CONVERSATION OF 18 SEPTEMBER WITH MR. HARRY PRESS, NACA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• 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
• Publication Date: September 19, 1956
• Content Type: MF

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