Nathan Twining
US Air Force Chief of Staff; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
- Born
- October 11, 1897, Monroe, Wisconsin
- Died
- March 29, 1982, Lackland AFB, Texas
- Posts
- Air Force Chief of Staff (from 1953); Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1957–1960
- WWII
- Commanded 13th, 15th and 20th Air Forces
- UFO link
- Addressee of the disputed 1954 Cutler memo
Air Force general and Joint Chiefs chairman whose name appears as addressee on the disputed 1954 'MJ-12' memo from Robert Cutler.
What is Nathan Twining known for?
Nathan Farragut Twining was a career US Army Air Forces and Air Force officer. In World War II he commanded the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Air Forces and, in 1945, the Twentieth Air Force, whose B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He became Air Force Chief of Staff in 1953 and served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1957 to 1960.
Twining appears in UFO history twice. In 1947, as head of the Air Materiel Command, he signed a widely quoted letter stating that the flying disc reports were something real, which helped start the Air Force's first UFO study. He is also the addressee of the July 14, 1954, 'Cutler-Twining memo' that mentions an 'NSC/MJ-12 Special Studies Project'.
The National Archives has explained in detail why it doubts the 1954 memo, and MJ-12 is generally regarded by historians as a hoax. Twining's genuine 1947 letter is not in dispute.
Named as recipient of the disputed 1954 Cutler memo about 'MJ-12'.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeThe Majestic 12 Documents
- PersonRobert Cutler
Sources
- Joint Chiefs of Staff, 'General Nathan Farragut Twining'Primary text
- National Archives, 'Unidentified Flying Objects - Project BLUE BOOK'Primary text
- Wikipedia, 'Nathan F. Twining'Reference
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