R. H. Smith

Wilbert Brockhouse Smith (1910-1962) was a Canadian engineer and government official pivotal in early UFO research. Born in 1910, he worked for the Department of Transport from 1939, specializing in radio propagation, geo-magnetism, and atmospheric effects. In 1950, after learning from U.S. physicist Robert Sarbacher that flying saucers were real and classified above the H-bomb under Vannevar Bush, Smith authored a Top Secret memo proposing Project Magnet to detect UFOs via geo-magnetic anomalies. Approved secretly, it involved experts like Dr. James Watt and operated a UFO detection station at Shirley's Bay with magnetometers and gravimeters until 1954, when it ended amid pressure, though Smith collected significant data. He also served on Project Second Storey in 1952. Smith's memo remains a cornerstone UFO document.