📅 Overview
In 1947, burning metallic fragments were discovered on the grass of a residence in Rindge, New Hampshire. The FBI Boston Office conducted a formal investigation and submitted the fragments to MIT for analysis — making this one of the best-documented early FBI UFO cases.
📷 U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (Public Domain) · 1940s–70s FBI UFO investigation memo collection
🎨 findlatlng.org FLUX 1.1 Pro Ultra reconstruction · Original FBI memo available via the PURSUE portal
🔍 Incident Details
- Location: Rindge, New Hampshire, USA
- Date: 1947 (same year as the Kenneth Arnold incident)
- Discovery: burning metal + non-metal fragments on the grass
- Reporting: formally reported to the FBI Boston Office
🛂 FBI + MIT Investigation
FBI procedure:
- Received report from the grass owner
- On-site investigation + fragment collection
- Submitted to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for analysis
FBI Boston office memo:
"No speculation that a guided missile originating in a foreign land landed"
MIT analysis results:
- The exact analysis result was later declassified
- No evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or foreign missile
🤔 Significance
Context of 1947:
- 1947 was the year of the Kenneth Arnold incident (June) and Roswell incident (July)
- UFO reports surged across the United States
- Early instance of the FBI seriously processing a citizen report
Significance of Rindge, NH:
- Burning metal fragments in a small Eastern town — not an everyday event
- FBI Boston + MIT formal analysis — beginning of organized government response
- Part of the flow that later led to Project Sign (1948)
📺 Impact and Significance
- FBI material illustrating the 'Year of the UFO' (1947)
- Released to the public after 80 years via the 2026 PURSUE disclosure
- One of the earliest records in FBI UAP investigation history
📷 Related Photographs

Source: Public Domain — FBI Vault

