF 18 SEPTEMBER WITH MR. HARRY PRESS, NACA

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP33-02415A000200390028-6
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
November 16, 2016
Document Release Date: 
November 9, 1998
Sequence Number: 
28
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
September 19, 1956
Content Type: 
MF
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PDF icon CIA-RDP33-02415A000200390028-6.pdf120.54 KB
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Approved For Release 2000/04/11 CIA-RDP33-02415A00.0200390028-6 sAPC-9268 Copy 1 of 9 19 September 1956 MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Project Director THROUGH : Project Cover Officer SUBJECT : Conversation of 18 September with Mr. Harry Press, NACA 1. Mr. Press visited me today, and we discussed several items of interest in connection with NACA support. These were: a. Mr. Thomas Coleman, NACA, has returned from his two weeks 25X1 A6a stay i He has left at the instrumentation 25X1 A6a required in the event we decide to attempt an informal altitude record with certain engine modifications which I understand were to have been made prior to any effort of this kind. Mr. Press pointed out that, if we desire to attempt an altitude run, Mr. Coleman would be obliged to return t to calibrate 25X1 A6a and install the instruments now there. 25X1A6a 25X1A6a 25X1A6a b. Mr. Press mentioned that he is going to Los Angeles in a week or two to attend a symposium on behalf of NACA, which sym- posium is being convened by a Dr. Tilford of Ramo Wooldridge. This conference has no relation to this Project, however. Mr. Press would like to talk to certain of the engineering staff at Lockheed but does not wish to do so without our blessing. He also mentioned his desire to go to When I asked him why, he indicated that Mr. Coleman had advised him that the Commanding Officer at had apparently refused permission for the performance of the restricted climb flights required to rodice low and medium altitude weather data for NACA processing 20,000 to 50,000 feet). -I gathered that this estion of the frequency of restricted. climb flights at ti is one with which you are familiar. 25X1A6a 25X1A6a e. In this connection, Mr. Press informed me that NACA has some twenty flight records in their hands representing 100 hours of flight time above 20,000 feet. Most of these records originated from i" He stressed the point that he bad no c arable flight records an at all. He does have a very few ccm:L which are above 50, ,000 and. consequently are not pre- sentable for a classified research paper. It was his opinion that, were he to publish the records now in his bands, i.e., those emanating from England, without being able to produce comparable records from the activity in the ZI, this would be so contrary to normal NACA planning that it would cause speculation. To this Approved For Release 2000/04/11 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000200390028-6 Approved For Release 2000/04/11: CIA-RDP33-02415A000200390028-6 ` SAPC-9268 Copy of 9 19 September 1956 25X1A6a extent then.. I believe that we need data of the sort requested from pri=rily as a back-up for our overseas findings when these are published. Mr. Press further estimated that it would take three to four weeks to produce a rough research paper on the data now at hand, but before publishing this paper he would see that we had a chance to review it. d. I gathered that Mr. Press discussed with you the matter that he mentioned to me which was a proposal that we drop any acti- vity connected with a recording of cosmic ray data either at home or abroad. 2. As I have noted before, whenever I bear of delays in the pro- duction of weather reconnaissance data similar to those set forth above, I become concerned lest we, in our understandable desire to train pilots and mount successful operations, ignore inadvertently the production of our cover material which we will require for counter-propaganda uses should we encounter a major flap. Above this, however, I feel that we should utilize our resources in such a way that our meteorological find- ings collected from all of our detachments might become an important and positive scientific adjunct to this Project. 25X1A9a 25X1A9a 25X1A9a JAC/slh Distribution: I - D/Project Director 3 - Security 5 - Project Director 6 - operations 7 - Administration 8 - Chrono 9 - Reading PCS/DCI Approved For Release 2000/04/11 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000200390028-6